I winced as they carved out her nose, cut down her ears, stretched her neck and removed pieces of her body. My face crinkled in disappointment and my heart sat heavy. *Sigh* This is the third time in the last five days I’ve seen this happen to a woman… It’s disgusting.

I’m no stranger to body issues - just ask my husband how I’ve handled my inability to lose all the weight I gained during my last depressive period. It hasn’t been pretty around our house.

Maybe that’s confusing to hear because I’ve been sharing more and more lately about how we are loved exactly as we are and how we were created with intention. To some this might even seem hypocritical that I feel this way about myself.

But this is the EXACT reason I’m so adamant about encouraging others. It feels terrible to not like what you see in the mirror - and I don’t want anyone else feeling how I feel.

So when these horrible advertisements for retouching programs pop up and show the Before photo of a woman undergoing digital plastic surgery to achieve the slimmed down, wide eyed, zero wrinkled after product… I cringe.

We DON’T need this messaging trying to make us feel like we are WRONG, that something is gross or ugly about us.

It’s why the widely accepted term “imperfection” in the beauty industry bugs me. Yes, I have scars and divots and dry spots and dark circles, but they don’t make me any less than others who don’t have those things. [Yes, telling someone they have imperfections is essentially re-enforcing there's something wrong with them and that people without those things are better.]

No scars, or zits or burns (or difference in skin color, eye color, hair color) make us any better or any less than any other person.

We're all beautifully unique!

Our outer appearances not only tell our stories but they're a reminder of the fact that we all have something different to contribute to the world.

So to all the people out there, myself included, here’s my heartfelt plea : Remember that you are loved. Remember that you were designed and created to make an impact on the world around you like NO ONE ELSE can do. We need you just as you have been equipped.

As a photographer, I can tell you that I can get a bad picture of anyone just like I can get a good photograph of anyone. It's a matter of timing, intention and perspective. Just recall that viral photograph from a few years back of Beyonce performing where she was caught in an intense awkward face and every single muscle and vein in her body was on high alert. It wasn’t the most flattering, right? And that’s my point. Anyone, even Beyonce, can wind up with bad photographs of themselves - so don't discount how you may look in photographs. Sometimes all it takes is the right person Seeing you and knowing how to capture what you love about yourself.⠀

Winston-Salem Beauty Photographer | Women's Portraiture | Jasper & Fern

We are often asked IF we photoshop the portraits we take or TO photoshop something. Well, secret’s out, we do retouch photographs! We tend to touch up our portraits lightly, in a way that accentuates your natural beauty. After all, you’ve been wonderfully made and we want to celebrate the beauty of YOU!

If you’re curious about the process, check out this behind the scenes video we took of our editing process for this debutante’s portrait session.

Get a sneak peek behind the scenes of how we retouch your portraits. We always like to keep people looking as natural and as much like them as possible while accentuating their natural beauty.

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A portrait of debutante Taylor of the Greensboro Symphony Guild during their debutante season. | Winston-Salem portrait studio Jasper & Fern

About this time of year I’m amidst a rush of holiday gift sessions, charity galas and events and debutante sessions right before the big debutante ball. It’s always a flurried season, however, it’s also the opportunity to allow extra joy filter into my life. It would be easy to become stressed, frustrated even - thought don’t get me wrong, this happens too. Moreover, I see this time as an opportunity to grow, for my team to lean on each other, to serve customers with extra joy and maybe even relieve a little bit of their stress. My favorite part of this time of year though? Taking stock of the year for everything it has been.

Yes, I’m a sucker for nostalgia. I daydream and reminisce. And last night I had quite the unique opportunity to do so. You see, there was a woman in the studio who, uncharacteristically, I’d never met in person until her session. She’d found me on Google and wanted photographs for her significant other for Christmas. As we’re in rush season, the sooner we got her in for her session the better and our limited availability didn’t allow for us to meet in person beforehand. So, there she was, sitting with Kirby getting her hair and makeup done in our glam room while Bre and I finished setting up lights and testing them. She began to discuss her nerves about her session. Then, what she said next brought back a flurry of memories.

She began to describe the women she saw on our website in detail; “The woman in the video with the glasses and blond curly hair who had a warm smile” - I knew that was Jill immediately as her smile lights up the room. This woman who now sat in our chair found encouragement that she could be herself and be beautiful like Jill. Then there was “the woman with the dark, long hair and bright eyes who wore a long sleeved black dress with sparkles on it” - I knew this was Chandni - who, when seeing her photographs gave this woman a sense that she could be casual and elegant. Her list went on! She described what each of these women on our site did for her - just by seeing their photographs! And it was such a special gift to listen to how these portraits encouraged this woman, all the while knowing the stories of each and every woman she described. It was beautiful and I was thankful for the opportunity to walk through our year through someone else’s perspective.

And so I want to thank each woman who has shared her story with me, who has let down her walls in front of our cameras, and for every woman who will do the same. You are amazing and you are making waves in the world just by being you.

With love,

Alyson

Alyson, head photographer and owner at Jasper & Fern, a Winston-Salem based photography studio that specializes in portraits - from headshots and personal branding to beauty sessions, debutante portraits and dance portraits