‘I want you to photoshop all of my cellulite, all of my angry red stretch marks, ALL of my fat, and all of my wrinkles....just make it go away. I want to feel gorgeous just ONCE.'
This is the sort of request that Texas-based photographer Victoria Haltom (who specialises in boudoir photography) is very familiar with. Women employ her to take sexy images of themselves in lingerie and the resulting albums are often gifted to partners and naturally they want to look their best.
But recently Haltom felt compelled to share an inspiring real account of one client’s experience in order to illustrate that women should feel confident to celebrate their beauty and their bodies, just as they are.
Early on in Haltom’s career the husband of the woman who made this very request to have her perceived imperfections airbrushed away had a surprising and moving reaction to the photo album he received.
The specially bound book was filled with 30 images of his wife, but the husband didn’t recognise them as representative of the woman he loved. Haltom took to Facebook to share the touching note she received from the woman’s husband:
‘When I opened the album that she gave to me, my heart sank. These pictures...while they are beautiful and you are clearly a very talented photographer....they are not my wife. You made every one of her "flaws" disappear...and while I'm sure this is exactly what she asked you to do, it took away everything that makes up our life. When you took away her stretch marks, you took away the documentation of my children. When you took away her wrinkles, you took away over two decades of our laughter, and our worries. When you took away her cellulite, you took away her love of baking and all the goodies we have eaten over the years.’
‘…I am not telling you all of this to make you feel horrible, you're just doing your job and I get that. I am actually writing you to thank you. Seeing these images made me realize that I honestly do not tell my wife enough how much I LOVE her and adore her just as she is.’
Haltom is now committed to empowering and encouraging women to embrace their natural, un-airbrushed beauty and to making them aware of the unrealistic beauty standards they are holding themselves to. Her Facebook post ended with this statement:
‘Ladies, I can photoshop just about anything. But I encourage you to think twice about how much "altering" we do. Our loved ones cherish and adore us just as we are. This email was 100% real, and I cried like a baby with guilt for at least 6 months after that whenever I read it. I encourage you to embrace YOU just as you are!’
***Words by Georgia Simmonds. ***