One guy’s perfect reaction to Photoshopped pictures of his wife
We hear a lot of depressing stories about how Photoshopping reinforces unrealistic beauty standards, but here’s a heart-warming reminder that not everyone is influenced by the powers of retouching.
Earlier this year, a wife (who asked to remain anonymous) went to Victoria Caroline Haltom at her photography business, Victoria Caroline Boudoir Photography because she wanted some sexy bedroom pictures taken to spice up her 20 year marriage.
The 40-year old wife and mother wasn’t thrilled with the way the images turned out, noticing all the imperfections. She told Victoria, who then told the San Antonio Express News, “‘I struggle with this, it’s in my every thought, I want to see something different.” Like so many women, the client was embarrassed by the perceived “flaws” in the pictures, and asked Victoria to remove every wrinkle, every instance of cellulite, every blemish.
When Victoria’s client presented the photos to her husband, he was appreciative but also disappointed. The pictures he saw didn’t even look like his wife and he said as much in a lengthy Facebook post on Victoria’s page (which has since become unavailable).
He said, “These pictures…while they are beautiful and you are a very talented photographer…they are not my wife. 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.”
If somebody doesn’t nominate this man for husband-of-the-year, something is not right in the world.
Victoria was moved by her client’s husband’s sentiment, and apparently so was the rest of the Internet. When she woke up the next day, her inbox was flooded with support for the husband’s feelings. “I feel like a lot of photographers get caught up in pushing a product they think society wants to buy,” Victoria explains. “I’m more about telling women they don’t need Photoshop and ‘you’re not any less beautiful.’”
The Facebook post exploded overnight, with 200,000 likes, more than 180,000 shares and close to 11,000 comments — most of which have been positive.
The husband ended the post with the sweetest reminder to himself, but also a message to anybody who has ever been body negative about themselves or a loved one, “I have to do better, and for the rest of my days I am going to celebrate her in all her imperfectness. Thanks for the reminder.”
Related:
Here’s how long it really takes to Photoshop one model’s face
What happens when men are Photoshopped out of politics
(Image via iStock)
