Authenticity

This word has been stirring in my creative vision for over a year. It comes in my awareness as a ping in my spirit when I say something cruel or not true about myself. “That is something you would never say about someone else, Katie”, my inner voice would say to me.

It manifested in my career when clients would ask me to photoshop pounds or double chins away. I felt a ping inside that brought sadness.

My personal goal as a photographer is to capture each client’s beauty, just as they are.

Because any photoshop action I take, unfortunately, it takes away from their story. Visually, it takes away some of the dimension from the photo, which is so ironic because it also takes away from the present moment also.

I have had photos of myself be photoshopped and when looking at them, I felt the same sadness inside. That’s not true to me. My outer body is oftentimes a direct reflection of my inner self. When I am focusing on my health, my healing and using my voice to speak my truth, I operate from a place of joy and peace. But if I’m surrounded by unhealthy food, unhealthy relationships, unhealthy entertainment, I notice I am more harsh on my outer body and it creates a cycle of self-destruction.

As a creative, we are constantly evolving and expanding.

Authenticity.

Because of the personal transformation I have made in the last 18 months, I am following my heart and staying true to myself. My policy and my contract for each session, whether it be a senior, family, headshot or a wedding, has changed. The updated policy is listed below. If this triggers you, I hope you will use that as an opportunity to ask yourself why and then heal that area of your inner self. When I first read this policy that was presented to me in my Refocus and Refresh class last fall, my teacher, Aja White got tickled at me because I myself was triggered by this at first. But as I sat with it I felt an overwhelming peace thinking about moving forward with this policy in my career. I knew I had to implement this each time I picked up my camera.

My new policy:

I capture real photos for real memories. I do not do cosmetic retouching other than items that naturally exist on your body. I will smooth skin, edit out breakouts and some hair flyaways. But I will not photoshop pounds away or remove ”double chins”. Each session is time you cannot get back and at that moment, that is exactly who you are and I think each client is beautiful just the way they are. I do not wish to play into the "filtered" mentality that is popular right now. My motto on my website and business cards is "real. relaxed. rustic" and that is exactly what you will get from me.

I appreciate where each client is coming from when they request these alterations. I get it. I have no judgement towards that at all. But if that is what you are looking for, then I am not the photographer for you and that’s perfectly ok! We all have our tribes. I am just not capable of being anyone other than exactly who I am.

Authenticity.

My people have found me and will continue to seek me out. For that, I am certain. 💜