Slightly delicate subject

Lesco

Lesco

Suspended / Banned
Messages
623
Name
Tony
Edit My Images
Yes
Im going to be a backup tog at a family members wedding later this year (Ive told them to pay a pro for main photos as its there big day and I dont want the pressure and Im still learing)

The bride in question has quite bad skin from the shoulders down (due to a scalding accident as a child) and is wearing a off the shoulder dress which will show these scars/imperfections, my question is would you try to disguise these when working with the final pics in Lightroom or would you not say a word and print them as they were and then let the young lady in question bring the subject up if she was uncomfortable with the pics??

Im very fond of these people and would never ever do anything to offend or upset them, (or anyone for that matter) Im just getting a bit jittery about the whole thing as this is my first unpaid job and I so want to get everything perfect not just for them but to boost my own confidence as I would really love to do this for a living in the future.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice
 
As the non expert :)

The young lady in question is more than likely very well aware of her damaged skin . If she's wearing an off the shoulder dress I would think she's reasonably relaxed about it.

Why not have a quiet word with the Pro and ask him to handle the situation [ and at the same time ask him how he would approach it ]

You are family - stay out of this .
 
Leave it upto the bride, as she has chosen an off the shoulder dress I would say she has no issue with the scarring so you souldn't either. And best of luck on your first big day.
 
I am a big fan of showing it like it is - I really do not like the way so many pictures are manipulated to remove spots, wrinkles etc. We are not all perfect, and most of us are used to that !
As has been said, if the bride is happy to show herself as she is, then cool - her groom clearly has no problem with her scars, and nor should you.
If you know them well, then ask directly - the bride will have spent many hours getting used to the scars, and is likely to have learnt to deal with other folks reactions, so be totally direct - you may find she is quite open, and may even appreciate your asking. If asking her feels difficult, could you talk to the groom first, or maybe her mother ?
Good luck with it all, and good to hear that you are sensitive to her position.
 
Don't give it a second thought, and take the pics as you would for anyone.
The bride doesn't see this as an issue so neither should you.
You might want to inclued some soft focus shots to give some variety and as possibles for the couple to send out if they choose.
talbot
 
Thanks guys for your words of support and advice thats great, Ill ignor it and do as you said and do the best I can.

happy new year to you all
 
Definately ignore it unless she brings it up, our scars and imperfections are all part of us. If she mentions it, you could also suggest that you could reduce the prominence of it, without completely removing it, I've done that for people before, so it's still true to them, just not glaringly obvious.
HTH and have fun!
 
If it was me, I'd certainly NOT hide these what's so ever, it's part of her life - what helped her mould her life to the day you are shooting. "imperfections" is a horrible word to use in this scenario and NOBODY in the world is perfect, apart from my wife if she reads this ;)

In all seriousness, shoot her as you would anybody else, she will be proud to be on her big day !
 
I agree with the others. She's had the option of buying a dress with thick straps and a little jacket but she's chosen not to. She's lived with the scars since childhood and is obviously comfortable with them.

If she brings it up then discuss what she'd like to do about the scars.
 
I'm just in the middle of a photo-documentary on people burn victims and the best advice that I can give is do not skirt around the issue. Most people I have photographed, depending on how long the accident has occured, appreciate people talking about it rather than people being uncomfortable.

The guys above are right also, if she wanted to hide it then she would have chosen a different dress.

A little bit of advice is like all other things in photography the grooves in a persons burn can produce quite harsh shadows and make them look worse than they actually are. I'm sure a little dodging wouldnt go a miss on you post-processing. :)
 
At their core, most people want to be accepted for who they are, not be thought of as different. It seems like the bride is making the statement "this is who I am".

Vic said:
A little bit of advice is like all other things in photography the grooves in a persons burn can produce quite harsh shadows and make them look worse than they actually are. I'm sure a little dodging wouldnt go a miss on you post-processing. :)
Click to expand...
Good technical tip. Just because the person is comfortable with their scars, there's no need to over emphasise them, in the same way you wouldn't shoot a person with a large nose up close with a wide angle lens.

The camera never lies ... but it can flatter or be over critical. Best advice seems to be, take the best wedding photos you can, concentrate on good composition and lighting and let everything else take care of it's self.
 
Someone on here were apparently attacked by the bride because of a simple liquify manouvre, now this is serious business with a skin condition and I think it would in a way put her at ease if she noticed it on photos rather than having you edit and manipulate her in fact she will probably find it insulting that you've done it.
 
Would you photoshop an arm on an amputee?
Would you add hair to someone with alopecia?

Everyone is different and most people are comfortable with thier bodies no matter what may have happened to them. Unless explicty asked otherwise, show the bride as she is.
 
we have had a couple of bries with particualr cosmetic "problems"
neither asked us to alter images in any way
they were both comfortable in their skins, and would have been upset if we had done any tweeking.
the only subject we have been asked to alter was a lady with a recent cut on her face.
 
my husband has facial scarring from a dog attack / reconstructive surgery as a child and out wedding photographer asked about it at our meeting and then made an effort to shoot Andy with his best side to the camera

We both forget about it but i think the photographer handled it very well and we werent offended at all
 
I think you called it right in your original post. The bride is aware of the scarring and has chosen an off the shoulder dress, so don't try to second guess her. Let her raise the subject, if she wants to. Otherwise, leave it alone.
 
If the bride's dress is making no excuses for the condition, then there should be no reason for you to hide it.
I put it this way, as we do not know the extent of the damage (the shoulders are quite a large area in my opinion), or the exact shape of the dress. i.e., if the dress is fitted to perfectly cover the area, and a small bit were to slip out on one photograph, then this might be one photograph where you need to explicitly ask if that little bit should be tucked in.
If the damage is immediately noticable, and extends well out of the area that is covered, then leave it entirely as is, but perhaps shoot so that it is not exagerated.
In my opinion, I don't touch up freckles, I don't touch up permanent spots to the point they are removed (however, if I am sharpening, I might sharpen eyes and not the spots).
A temporary pimple, I heal out. If a dress bulges due to a crease that is not present in a series of shots, gently reduce that one crease perhaps.
For photography, for me, any modifications to the subject, should not be noticable.

As you are a backup, is it in an official capacity? I.e. are you giving the photographs to the couple, or to the primary 'tog? The primary 'tog, I suspect, would want un-modified images.
 
id leave it unless she says something.

theres a thread in the business section where a bride has become upset after the images were liquified without being asked for, for example.
 
I argree with the others who say leave it as is, she obviously doesn't have any issues showing the scarring so trying to cover it up is lightly to lead to hassle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top