This story could bring a tear to the eye of any woman who feels the slightest bit of insecurity when looking in the mirror. The dubious art of Photoshopping pictures into oblivion has been common place for decades (ever since the first version of Adobe’s program hit shelves in 1988). Matters only grew murkier with the rise of the selfie and the overused Instagram filters, which make nothing look real. There’s simply no such thing as a casual, unstaged, unmanipulated photo anymore.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of relying upon these digital tools, but when it comes to this husband, all he wanted was photos of his “real” wife. Granted, it took some overly airbrushed professional photos for him to realize his feelings, but all that matters is that he got there. The wife had hired a photographer to put together a portfolio of lingerie photos. The husband was crushed to open the picture book and see a different woman that the one he married, and he wrote a response. The photographer, Victoria Caroline, published the husband’s letter on Facebook:
“I don’t want you to think that I am in any way upset with you … but I have some food for thought that I would like to pass on to you. I have been with my wife since we were 18 years old, and we have two beautiful children together. We have had many ups and downs over the years, and I think … well, actually I KNOW that my wife did these pictures for me to ‘spice things up.’ … 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.”
OOF. Thankfully, the husband didn’t have any hard feelings and knows what he needs to do to prevent a re-occurrence:
“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. She hears it so seldom, that she actually thought these photoshopped images are what I wanted and needed her to look like. 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.”
What a guy.