What we're up against

It's a challenge for girls to grow up in a culture surrounded by idealized images of beauty, abundant in mass media, that hold them to a standard of beauty that is impossible to attain. When a friend introduced me to a television commercial produced for Dove's Self Esteem Fund I was struck by the extent of makeup and Photoshop retouching that goes into a typical fashion shoot.

It reminded me that the standard of beauty that mass media often presents is unrealistic. Photojournalist Lauren Greenfield dedicated years to a long-term project on this topic, which is showcased in her book, Girl Culture.

As photographers, it is a challenge for us to counteract such unnatural standards of beauty. You'll see in this commercial, called "Evolution," a model transform from an ordinary woman to a supernatural beauty. In this ultra-produced environment, women will be made-over, the lighting will be manipulated to soften the model's skin and jawline. Photoshop retouching will distort the shape of her head, eyes and neck into a more idealized form.

What are we to do? Do our clients want to look like supermodels? I believe that if we were to retouch the images of a bride so she becomes a distorted, idealized image of herself, it will have the opposite of the intended effect. As a photojournalist, I want to showcase the bride's natural beauty and articulate it into an image without manipulation. That's the real power of photography.