Photographer shares husband's touching reaction to wife's Photo- shopped pictures

#Lifestyle

 

Victoria Haltom is used to dealing with retouch requests from the women she photographs, but it was one woman's Photo- shopped pictures in particular that made the greatest impact on her career.

Haltom, 25, from San Antonio, Texas, photographs women exclusively. Almost every one of her clients has something they don't like about themselves.

                                 

                                                 Courtesy of Victoria Haltom

"It went from covering up blemishes to taking them down eight sizes," Haltom told TODAY.com. "It's gotten really excessive."

But after photographing a woman for a sexy bedroom spread in 2013, she received an email from the woman's husband that originally made her upset, but has ultimately changed her approach to the job.

 

Inspired by a recent encounter with a client, she posted the letter on Facebook on October 12 and it quickly went viral, racking up thousands of shares and comments.

The wife, who wasn't identified, planned to put the steamy photos in a book to give to her husband for Christmas.

On Facebook, Haltom described her as "a mid-forties lady … a curvy, beautiful size 18. I thought she looked like a goddess, but as most women do, she had a request."

The woman wanted Haltom to Photoshop her cellulite, stretch marks, fat and wrinkles away.

"I turned her into the epitome of what every woman dreams of being," Haltom wrote.

A few days after the holiday, Haltom received an email from the husband.

The E-mail

"Hi Victoria,

 I am (blank)'s husband, ********. I am writing to you because I recently received an album containing images you took of my wife. 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". She sometimes complains that I must not find her attractive, that she wouldn't blame me if I ever found someone younger. 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. 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 photo shopped 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.

Regards,

"These pictures … while they are beautiful and you are a very talented photographer… they are not my wife," the man wrote.

"You made every one of her 'flaws' disappear," he went on. "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."

At first, the email stunned Haltom because she'd spent a lot of time honoring the wife's request and felt her husband was criticizing her work.

"I cried forever and couldn't sleep," Haltom said. "It made me question my business mission and I would never want anyone to feel like I took someone they loved and turned them into someone they weren't."

She's since had a change of heart, writing in her Facebook message, "Ladies, I can Photoshop just about anything. But I encourage you to think twice about how much 'altering' we do.

"Our loved ones cherish and adore us just as we are," she said.

 

Haltom said she got the idea to share the photo after a woman she planned to photograph next week cancelled because she didn't think her husband would find her photos sexy.

The husband's email, she said, was the first time someone spoke up about how she'd used digital editing to transform a client.

"I have tons of women who call me a week or two before really nervous when they were excited before," Haltom said.

"I try to ease some of my client's nerves to the best of my ability and I remembered that email and how I changed my views since and was hoping to change theirs too."

Victoria’s remark

Ladies, I can Photoshop just about anything. But I encourage you to think twice about how much "altering" we do. Our loved ones cherish and adore us just as we are. This email was 100% real, and I cried like a baby with guilt for at least 6 months after that whenever I read it. I encourage you to embrace YOU just as you are!

 

...oh, and just in case you don't have anyone telling you how beautiful you are tonight....YOU ARE SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL!!!! Heart emotion.

However, the comments  on the issue in Victoria’s facebook wall stood at 1,405. The post was shared 6,769 times that attracted 70,557 likes.

Source: Today Style