One of the most common questions asked during the initial consultation is this: “How much do you actually edit the photos?”
Sometimes the hope behind it is that I’ll ‘touch up a bit more’. More often than not, however, it stems from a concern: will I even recognise myself afterwards? Almost everyone has seen pictures in which people look as if they’re made of porcelain – flawless, smooth and strangely alien.
My honest answer: I edit as little as possible. And just enough so that you recognise yourself in your photos looking your very best. Not as someone else. As yourself.
The most important processing takes place before the shutter is released
Good photos aren’t created on a computer, but in the studio. Most of what others later try to achieve with the blur and liquify tools is achieved by me through lighting, pose and perspective.
Soft, side lighting sculpts the body and makes the skin glisten without retouching away every single pore. A slightly turned shoulder, a bent leg or a glance over the shoulder alter a silhouette more dramatically than any post-processing ever could – and in a natural way. During the shoot, I’ll show you each pose before we take the photo and look at the screen with you. That’s how we create images that are just right the moment the shutter clicks.
Then there’s my camera. I shoot a lot of my work with a medium-format camera. It captures the subtlest colour transitions and skin tones – exactly what brings images to life, and what I want to preserve rather than destroy during post-production.
What I’m working on
Of course, you won’t receive any unedited raw data. Every image you select passes through my hands – carefully and individually, not as part of a rushed process.
Light and colour. I’ll give your photos the warm, tranquil visual style you’re familiar with from my portfolio: soft contrasts, deep shadows, skin tones that look like real skin. That’s my style, and that’s exactly why you book me.
Cropping and fine-tuning. A slightly better crop, a straight horizon, a distracting mark on the wall, a cable at the edge of the picture – I sort out things like that.
It’s only temporary. A spot, a mark left by a bra strap or a sock, a bruise, a red patch from shaving, a stray hair lying across your cheek: none of these things are part of you – they’re just part of this one day. I’ll remove them.
Easily even out the complexion. Where the light was a little too harsh, I soften the shadows under the eyes or any uneven patches of skin – so subtly that the skin’s natural texture is preserved.
What I don’t edit
Your body shape. I don’t make waists any narrower, thighs any slimmer or breasts any bigger. Not because I can’t, but because I don’t want to. A picture in which you look different from how you do in the mirror doesn’t show who you really are – and it doesn’t help you to see yourself as more beautiful either. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Your skin. No plastic-looking skin, no soft-focus filter over your whole face. Pores, fine hairs, freckles, laugh lines – that’s life, and it’s there for all to see. Skin that looks like skin is so much more beautiful than any perfect surface.
They’re part of your story. Stretch marks, scars, tattoos, moles, the marks of pregnancy: they’re here to stay. They’re not flaws, but part of what makes you who you are. If any of these things are really on your mind, please mention them to me during our initial consultation. Then I’ll give you my honest opinion on what I can do for you – for example, with lighting, posing or framing.
Artificial intelligence. I don’t use AI to reinvent faces, bodies or entire sections of an image. What you see in your photos is exactly what happened during the shoot.
Why I work this way
Because I want you to look at your photos in ten years’ time and think: ‘That was me. Exactly like that.’
After the shoot, many women tell me that it was in my photographs that they found themselves truly beautiful for the first time – not despite recognising themselves, but precisely because of it. A heavily retouched image can be impressive at first glance. But it quietly tells you: ‘The way you are isn’t good enough.’ An honest photograph in beautiful light says the opposite.
That is exactly what I mean by my slogan. Real comes first – and that’s no coincidence.
And what if you do notice something?
About two to three weeks after the shoot, you’ll receive access to your private, password-protected gallery, where you can take your time to choose your favourite photos. If you spot a minor detail in a fully edited image that I’ve overlooked – a speck of lint on the fabric, a smudge, a spot – just let me know. I’ll be happy to fix it.
And if you’d like to get an idea of my editing style beforehand, do have a look at my portfolio at your leisure. If you like these pictures, you’ll love your own too – because they’re created in exactly the same way.
I’m looking forward to seeing you.
Leif Sundelius
