Two weeks ago an honor was bestowed upon me.  I had submitted a photo I shot for a mentorship with my niece Melissa for her senior class project to Coca-Cola, and the response was amazing.

The project started with me mentoring Melissa.  Her job was to set up and coordinate a commercial photo shoot for Coca-Cola in a mock-up scenario.  I chose Coca-Cola because I knew it would be a challenge.  Each year for almost a century they have produced timeless beautiful ads with pin-ups to Santa Claus; these ads have always fascinated me so in turn they have inspired much of my work.

During the actual shoot that Melissa coordinated as Project Manager, my dog walked over to the model Melissa and crawled under her leg.  The model was wearing an authentic 1950s poodle skirt, saddle shoes and socks for a 50s Coca-Cola pinup.

Knowing some trigger words I told my dog “ride” which he cocked his head and actually smiled.  The model was ready and prepared and what came of it was an amazing photo that didn’t need any photo shop manipulation.  The colors and tones were set from the camera and lighting.  It was a picture perfect shot that I will probably never be able to duplicate again.

I submitted the photo to Coca-Cola who fell in love with it.  They wrote to tell me how pleased they were with the picture and that it will be hanging in the corporate offices in Atlanta, GA.  For me, reading that letter was like playing poker in Vegas and walking away a millionaire.

This was quite an honor impressing the people who helped perfect these timeless pinups, and impress a company whose work and product is a personal inspiration and favorite of mine.

Just in time for Halloween and my birthday- Dreams, Nightmares, Fears and Fantasy Volume 3 is complete.

The series depicts many different scenarios for one of the most eclectic  blends of all three series.  This time I steered away from a lot of the horror as I did before, but still kept some in.  I focused on fairy tales, historic figures and of course, some horror.

Volume 3 will be debuted at Rudolph’s Art Gallery on October 29, 2011 from 1 to 5 PM (EST).

This series will have

• Cooling Off : Autopsy of Jane Doe 1 and 2
• Tinker Bell
• Beauty and the Beast
• The Little Mermaid
• Alice in Wonderland
• Bad Baby
• Bette Davis
• Cleopatra
• Zombies
• Haunted Doll
• Possessed
• Dismembered
• Mummy
• I Love You Always (A True Romeo and Juliet Saga)
• Tiny Dancer
• Catatonic Dream
• Keeper of the Night
• Sleep Hag
• Evil Carnie
• A Piercing Sensation
• Drop of Death
• Angel and Devil
• Legend of Carmen Winstead
• Remnants of America’s Divide
• Friends Forever

By Jason Dowd

America’s obsession with beauty has grown out of control, fueled mostly by ads and pictures found in magazines. It seems that each magazine is packed full of fashion photos, beauty product reviews and tips, but to make matters worse, they are also full of deception.

These magazines not only target adult women, but also impressionable teens and pre-teens, showing them exactly what “true beauty” shouldook like. The women who look at these magazines then compare themselves to these models and feel anything but adequate to the women in these pictures.

The photographs set the bar of what beauty is, and therefore, the women who feel they don’t match up will do whatever it takes to be as beautiful or even more beautiful than the women in the magazine. This is a tactic beauty product companies have used in order to make a multi-billion dollar industry based on the insecurities of women.

Unfortunately, in most cases, the photos are completely changed to promote attractiveness. The model’s skin is digitally airbrushed, her weight is altered, and the hips and bust are enhanced.

The problem is women are shooting for a standard of beauty that can only be obtained through digital manipulation. To the untrained eye the photos look realistic. Women are led to believe that the products these models endorse really do work. What they fail to realize is, these photos are completely faked.

The question is, does it really matter? Is this really hurting anyone? Unfortunately, yes.

The need to be beautiful has been fueled by false portrayals through these photographs. The goal is to sell these beauty products in order to make money. As a photographer, I see both sides of the equation. I don’t feel there is anything wrong with making money, but I do feel it should be done honestly.

I can see the reasoning from the beauty product companies for doing what they do. If they placed people on their ads with major flaws, no one would buy their products. However, doctoring the photos to an extreme, is just wrong.

I feel that a little touching up on a photo is fine. If you want to reduce some wrinkles, remove acne, or lighten up dark shadows under the eyes, then go right ahead. However, a woman who is over 40 will present some aging, so leave some flawing for a sense of realism.

On the other hand, digitally altering photos to the extent they have, has made women compare themselves to the unrealistic. They think if they are not a size 0 or 1, then they must be fat. And because these older models seen in magazines have absolutely no wrinkles, then female readers feel unattractive with just a few frown lines or crow’s feet.

This can cause severe insecurity among women. To make themselves feel better and more beautiful they will go out and buy these beauty products hoping they can achieve the same results as the models on the ads and in these magazines. When they don’t achieve the same results, which most of them won’t for reasons I will explain later, they are now at risk for more serious problems.

Some women will turn to plastic surgery. There is nothing wrong with plastic surgery except that it won’t last. Breast implants, for one, will need to be checked regularly, and in most cases, replaced after so many years. This is expensive, but once the surgery is completed, these women will have no choice but to spend money keeping the surgery up.

In other cases, women and men will go under the knife to surgically enhance their nose, face, or other extremities they see in magazines. Again, there is nothing wrong with this, except every time you go under the knife you are taking the risk of death and the possibility the surgery will actually become deformed or unsuccessful.

I have read stories and seen television shows on how plastic surgery can go horribly wrong. Sometimes once the surgery is a failure, the end results can’t be fixed which forces these people to live their life with a deformity. The sad part is, they were perfectly fine before they even had the surgery.

If physical features aren’t the problem, then weight becomes the issue.

Every year around summertime I see ads in magazines and on television talking about the dreaded “bikini season.” So, women will tend to diet in order to look their best in their swimsuits

Hoping to lose weight quickly, some women will turn to fasting, crash diets, dangerous dietary supplements, and energy drink consumption in order to boost their metabolism. All of these methods of weight loss can be extremely dangerous especially if you are not under the watch of a doctor.

Some women will virtually kill themselves to fit into that size one dress, because they are constantly being exposed to skinny models on television and in magazines. To these women, thin equals beautiful. In our modern society, there is great pressure to be a certain weight. According to most height to weight charts, 110 pounds for a female who is 5’4″ or taller, is very underweight.

As these people fight for their optimal weight, they may develop severe eating disorders and other health related issues. Some will take to more drastic measures such as stomach stapling and lap bands, which are medically done but can be extremely dangerous.

Again, these individuals are comparing themselves to the greatly enhanced and highly unrealistic photos of celebrities and models.

I’ve been a photographer now since the mid 1980s. I’ve had clients require me to alter photos in order to enhance their appearance. In turn, I have successfully shaved 20 pounds off my subjects. I have removed scars, baldness, wrinkles, pale skin, acne, eye bags, and other flaws. I have taken away “the muffin top,” as they say, creating a more toned stomach

If you’ve never seen these people in person or seen the photos prior to being altered, you’d swear that’s how they look in real life. That’s why most people can walk by a supermodel or celebrity and not even recognize them.

What we also tend to forget is that each of us are made of different gene structures. With our unique set of genes, each one of us tends to age differently, wear our weight and bulk differently, and have different complexions. So no matter what we do to ourselves surgically or regardless of how many beauty products we buy, a person may never be able to achieve the look they want to, just because their genes won’t allow it. Photoshop, on the other hand, has no idea what a gene structure is.

Despite the health risks involved from altered photos, we also face unethical practices.

A few years ago I heard a story about a plastic surgeon who gave breast implants to a girl who was under sixteen. The teen simply wanted to enhance her figure. Her parents allowed it, but they too were obsessed with their bodies and had no qualms about plastic surgery.

This young girl said it was her body, and she could do whatever she wanted with it. She’s right, except she forgot a major piece of the equation that a parent and doctor should have recognized. She was still developing!

The young girl went to a few plastic surgeons and all of them turned her down. Determined to find a doctor, the teenager and her parents kept searching till they found one who had no ethics and just cared about the almighty dollar.

As previously stated, this girl was hardly done developing her cup size. Some young women do not finish developing until they are in college. So what if that happened here? What if this teen grew three cup sizes in addition to the implants and then develops physical and emotional issues down the road?

As long as there is a need to be beautiful and the money to pay for it, there will be a doctor who will throw out morals and ethics to achieve riches.

Where have we gone too far in terms of photo altering? I have two examples that stand out in my head, the first one involving the famous model, Twiggy.

In 2009, an Olay Regenerist advertisement featuring Twiggy, hit the stands and caused quite a stir. The ad showed a flawless Twiggy making the Olay cream look like a miracle cure. Twiggy was 60 when this ad was released, and to the shock of everyone who saw it, she didn’t have a wrinkle present or any other signs of aging…. just flawless and radiant skin.

This ad did not fool the British government however; they banned it from being released in the United Kingdom. They know Twiggy all too well because she is a resident of England. They know and have seen pictures taken of her without her makeup, showing wrinkles and other skin

imperfections. They cited Olay with misleading advertising and forced the removal of the ad from all media outlets.

No matter her age, Twiggy is gorgeous and didn’t need to be touched up to that extent.

In another example, have you ever Googled pictures of JonBenet Ramsey? If you have, you’d probably be shocked from what you see.

At the time of her death, Ramsey was 6-years-old. She was a natural beauty, who was years away from puberty. Still, her photos are completely airbrushed which is not only unnecessary, but makes her look 10 years older than she actually is.

Now, I see a lot of 6-year-olds everywhere. I have yet to see one without radiant glowing skin, or one that is riddled with wrinkles and acne and other major flaws. So why did they have to airbrush Ramsey to the extent she was?

It’s things like this that set a false sense of reality, which is immoral and unethical.

As I said earlier in this passage, I do want to say that I completely support a little touch up here and there. I understand acne and scars and skin imperfections can be embarrassing; however, completely airbrushing a photo and altering a person’s weight and featuresto sell a product is WRONG.

In conclusion, I wish to give out this advice to everyone.

We all have a flaw or two; we’re human after all. We need to use these flaws to bring out our strong points; be proud of them and learn to exploit them in the best way we can. Let’s not be afraid to flaunt our flaws because that’s what makes us unique and gives us the ability to stand out in a crowd.

Don’t worry what anyone else thinks of you; they don’t have to see you each and everyday. Don’t change yourself to please them.

If you are wanting to model or try out for a part, don’t ever take one that forces you to alter yourself, other than hair, because it isn’t worth it. Find someone who will be happy to use you for who you are.

And most importantly, if you want to diet, do so under the guidance of a respected doctor and be sure to exercise and eat properly. Don’t swarm to these dangerous diets and supplements. They may work fast but don’t last. Take the weight off gradually and when your results stop, that is your body telling you it’s enough. Enjoy who you are!

As I release the early stages of the “Haunted Dolls” series of “Dreams, Nightmares, Fears and Fantasy” collection; I want to explain this series a bit. I want to explain because people keep asking me… “why dolls”.

History

Dolls have been prized toys for little girls growing up for centuries. I don’t know if I ever see a little girl running around without her trusted and beloved stuffed friend nestled in her arms. What this does is build a strong bond, even after the child grows up.

That bond is transferred via our energy. It’s a proven fact that everyone is made with energy. We emit that energy everyday, with everything we do. Strong bonds between an object or place can stand strong even if that person moved away from the location or no longer plays with the doll.

That built up energy can stay with that object, which can cause a potential haunting after the person passes away. More than likely it would be a residual haunting. The other theory is a spirit will return to an object and attach itself to it if that object played a special role for them in life. That object now becomes “The Host”.

In some cases when the girl grows up and eventually has a child of her own, she may pass that doll down to her child. The child may play with it and love it like her mother did, or may keep it as a treasured memory of her mom.

Despite their beautiful exterior, and treasured past… some people are flat out terrified of these dolls calling them evil. Many times dolls play a vital role in horror flicks, and paranormal investigations.

The Series

I chose these dolls for a reason. Those reasons are:

• They are hauntingly beautiful. From the moment I laid eyes on them, I knew they had a certain energy about them. They may not look “scary” at all. But… look closely into their eyes, even in the pictures you are drawn to it.
• Two of them are certified haunted, and one actually gives you the “evil” factor.

When I place these dolls in their respected location for the shoot I not only incorporate their look and feel into the shoot, but I match it with a background location. This location will make you think… are they looking for their loved one? Were they abandoned and forever damned to live at this location? Are they sad? Are they haunting time? Does this location play a part of their history or are they like “chuckie” and coming to wreak havoc on the inhabitants? Are they really sweet as they seem or are their looks deceiving?

Either way, many questions arise. You can spend hours coming up with their story! However, look in their eyes and you’ll find yourself unable to look away… in other words the doll now owns you!!