A recent comment by a retoucher on social media stated that it was impossible to get an image right in camera, because it would not be ‘perfect’. The ignorance and arrogance of such a comment is obvious and should perhaps be ignored and placed in a category labelled ‘engagment farming’. Nothing more and nothing less. However, it did make me think, and therefore I responded that ‘perfect’ was boring. The poster immediatly responded and back-tracked saying that they didn’t mean perfect. I replied that it was the exact word they had used. They replied by saying that perhaps ‘visually clean’ was what they meant to say. Again, I said that sounded just as boring and that it is more authentic and beautiful to show the world’s imperfections. They said my viewpoint was interesting. I don’t think they understood what I was saying. At the time of writing my ‘boring’ comment has received 133 likes.

For me the search for ‘perfection’ is not only boring, but dangerous. Yet, I would argue that it has become a dominant factor in all of our lives. Whilst, watching some vintage interviews with female guests on Chris Evan’s TFI Friday recently(remember that people of the 90s? at tea-time on a Friday!). I was struck by the normality in dress, presentation, speech and opinions that guests such as Mariah Carey, Pamela Anderson, Sinaed O’Connor, Bjork, Patsy Kensit and Kylie Minogue amongst others showed. There was no over-the-top styling, heavily applied make-up, preening at the camera, or PR controlled question and answering. Instead, their was an honesty and believability. The interviews were funny, revealing and entertaining. Natural and truthful. I am no fan of Evans, but his interview technique was unpolished, relaxed and equally entertaining. The opposite of the photo-shopped, Instagram, image obsessed world we live in today.

Photography has played a big part in this loss of honesty. At least post-production has. The quick fix to perfection, to fakery and dishonesty. The problem is that the world that post production presents has become an aspiration for some and a reality for others. A perfect world in which it is essential to be part of and excel within.

I have met few photographers who implement such a desire for perfection in their own lives, but many who do in their photography. Why? Do they think that the world and the people they are photographing can only be improved through their intervention? It sounds pretty egotistical if put like that I think, but it can be the only reason. The idea that the photographer through post-production can make an imperfect world perfect and therefore improve their photographs and photography makes no sense either, unless they are unhappy with the world and the people they see. Their idea of perfection also needs to be questioned. Who is defining this idea of perfection? Is it personal, cultural, social, political or all of these?

I said at the beginning of this article that as well as perfection being boring, it is also dangerous. What I mean by this has two interpretations. From the photographer’s perspective creating any form of photography that can be easily imitated by AI is a dangerous route to take. Images that appear too perfect can easily be interpreted as being AI created. This is not a suggestion, it is a reality, which is happening today. I am afraid that I have little sympathy for the photographers who are crying foul when this is happening to them. What did they expect was going to happen to their ‘style’ when anyone can replicate it through a few word prompts?

However, perhaps more importantly there is a danger outside of photography that is being created by photographers and photography. That of unrealistic expectations concerning physical looks, with the resultant mental wellbeing issues. Gen Z is beauty-obsessed. In fact, female and male teen spending on beauty is booming in 2026, a category that continues to defy economic slowdowns, according to the findings of Piper Sandler’s latest Taking Stock With Teens spring survey. According to the investment bank’s biannual report, which surveyed 6,455 teens across 43 states in the US, average annual beauty spend among teens has climbed to $374, representing a 10% year-on-year increase. I mentioned this to my fourteen-year-old daughter and her response was “of course, it’s all about Instagram, Tik Tok and looking good”.

I am sure that no photographer wants to be held responsible for anyone’s negative mental wellbeing or be perceived as a controlling megalomaniac attempting to change how the world looks. However, I think that we have to accept that if you are attempting to provide your concept of perfection through photographic manipulation you might be. How does that feel? Not good? I’m not surprised. Ever considered this? No? Okay, then maybe you should. This is not an order, but it is a suggestion given from a place of caring. Whilst you are considering that, why not also forget about perfection and focus on honesty. The second is achievable, the first does not exist.

Further Reading:
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2024/04/26/when-post-production-takes-over/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2022/05/12/women-dont-look-like-that/

Dr.Grant Scott
After fifteen years art directing photography books and magazines such as Elle and Tatler, Scott began to work as a photographer for a number of advertising and editorial clients in 2000. Alongside his photographic career Scott has art directed numerous advertising campaigns, worked as a creative director at Sotheby’s, art directed foto8 magazine, founded his own photographic gallery, edited Professional Photographer magazine and launched his own title for photographers and filmmakers Hungry Eye. He founded the United Nations of Photography in 2012, and is now a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, and a BBC Radio contributor. Scott is the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019), What Does Photography Mean To You? (Bluecoat Press 2020) and Inside Vogue House: One building, seven magazines, sixty years of stories, (Orphans Publishing 2024). His photography has been published in At Home With The Makers of Style (Thames & Hudson 2006) and Crash Happy: A Night at The Bangers (Cafe Royal Books 2012). His film Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay was premiered in 2018.

© Grant Scott 2026