A confession...and a promise.

Hi all,

Just a quick note to share with you something that has been on my mind. I have recently been hard at work for a series of nail art tutorials. I was contacted by a company to create these and was super excited about it! In our written agreement, it was clearly stated that they would be acquiring the rights to use these tutorials as they saw fit to promote their product and that they had the right to add pictures to the tutorial of their product. All good. It did not say they would acquire the right to alter my photos ie. photoshop. I found out after I completed three looks and was about to send the final images to them. I felt sick!! I wrote them I did not agree to that and I would not agree to that. I don't know if I'm just being naive and that photoshopping is standard practice in advertising. Well, yes, I suppose it is!! BUT these were nail art tutorials done by a human hand. I wanted to show that. And I have a firm conviction that I will never photo shop my nail art, that's a promise. And here's the confession...I do re-touch the skin on my hands when necessary. I don't feel that needs to be a secret. I want eyes on the nails, not on super lighted, macro skin.

I lost the job. And all future jobs with that company. In fact, they were pretty horrified with me that I didn't understand that photoshopping was a given, and that I was an inexperienced fool for not complying. Well, ok. I'm a fool for nail art. Real nail art, not something computer generated.

So there you have it.

Hugs to you all and I'll be back in a bit with some real nail art :D
XO, Victoria

**EDIT** For those wondering and asking who the company is, I will not share their name. But rest assured, If I'm blogging about a polish...it's NOT them :D

Comments

  1. Sorry you lost the job, but kudos to you for sticking to your guns! That takes a lot of courage. You go girl :)

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  2. Good for you. We love your posts because they showcase real nails. We dont want lies x

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  3. <3<3<3 Hugs Hugs Hugs <3<3<3 You are amazing.

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  4. Aww.. that's just wrong .. what kind of photoshop did they do? I work in advertising and I'm always asking to photoshop stuff so I understand them, but I wouldn't agree if they're photoshopping the nails itself.. what did they do that made you you angry about it?

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  5. I am so proud of you for standing up for what you feel is right, even if it cost you a job. You won't look back on that decision with regret! Your nail art is beautiful and doesn't need ANY digital alterations! :)

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  6. Sorry you lost the job, but I think you did the right thing. Keep up the good work! Hugs from Sweden! :-)

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  7. I think you did the right thing, and I salute you for that. I am actually very thankful. We're losing ourselves in this ocean of perfect faces, bodies and hands. And we're not happier than before so, really, what is it for?
    Again, thank you.

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  8. Good for you!! My husband makes commercials for a living and yes, that is pretty much standard practice. Knowing that now, I would do the same thing you did. Why would I let someone alter something in a matter of minutes that I worked so hard on in hours? Kudos!

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  9. You stood up for your nail art and that really matters. I'm sorry you lost the job. We all know and love what you have to show us from your art to swatches...no worry about photoshopping your skin in yur pics. It's the art that matters. <3 blogging

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  10. Sorry you lost the job but big respect for you holding on to your principles! You go girl! Love your work!

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  11. Good for you! When is our society as a whole just going to accept that nothing is perfect and neither does it have to be? I'm a knitter - when the nails are dry - and as much as mistakes in my knitting do my head in, they're a reminder that the item was made by human hands and a lot of time and effort went into it.

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  12. Good for you for sticking up for yourself. They have lost out massively. Everybody does some retouching from time to time-no one wants to see a skanky paper cut when you have some awesome nail art on offer, but completely photo-shopping your hands to look anything less than human- pffft! People interested in nail art want to see a real hand do the work, not a computer. x

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  13. You should be proud of yourself for sticking to your principles! The photos on your blog are AMAZING, and you obviously put a lot of hard work into them. I look forward to many more honest entries to come!

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  14. Good for you! When I see a hand-painted tutorial, I expect the images will be as they actually are on the nail, not photoshopped for perfectly straight lines, etc. It's one thing to adjust the colors in photos to make them look more accurate since cameras don't always capture the color perfectly, but adjusting the actual image itself is just disingenuous. I'm glad that you have the integrity to protest their stupid "industry standard" when it would be a misrepresentation of your work.

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  15. we support you - well done for sticking to your principles xx

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  16. Sorry you lost the job, but i would have done the same thing! I ♥ you and your blog :)

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  17. Good for YOU! Sorry about the job, but maybe something better will come along.
    <3

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  18. I think what you did is awesome! I'm sorry you lost the job though. But I love real, achievable-looking nail art! :)

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  19. I can see where they're coming from, when you look at the magazines and ads, all you see is fake fake fake, 'perfection' that no woman will ever achieve without hours spent with a makeup professional, IF she ever achieves it... I guess the company wanted your nails to look unnaturally 'perfect' so their product sells. Good for you for not caving in!!! Your pictures on your blog are so so beautiful but yet achievable with proper hand and cuticle care, and that's what they should advertise, not some Barbie doll hands!

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  20. Good for you. I wish things went differently and they understood your point of view.

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  21. You MUST follow your intuitions and feeling , it will pay off really soon

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  22. I think you made an excellent decision! It would be awful to see your hard work ruined by an unnatural retouch of photoshop, surely done by somebody who knows NOTHING about nail art!!! Better things will come! xo

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  23. Good for you! I am so tired of companies selling things that cannot be created in the real world, like the ultra-perfect skin, hair, eyelashes, bodies, etc that makeup/clothing companies claim you can achieve using their products.

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  24. Sorry you lost the job, but like most people here I'm glad to see you stood for what you believe :) And I think that is more important. People just don't have the guts to stand up for themselves these days (and I admit that includes me sometimes!)

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  25. That's such a bummer after all that work! I would feel the same. I also do some photoshopping on my hands, especially if they look dry or I have a hangnail or something. But the actual nails themselves stay as is! Your nails look perfect anyways, what the heck would they need to photoshop? The great thing about nail art is it's accessible - it doesn't need to be presented in an artificial, photoshopped way. Good for you!

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  26. I'm sorry you lost the job, but I think it's great you stand to your principles.

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  27. Good for you! I'm sure they needed you much more than you needed them! It's their loss! :D

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  28. I couldn't agree more with your principles and good for you. I am sorry you had to go through that. a lot of the photoshopped nail ads really look obvious and turns me off completely to the product. I hope better jobs come your way in the new year.

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    1. Totally agree, I hate seeing obviously photoshopped nails.

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  29. Good for you!! It's awesome when people stand up for what they believe in.

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  30. I would have done the same. Kudos!

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  31. I'm glad you stopped them from doing that. We really do need to get away from all this photoshopping nonsense

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  32. I applaud you for sticking to your principles, even if it cost you the job. The way I see it, if you didn't get this opportunity, it only means there is a better one coming down the road.

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  33. Good for you! Your nail art is amazing anyway, I don't see why it would need to be photoshopped! I also retouch my skin occasionally but I'd NEVER photoshop my actual nails or a design!
    Good on you :)

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  34. Bravo to you for keeping it real. And boo to them for false advertising, and when you alter a photo like it seems they wanted is so dishonest. I'm happy to hear you did not sell out. Too bad I don't know which businesses practice this as I would not purchase their products or support their industry at all. And also kudos to you for not naming them and that shows real professionalism and integrity on your part.

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  35. Just like everyone else said, good for you on standing your ground! Everything should have been in the contract and it wasn't. It's their loss <3

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  36. You're extra amazing for sticking to your own principles on this one. Not everyone would have been able to make the decision that you made and I applaud you for it!

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  37. People need to see real things that they can achieve on their own. Not fake things they'd need photoshop for. I agree with you and respect your decision. Keep doing what you're doing, and I'm sure another door with a better opportunity will open for you!

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  38. I'm sorry you lost the deal but thank you for standing up for what you believe in!

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  39. We need to read more life experiences like yours. You are an example to follow. Very few stick to their principles and show such integrity as you. Heads up!!!! You have taken the best decision. Lots of hugs!!!!

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  40. thanks for standing up for what you believe in! Sorry you lost the job.. but really, it's a good reason so I'm not that sorry :P Personally, I'm entirely sick of everything being Photoshopped. I'm sick of a lot of our standards in the media, so I'm glad to hear about someone among us standing up for what's right. Thank you!

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  41. Yeah, fixing up dry cuticles and such is one thing, but altering designs so that they are basically unachievable by anyone (even you!) is insanity and not what we want to see. People appreciate seeing REAL nail art, done by a REAL person. That is why so many people rely on bloggers instead of ads; they know that they (for the most part) will be getting the real deal. I'm proud of you for standing up for the things that are important to you Victoria! Besides, your nail art frickin' rocks, so what they hell would they be photoshopping anyways!? You nail art fool ;-)
    <3

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  42. Sorry you lost the job, but you still did the right thing: your nail art doesn't need any photoshop! I am too guilty of photoshopping away rebel cuticles and hand imperfections, but I never ever touch the nail part with my Ps tools: even the imperfections are part of what I created, and I'll show them.

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  43. Sorry that you lost the job but the fact that you have the integrity to stand by your nail art is something to be proud of.

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  44. Wait that sounded weird. I understand why you wouldn't want to agree! Not that they "fired" you!

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  45. I'm very sorry you lost the job but I think you were right standing up for what you feel is right! :-)

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  46. I did a rant on my blog about this. I had no idea that some of the blogs out there photoshop their cuticles and polish lines etc. personally I'm against all photoshopping. But if someone wants to do it, I feel that there should be a disclaimer stating this has been done. I was really crushed when I learned that some f my fave blogs were doing this and my thought process was with practice, I could make my nails look like theirs. Well there is no competing with computers. It really floored me. I'm glad you stuck to your beliefs and refused this opportunity but I wonder what exactly they wanted to fix? Was it really something that much worse that what you already admit to doing now?

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  47. I'm sorry you lost the job, but I completely support you. I don't want to see photoshopped nails I want to see what others can do and what I can try to recreate.

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