Why I've Never Been Comfortable With the Word "Makeover"

Because the best portraits don't change us…
They change the way we see ourselves.

Every now and then, a client looks at the back of my camera, pauses, and says something I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing.

"I never knew I could look like that."

I've heard some version of that so many times over the years. It's usually said with surprise, not excitement. Sometimes there's a silence after. Sometimes a laugh. But there's almost always a pause first.

People tend to assume they're reacting because they've been transformed into someone else.

I've never quite believed that's what's actually happening.

Maybe that's why the word "makeover" has always sat uneasily with me.

It implies you need to become someone different before you're worth photographing. It promises glamour, transformation, a version of you that looks nothing like the one in the mirror. I get the appeal, honestly. We all have days where we wish we looked a bit different... or maybe just a bit more like the version of ourselves we remember being.

I've just never believed that's what a portrait is actually for.

Over the years I've photographed professional and private clients from all kinds of backgrounds… reputable doctors, young entrepreneurs, artists, teachers, a lot of corporate leaders… . and the more time I spend shooting people like them, the more convinced I am that hardly any of them need changing. They are professionals who already spent years, maybe decades becoming who they are. That must have taken them countless long hours, hard decisions and a whole lot of family and social sacrifices to get to where they are.

So, really… the person that I'm photographing already exists. They always have. And I think my job isn't to reinvent them. It's simply to see them better.

In a way, this philosophy also shapes how I conduct my shoots. I still care about styling, of course. I still want to get my lighting, composition, makeup and art prints all perfect… but none of that is really the point. It's just there to remove the distractions, so the person in front of me has a real chance of being seen clearly… perhaps the first time in a long time.

Maybe that's why I almost always create a few portraits that were never part of the original plan. They're often a little more expressive. A little less expected. Not because I'm trying to create something artistic, but because those are usually the time when my clients stop thinking about how they should look and simply become… them. And those, more often than not, end up being the photos they choose to keep or have printed.

But hasn’t that always been the real purpose of a portrait photographer? It was never to introduce others to a new you… It’s always been to showcase you as who you’ve always been.

And maybe that’s why when my clients say "I never knew I could look like that"…They're not actually thinking to themselves like “wow… who’s that?”

Maybe it’s just being able to finally see a different side of them that has always been so overlooked.

As a photographer, I truly feel that’s something beautiful… in being able to offer that to someone..

At the beginning, my slogan The Pursuit of Finer Portraits was about improving all aspects of my craft. Better judgement... Better lighting... Better service… Better retouching. And yes, those things obviously still matter, but somewhere along the way I realised being a finer portrait photographer is really about learning to see people more completely… and maybe in doing so, learn to become a better human being myself… because the best portraits shouldn’t try to change us… They should change the way we see ourselves. No?

— Ejun Low