Listen to Part 1 of our conversation

Meet Our Guest Erika Barker
My unique photojournalism style is now incorporated into my studio, commercial, and fashion photography shoots. I never capture a posed reaction; I always capture something natural, and wonderful. I find true beauty comes in short burst, and it is my job to capture the split second reaction. Everyone has a natural elegance, and beauty. Sometimes it’s hidden, but I always find a way to bring it out of people with humor, honesty, and passion.

Today we get into the deeps of retouching, talk with Erika about the gear she is using and which software allows her to create and finish up her images.
Times Are Changing
We have grown into a society that has to be more knowledgeable about technology than ever before. We are digital natives and what is expected of us is different from what was expected of people just 10 years ago.

The more we get away from manual labor the more we have to evolve into a creative mindset and not only understand the current technology but also where it came from. In the future, we are going to get paid to think and less to work. We are going to be problem solvers.

Everything has become more advanced. This is also true for retouching. We came from working with film where it was quite a delicate process but also quite limited with what you could do with techniques like dodging and burning. Nowadays everything has gotten more refined. Some tasks can easily be handled by software and filters but at the same time, the manual part of retouching has become more demanding than ever before. Today, high-quality images are expected to look like they were not touched up. It requires a huge amount of skill, effort, and continuous training to keep up with these demands.
Your creative decisions will be more valuable than ever before
Art is so subjective. While AI is constantly growing and evolving, there are certain tasks and creative decisions only humans can make.  So, AI probably can never understand how to problem solve from a subjective, organic perspective (so we hope).

However, we fear of the general public losing their teste. Similar to what has happened in the music industry in the recent years. For that reason, we have to keep pushing good and high-quality work.
On Responsibility In The Beauty And Fashion Industry
Retouching is a big part of marketing. It helps people to envision an idealistic product. At the same time, we have a responsibility to keep things real and honest while maintaining a company's or brand's vision.

Erika believes, governments often rush to creating laws without having a precise idea if the outcome will help or maybe harm the industry or the intention of the law itself.

A more prominent factor is often is the influence of girls to each other. Governments should probably spend more time spending on educating children on a healthy diet than spending money on pursuing images to be credited as being retouched. We have to collectively develop a healthy mindset. Companies will follow what we decide is desirable.

Our children's upbringing can play a huge role in that. Do we strengthen young human's self-image to overcome their insecurities so they feel comfortable without having to put tons of makeup on? Can they accept to be and to look different from the girl/boy next to each other or are we raising a generation that is mimicking the insta trends just to become one in a million because of their insecurities and lack of self-esteem?
Being Tech Savvy
It's OK to be tech savvy!
Erika takes proud in having a beefy workstation. She eventually switched from using Macs to PC because she can build her own workstation to the specs she needs.