What’s in style oftentimes changes more frequently than what we’re ready to accept or want. Give up my leggings? Not a chance…yet! However, there are some things that remain classic and will never go out of style. Blue jeans, for example. They’ve been a staple in American fashion since the 19th century! In the photography world there are trends that come and go as well.

Many of these trends have come about with the introduction of digital technology and editing software. It’s so easy to manipulate pixels however you please these days. However, just like with trends in fashion, hairstyles, food, and music, there will always be people who love ’em and others who hate ’em!

I may not be making new friends in the photography world with this blog post but these are just my opinions and while I may feel strongly about them, they are simply my point of view. If you love and currently use any of these trends,just know that there’s no right or wrong way to edit your own images. If you like it and your clients like it then you do you!

Top 5 Cringy Photography Trends

1. Orange Skin
This first one is so trendy right now. I see it everywhere and every time I think, “There’s another Oompa Loompa.” Photographers will bring their shadows down and increase contrast as well as introduce or enhance brown tones in the image to get this look. It reminds me of when sepia tones were in style, another trend that fell by the wayside and now looks very dated. Many photographers describe this as “dark and moody” but when skin tones are orange it’s a no for me. Don’t get me wrong, dark and moody images, when done correctly, can be beautiful but not when people start looking like The Lorax. This trend is demonstrated in the image on the left in the series below.

2. Light and Airy Gone Overboard
This style is again, extremely popular right now with photographers. How they achieve this look is by increasing shadows and exposure, oftentimes blowing out detail and color, leaving images looking very pastel and washed out. This is somewhat of the opposite of dark and moody, being very bright and mostly white, especially skies. You won’t see blue skies and puffy clouds in this type of photography, they’ll be all white. I find this style to be lifeless and boring because it all looks the same to me. I also love color so this style just doesn’t make sense to me. This trend is demonstrated in the image in the middle in the series below.

The image on the right is my editing style. Clean, classic, timeless and true to real color.

3. Selective Color
This one is just plain awful. Imagine a black and white image but with one item in color. Bad. Fortunately, the requests I get to do this are few and far between as time goes on but this was definitely a thing back in the day.

4. Plastic Skin
People have texture in their skin. When you remove that you will look like Barbie, and in the worst way possible. I’m all for softening/retouching wrinkles, but when you completely remove skin texture you end up looking plastic. It’s not believable, it’s just bad.
5. Railroad Tracks
Not only is this dangerous, it’s also illegal. There have been many lives lost due to photographing on railroad tracks. Operation Lifesaver, Inc., a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths on railroad tracks reports that a person or vehicle is struck by a train every three hours in the United States. Just don’t do it!

When working with me you can expect a clean, classic and timeless look to your images that will never go out of style. The photos I create have very true to life colors with accurate skin tones. In other words, the pictures look like real life. My #1 goal is to make imagery that will stand the test of time. It’s like the classic blue jeans of photography.

What do you think about these trends? I’d love to hear! Write a comment below.

And before you leave, if this speaks to you, reach out so we can create something beautiful together that you’ll treasure forever!