There have been many times a client might tell me, after seeing the images I made for them, "but it doesn't look like me".  

Typically, I had felt as I had done something wrong.  I always seek to have my clients thrilled with their images so I assume they are telling me they don't like them.  I have been trying to get the answers as to how or why they think it doesn't look like them.  This happened to me on a few occassions and most recently my client seemed to think the same thing and want the images unedited.  Typically, my editing process consists of some color corrections, fix flyaway hairs, and some skin softening.  Adjusting light or shadows and some sharpening in some areas.  So when they say it doesn't look like me, I couldn't help but ponder, what am I doing wrong? Even without editing my clients still looked the same, at least to me.  I found out it wasn't that I was making them look bad, the images they thought looked too "good". However, isn't that my job?  I have even had men tell me, you make me look GREAT!  I love that response tho.  Not when a client is disappointed.

It struck me today, while this may not always be the case but in some cases it is.  One is, I shoot to flatter a person. I typically find his or her best look/side.  I even think of lighting when I do this.  Depending on skin type and body shapes I light my clients differently.  I might even pose them differently.  Then I do some basic retouching as mentioned above.  The other is that they don't see themselves the way I do.  I may see them differently so I photograph them that way.  There was a very good example of this done by Dove back a few years ago.  Women were asked to describe themselves to an artist (who couldn't see them) so that he could draw them.  Then a stranger would describe that person to the artist and he again would draw them....the results..NOT the same. 

Check out the video and let me know what you think in the comments below.

https://youtu.be/XpaOjMXyJGk