TIB x CASS

An Un-Retouched Vision for Beauty: A Conversation with Cass Michael

We had the incredible privilege of speaking with the renowned beauty photographer, Cass Michael. With her work gracing London Billboards, and pages of Vogue UK Magazine, and being featured in countless campaigns, her work is truly exceptional.

However, what sets her apart from her the rest is not just her insane talent, but her passion to change the way we perceive beauty. Cass champions inclusivity and diversity and is also making it her focus to showcase real, un-retouched beauty.

Cass recognizes the paramount importance of normalizing and representing the limitless nature of beauty in all its forms – from different skin types to varied body sizes, genders, and abilities, and envisions a new beauty landscape. One that celebrates the uniqueness of every individual, and where real skin is left on show. Pores, blemished, textures, all the glory of real skin.

And the reason we’re excited about the movement she’s creating?

Because the implications of incessantly bombarding society with airbrushed and manipulated images are immense, both individually and collectively. Our mental health, self-esteem, and capacity to love and accept ourselves as the inherently beautiful being we are, are being reported to have suffered immeasurably due to this harmful influence. And the saddest part is the effect it’s having on children, who internalize these unattainable beauty standards from a young age.

So hearing and amplifying the voices of incredible people like Cass who firmly believe that now, more than ever, is the time for a radical change means we are one step (or photo) closer to changing this harmful narrative on the current beauty world

So join us in conversation with Cass, as we learn about her journey the motivations behind her work, and the impact she hopes to make in the world.

In what moment did you pick up a camera and decide, YES, this is IT! This is what I want to make a career out of?

Growing up, my Dad was always behind a camera. I got my first little point and shoot digital camera when I was 11 or so and then managed to persuade my parents to get me my first Canon SLR when I was in my early teens. I used to do my friends' makeup (not well!) and ask them to model for me.

It wasn’t until I started travelling and living abroad that I really discovered my passion for swimwear photography, which was actually my initial love. I loved how I was able to make people feel confident and powerful with my images. I actually fell into beauty photography by accident when I moved back home from Australia in 2019. I was struggling with being back in the UK, and felt so unsure about how I was going to restart my career again, and had no idea what I was going to shoot considering how terrible the UK weather can be! I was super lucky to meet some very talented and wonderful people who really encouraged my beauty photography, that I still get to work with!

How has your experience in the beauty industry influenced your personal perception of beauty over time and What kind of impact has this had on you?

I think my experience in the beauty industry has helped me to realise how much of what we see isn’t real. It’s had a positive impact on me in the sense of taking off some of the pressure I had on myself to adhere to certain beauty standards, but it also made me realise how many people are consuming this imagery still not knowing that it’s not real. This is why I try to make it my mission to show real people.

In today's world, where the content we consume is largely visual, how do you feel about filters and AI's influence on beauty standards and people's mental health?

I think they are so damaging. Even to a trained eye, some of these filters are getting harder and harder to detect. It’s going beyond just retouching now, the videos I’ve been seeing showing people altering their faces and bodies while still being able to move around in a frame with these changes are so scary to me. It’s destroying people’s perceptions of beauty and making us question so much about ourselves and how we look.

You're passionate about showcasing diversity and inclusivity with a big focus on non-retouched imagery, in-fact you've been called ‘The Queen of Un- Retouched Beauty’ by your clients. Why is this important to you, and what do you hope to achieve?

I’ve had quite a hard time with my body image and self esteem since my teens. I think it’s something a lot of people have had to deal with, considering the early 2000’s body shaming in magazines, to the current filtered, retouched and ‘perfect’ people we are seeing every time we open our phones. I think it was because of this that I’ve always morally struggled with retouching within my own work. I had always been very strict with my clients and retouchers that I wouldn’t be changing people’s features or bodies and that the retouching would be as natural as possible. I couldn’t stand the thought of contributing to an industry that made me feel so terrible about myself growing up. I couldn’t bear to be passing that on to younger generations. I posted my first unretouched beauty image on my Instagram in 2019 and I finally felt comfortable with my work and felt I finally knew what I wanted to focus on.

We are all so unique, why does so much advertising look the same when there are over 7 billion people on this Earth; so many different skin colours, body sizes, genders, abilities and ages that just aren’t being represented.

How do the models you work with initially react to non-retouched images? Are they nervous, ashamed, or uncomfortable? Is there any piece of coaching you would love to leave other women with around owning who they really are?

It can sometimes be difficult to get a team together to do an unretouched shoot as it’s not always just the models that can be a bit hesitant, even for other creatives in the industry (makeup, hair, etc), retouching is sometimes relied on to fix mistakes or things that they aren’t happy with in their own work. Although some people can be hesitant at first, I have been really lucky to work with so many amazing people that really encourage what I am trying to do.

I could say all these things about loving who we are as we are, but I think until we are consuming more real imagery than altered imagery, it’s going to be a lot harder than it needs to be for that to happen.

Can you share any anecdotes or stories where you witnessed the positive impact of your beauty photography on individuals' self-esteem or their perception of their own beauty? Were there any breakthrough moments where you realised you were doing really powerful, impactful work?

There are actually so many incredible moments that I have on set that make me realise what I’m doing is impactful. My absolute favourite thing is when people see the images that I am taking of them, I can see their confidence growing throughout the shoot and images just get better and better. I love getting reactions like “Wow, I can’t believe that’s me!” and I get to say “Yes!!! And this is you right now, exactly as you are!”. It’s so fulfilling.

Your images are simply sensational! A true testament to how comfortable and at ease you make your subjects feel. What's your secret? (Do you have any pre-shoot rituals or strategies to create a positive atmosphere and ensure your models look and feel their best during the shoots?)

Thank you so much! It’s so so so important to me to make people feel comfortable on set. Photoshoots can be intimidating and confronting places; the lights and camera pick up a lot of detail and there’s so many mirrors around! I always try to make time to sit with my models while they are getting their hair and makeup done so that I can get to know them and they can get to know me as well! I like to ask them whether or not they want to see the images I’m taking as we go (I try and encourage it because usually it really does help people see how amazing they look and boost their confidence!).

I am notoriously bad at being the on-set DJ so I like to try and get the models to pick music they love that will help them feel their best on set. I also check in to make sure they love their hair/makeup/styling and that they are feeling comfortable and their absolute best. I genuinely care so much and get so excited when I get ‘the shot’ so I think that helps too!

What more could be done towards the no retouch natural beauty movement? What would you love to see in terms of policy, big brands, other photographers or even the average consumer? What can we all do on an individual basis?

My absolute dream would be for it to be mandatory to disclose when images or videos have been edited and filtered, whether it’s in ads or even just on social media. I think it would really hit home for a lot of people when they realise how much of what they are seeing has been altered.

I would also obviously love for big brands to not allow retouching in their campaigns. We are absolutely starting to see it more and I hope that continues!
On a personal level, please try to stop using filters and editing yourself in photos. I feel like the more you constantly look at the filtered version of yourself, the more unhappy you become with the real life version. If you follow pages that make you feel bad about yourself, unfollow them. There are so many incredible creators that are making empowering, real content, fill your feeds with that instead!

What would you say to your 15 year old self if she was standing in front of you right now?

This question made me so emotional!!! Imposter syndrome is so real, I have so many days where I feel like I’m never going to make it as a professional photographer, but when I think about the answer to this, I realise that I have and I’m actually making a difference. I’ve achieved more than my insecure 15 year old self would ever believe was possible! I’d just tell her to keep working hard and dream big, we have got this!

Retouching can often be imperceptible to an untrained, impressionable eye. Could you walk us through the post-production steps involved in creating a finished image, so we can better understand the amount of work that goes into it? And let us know what to look out for? Clues that we're looking at a false version of 'perfection'?

I think that it’s a lot easier to tell when an image is un-retouched when it’s compared to all the retouched imagery we are so used to seeing.

The tell tale signs used to be a lack of texture, especially with the skin around the eyes, a very even skin tone, a lack of flyaway hairs and wrinkles. Unfortunately, retouching has come so far, it can be almost undetectable.

There are so many steps that go into a finished retouched image. I think people would really benefit from watching a sped up, start to finish retouching tutorial online. It takes an incredible amount of work and time to create a lot of the images we see in advertising and so much more is altered in them than we realise. I think people would find it shocking.

What aspects of your work bring a smile to your face?

I adore what I do, but my favourite part is really helping people see the beauty in themselves exactly as they are; whether that's the models I work with, or the people that see my images.

Finally, how would you define beauty?

This is the hardest question! Beauty is everywhere and it’s everything, it’s all of us. I think to be beautiful, it doesn’t matter what you look like, it comes down to how you feel.