no need for retouchers in a pandemic

At first, lockdown simply meant retouching from home, at a temporary, super-uncomfortable workstation. Work kept things kind of normal for a bit longer. But then news and stats got scarier and scarier and all backlog got exhausted. I started to ask myself if being a retoucher wasn't kind of useless in a pandemic. Spoiler alert, well yes.

I wondered: should I still be a retoucher after the pandemic? Does the world need retouchers at all? And after a lot of thought, I realised that retouching is like washing up a pile of dishes after cooking a big meal. People may love to cook but usually, they do not like to clean afterward. It's a tough job but somebody's got to do it. For what concerns me, I have a passion for washing up your dirty dishes in Photoshop so bring it on. YEAH OKAY WHATEVER, you are thinking–But does the world need retouchers, yes or no? Well, people do it, need it, or need it not. They'll still do it, with or without me. So it's better I do it too as I hope with time the overly retouched stuff that still rules our media will be extinct.

Is it fundamental? No, not as much as a doctor, definitely. But still, I am sure doctors love art, literature, fashion, bejeweled 1-2-3 and twist edition, the muppets, sour cherry flavoured candies and instagram pages entirely dedicated to raccoons, so what? We need all of these things (especially the last one). We all do what we know, the best that we can –and try to be useful... As useful as we can be in our little world.

Ah and of course donate money to organisations doing things objectively, slightly more fundamental than the ones you do. And like, pay taxes to help sustain the doctors and nurses we clapped for. That'd be a bonus on top of all of the aforementioned fluff.