Even though the project is more casual the need for guidelines is, nonetheless, present. Since the goal is to show female gamers how they are, in an environment they have designed and created for themselves it became necessary to set up a few basic guidelines for the photographers, who are working on this project.

Even though Adobe Photoshop© and similar products can do wonders on post production those “wonders” create an artifical person, a non-existant person, in fact. Blemishes, wrinkles, minor “flaws” are retouched and what is left is airbrushed to a new shiny exterior that is as far away from the original model than possible. While the results are eye-pleasing the message gets lost somewhere in all the retouching.

Since the project wants to send out a message of self-confident, strong, independent women, who are proud of themselves and proud of their rather unusual hobbies, one of the guidelines for photographers is not to re-touch the photo in any way. Post-processing of any kind, that also sets the general style of the photographer (which is why there is more than one photographer for the project) is appreciated and wanted. Removing blemishes, wrinkles etc. is not wanted, since it would change and alter the appearance of the female gamers and sets a message that these things are unattractive and unwanted – which they are not.