Let Down

Dear Let Down:
Brio doesn’t seek models. We simply make an assignment to a photographer (usually in North America), and he selects the people he photographs. Oftentimes, these are teens from a nearby youth group.

I’ll ask Brio’s senior designer Sally Dunn to give her input on this:

There’s a difference between touching something up, compositing and model airbrushing. We don’t touch up anything that’s natural. We leave freckles, pimples, shapes, teeth coloring, body sizes, etc.

But the phrase that better describes what we do is “cover up.” Focus on the Family has high standards. If we’re able to do our own photo shoot, we’re in control of everything that happens. But oftentimes, we’re at the mercy of photographs that have already been taken. For instance, we may receive a photo of a girl whose top is a little lower than we’re comfortable with. Because we can’t reshoot the photo, we may raise the top half an inch.

We often remove clothing labels, yellow or red colors caused by the flash, red eyes, flyaway hairs, midriffs or cleavage. We do compositing, meaning we might add a bit of color or texture. Take for example our January cover story on the 2007 Brio Girl and the three runners-up. None of the girls’ bodies or faces were touched up by the computer, but we put together two different photos to make them appear as if the girls were in a cityscape. This is called a visual illustration to communicate what the article is about. Another example was November’s missions trip cover. We took some of the color out and added texture, but we didn’t touch anyone up.

As long as I have been working here, we’ve never touched up a person on the cover to make her look better or look like a model. Again, we don’t touch up a photo to make someone look perfect. We simply use our computer knowledge to represent what we talk about and believe in: modesty, purity, being yourself and loving yourself the way God created in our state of nonperfection.

With that, however, comes a nonperfect staff. We don’t catch every brand name or other mistakes on all the pages. Although we aim and strive to design and write the best quality magazine, mistakes and errors often show that we’re human, too. Bottom line: Just as our editors would edit text for correct grammar, etc., designers edit photography. —Sally

Dear Susie:
I’m a Christian. Is it OK for me to be a vegetarian?

Wondering

Dear Wondering:
That’s your choice. We see examples of vegetarians and meat-eaters in the Bible. You may remember the Old Testament story of Daniel. He refused to eat the food served by the king and instead opted for a veggie diet. And you may also remember the vision God gave Peter in the New Testament, telling him it was OK to eat meat. Just be sure you’re not missing any nutrients your body needs.

Dear Susie:
I want to pursue a career in journalism. I’m not in college yet, but I’m planning for the future. What would I have to do to be able to work for Brio someday?

Writer

Dear Writer:
Take your English classes seriously. And if your school offers journalism or creative writing, try to get into those classes. Also, try to get something published while you’re still in high school. Take a peek at the 2007 Writer’s Market found in the reference section of your local library and consider sending something in for publication to one of the many places listed. There’s also the Christian Writers Market Guide that concentrates on Christian magazines and book publishers.

You may also want to consider participating in the Focus on the Family Institute program during your college years. It’s a one-semester block that gives you college credit. And while you’re here at Focus, you get a chance to be an intern. We’ve hired three former interns as fulltime Brio staffers!