Truth Serum Episode #6: How Photoshop Is Destroying Our Self-Image And How To Heal It

Hello and welcome everyone to another episode of Truth Serum.

My name is Melissa Binkley and I am your host and today we're going to share with you your daily dose of truth,

Debunking BS realities and illusions that we have subscribed to.

My mission is to show you how to transform your life and business by bridging science and spirituality and debunking the current belief systems that have us all trapped so that we can learn to walk the path of surrender and grace instead of fear and control.

It is time to raise social,

Sustainable,

Conscious awareness and spirituality and create a conscious revolution.

We need more leaders like you,

Healers,

Creatives,

Artists,

Light workers,

Highly sensitive coaches and speakers to really live their purpose,

Tap into intuitive intelligence and create global impact with their mission.

Through connecting with amazing leaders like the one I have today,

We'll reach 1 billion and create a shift in the world,

Creating love leaders.

Today we welcome love leader,

Mira Zaki.

Hi,

Welcome.

Mira is a Seattle-born Manhattan-based globally traveling photographer.

Can't wait to talk about this.

Soon to be author and all the time psychic,

Intuitive,

Empath.

When her dream started coming true at age eight,

She simultaneously picked up a camera for the first time and found her easiest,

Most true expression.

The combination of her spiritual abilities and having a camera to tell a story with led to a healing for the people in front of her camera.

Her mission is to help heal and empower through her camera,

To share your true divine essence and to share the beauty of the world around us.

Her degree in commercial advertising photography from Brooks Institute of Photography helped her to perfect her unique abilities as a photographer into an artist who raised expertise and professionalism and her intuitive magic.

She's got all my good words,

Intuitive.

Mira has been dedicated to her mission of empowering women through her photo shoes and to share the way she sees people in their higher selves,

Remarkable humans with no need for Photoshop.

I think I know where we're going today.

She will continue this mission to help untangle the old narrative and myth of unachievable perfection that who we are is not acceptable by society.

Wow.

Welcome to the show.

Thank you.

You speak so well.

That was like such a beautiful introduction.

Thank you.

Well,

That's my gift.

That's the voice.

Yes.

So I am really excited to talk to you today,

Mira.

We have been in the same groups for a while.

We got to have an amazing lunch together.

Very briefly we visited California.

And I want you to share with the audience,

What is your shot of truth serum?

What BS reality do you want to debunk or demystify?

I really want to demystify photography versus Photoshop because Photoshop is one gigantic lie that is really paralyzing a lot of women to this day,

To myself,

Even very recently.

I'll take a look at something.

I have a bachelor's degree in photography.

I still will look at something and go,

Oh,

Wait,

Wait,

Nope.

That's not the truth.

That's not reality.

So there's a lot of old stories here.

There's a lot of untangling that we need to do around image,

About body image and perfection and what is actually real.

So today on truth serum,

We're going to be talking about the truth of photography.

It's not what you think it is.

When you're looking at magazines,

When you're looking at newspapers,

When you're seeing things on TV and you think that that's real and that's reality,

Well,

Guess what?

It's BS.

And today we're going to talk about that.

So I want to know,

Mira,

How did you come to this truth in your life?

Tell me about your story or your masterpiece,

The lesson or trial that really got you into learning this truth for yourself and for the mission,

Your mission in the world.

You know,

They always say that you learn what you have to teach.

So my own spiritual path involved a lot of examination and a lot of introspection about myself,

My beliefs,

My truth.

And developing that is how I am now able to stand here and so firmly,

You know,

Say,

Guess what?

That's bullshit.

You know,

This is incorrect.

This is not accurate.

And a lot of that came from having just a lot of health issues,

Learning how to even listen to my own body and listen to my own rhythm and understand that I am not a magazine.

I'm a human being that's unique and I have my own way of functioning and my own needs.

Like I was a vegetarian for about eight years and it really,

I wasn't listening to my body.

It wasn't helpful for me.

So having gone through several health challenges and just expanding as a person and doing personal development work,

I started to really figure out what did I actually believe without outside influence?

And that's really a challenge.

You really have to,

You know,

Haven't been there yet,

But I think you really kind of have to go to India as you did and like get away from all of that noise and all of the input.

And to get really quiet within yourself to figure out what you actually really believe,

What the truth is for you.

Yeah.

And you know,

Talking about the BS of photography and Photoshop and finding your truth in that,

Kind of my path was that same way and finding out how much BS there was in the world of photography and Photoshop and things,

Because I was a fitness and figure competitor.

I had major body image issues.

I had eating disorders.

I had all of it.

And when I was looking at,

And so this is what I found out from being in fitness and figure competing was I would look at these magazine,

Shape magazine and spend a fitness and oxygen.

I would see these beautiful women on the front and I would be like,

I got,

I want to be like that.

I want to have that body.

And I,

Um,

Spent years,

Years after I got out of the eating disorder,

I spent years on the other end,

Exercising 40 hours a week,

Got my place to my place to,

Uh,

My body to a place where I looked like that and then realize how sick I actually was and the whole industry,

How sick everyone was.

And then finding out on top of that,

That not only was I that perfect,

According to that standing on stage,

They were still photoshopping the fricking pictures,

But they're putting things on top of it,

Um,

And,

And doing this,

Uh,

You know,

Throughout and it's an unachievable,

Achievable experience.

And I actually got back into having an eating disorder again while competing because I,

You know,

Because I had had such a,

Such a bad,

You know,

This experience of one and it was all because of this,

This idea of perfectionism that is being portrayed,

Um,

To everybody from,

You know,

Through three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven years old,

Eight years old,

10 year olds want to be on diets now.

Right.

And I think the photography and the Photoshop is a big part of that.

Yeah.

I'm so sorry you had to go through that.

It's so,

It's so debilitating on,

On every possible level,

Not just on a lifestyle level,

But it just,

You feel like you're not even human,

You know,

And for women,

It's like,

We feel like we can't,

We need to be invisible in order to be heard,

Which is ridiculous.

So it's like the quieter and the smaller I can get,

You know,

The more that people will listen to me and that's,

That's just absurd.

Yeah,

Absolutely.

So,

Um,

Getting into this,

Uh,

In talking about how,

You know,

How you came to your truth and,

And,

And really started experiencing that you are a photographer and,

Uh,

You know,

I know this feeds into your mission in life.

So I would love for you to share with everyone.

I know I gave a great introduction,

But really share with them about how this idea behind Photoshop feeds into your mission in life and what you're doing in the world with your photography because it's,

To me,

It's fascinating and I'm,

And I love your take on photography and what you're doing that not a lot of people out there are doing at all.

Yeah,

Thank you.

I think it's really common to,

Um,

Uh,

Like become a brand,

Right?

So as entrepreneurs,

There's,

It's really common to have like a photo with your laptop to express entrepreneurship and maybe you're in a beautiful location.

And I find that just extremely limiting because we're fascinating as human beings.

We have so many experiences and so much richness in our lives to share.

So there's kind of this weird thing happening where it's,

It's a bit of a trend to have these really gorgeous destination photos that aren't really your personal brand.

So,

Um,

My approach has always kind of been unique.

I'm just,

It's just not my personality.

Um,

But I,

You know,

The,

All of the intuition and all of the psychic information comes through whenever I meet someone,

I can read their energy,

I can feel,

Um,

You know,

Things that are present with them.

And I incorporate that into my photography.

I didn't actually have a way of articulating that before,

But that's why my work is standout and it's really colorful and emotional and unique because it's a story.

I've been a storyteller my whole life,

But without saying a word.

So that's really how those two things kind of overlapped.

And to be able to share who we are as people,

Cause I believe that our,

Our businesses,

Our brands are really ourselves,

Not necessarily exactly what we do.

That should be included.

Absolutely.

And it's,

It's really,

Um,

It's lovely to be able to capture someone's higher self or to show them what I see.

And I always kind of joke,

But thank goodness there's cameras cause I can't draw.

I can't be like,

This is how I see you.

I'm really grateful that there's this medium for me to be able to share how I see things.

That's just how I experienced the world and how I experienced people.

And I just want to share that with them.

I want to share their divinity with them because it's,

It's incredible.

It's really remarkable.

The fact that you're saying connecting,

You're taking pictures of their higher self,

Right?

Like that,

That's where I find it's the uniqueness of what you're doing.

There's a couple of things that I find unique,

But one of it is that you're literally bringing out their divine,

That divinity,

That,

That higher self in the pictures and having that experience and then something else that you do that I find to be incredible and fascinating was,

So after all of my years of,

You know,

The trauma of watching the,

You know,

The Photoshop and the photography and everything,

When I did my first conference in 2014,

I had all of these nude pictures done and with this,

With this photographer before I knew you.

And what I told her was,

As I said,

Do not Photoshop a single picture.

She says,

You don't want them Photoshop.

I said,

Absolutely not.

Do not Photoshop them because I want people to see what real beauty is in the body,

Just the way that it looks.

And I use those pictures in those,

Their artistic nudes and through all of my marketing and at the event,

It was called the pure body love conference.

It was my first annual event.

And you know,

It,

There was a power in not having that Photoshop.

And that's something that you do also.

You're the first person,

First photographer that I've met that stands in this space.

Like you're picturing that you're taking pictures of the higher self and then you're not Photoshopping this shit.

Like you're like,

You know,

You're giving the,

I mean,

We're not talking like a blemish.

Okay.

But I'm talking about like,

You know,

Fixing or changing people's bodies or,

You know,

Taking things out.

You don't do that.

So let's talk about that a little bit because for me,

I find that so powerful.

Thank you.

I,

I just really don't have to,

You know,

It's,

It's my way of working,

But it's also that there are technical things that you can do with your lighting that are complimentary.

It's not shifting in the way that Photoshop is,

But there's,

It was very legitimate like geometry.

There's symmetry to some people's faces.

There are things that are more pleasing and that's where my education comes in.

So I studied for three years learning the technical part of photography where,

You know,

The lighting and the angles and the things that are pleasing.

And then the combination of my intuition and my like very empath,

You know,

Empathetic humanity of like,

Let's grab that.

Let's capitalize on that moment.

Let's let's like laugh and let's take that moment.

Cause that's so real.

And that doesn't need any bullshit Photoshop.

I'm not supposed to curse.

This is a podcast.

There's lots of cursing going on.

Yeah.

So I just,

I think that there's something really beautiful in it's healing for people.

I have people who just,

They cry when they get to set or when they've had all of my crew around them,

Bringing out the best of them.

You know,

Some people choose makeup,

Some people don't.

That's a very personal decision.

I support whatever is,

You know,

Feels good to you.

Cause for some people they love luxury.

I'm one of those people,

They love textures and they love that feeling of like,

Here's your own magazine shoot,

But in a really honest way and in a celebratory transformative healing way.

So it's really just my training.

Like I,

I've been studying photography my entire life.

Like I was just talking about it to a friend yesterday since I was in sixth grade,

I learned Photoshop before there was no Photoshop,

But we used to come with an exacto knife.

You know,

And age any of us here,

But you know,

It's okay.

She's been doing this for a while,

Just to say.

Yeah.

But you know,

I was like the teacher's assistant in high school.

I learned,

I learned on film,

Which also is a very humbling lesson because it's very expensive when you mess up.

Learning on film and having to actually understand lighting and composition and technique was incredible foundation for me to then take that knowledge,

Add my creativity and put them together.

Wow.

Amazing.

So I didn't even know that.

So,

You know,

I don't know a lot about photography or how it works,

Although it's funny.

My daughter's a photographer and my girlfriend's a photographer.

So I like have all these photographers in my life and I know nothing about it.

My daughter was actually on the phone.

The two of them were talking the other night and she's like,

Mom,

You're the worst photographer in the world.

She's like,

I can remember you always cut off my head.

And there's my mom or something or the thirds.

And I'm like,

Why didn't you teach me that?

Like mom,

I was just trying to keep you from cutting my head off in a picture.

So I don't understand,

You know,

A lot about the photography.

So I didn't even know that there's a way that you could use lighting to do that kind of stuff.

So why do you think the media and the industry and everybody out there,

What's the deal with Photoshop?

Why are they all using it?

And what's happening?

I think it's just,

It's an old story and it's a standard.

You know,

We don't like other,

We don't like things that are different.

So since it's like,

It's sort of just an agreement,

You know,

It's like,

We've all agreed upon money,

Right?

So they've all agreed upon editorial standards for covers.

You might not find the same intensity of Photoshop in the magazine,

But the cover will always,

You know,

Get you and really hit at your very emotional pain points for,

Look,

It's advertising.

They're trying to sell something.

Yeah,

Yeah.

And it's,

And they're trying to sell something that's not real,

Right?

Exactly.

They're trying to sell a,

It was fascinating.

I read an article one time and they went to like 10 different countries around the world and they had a photographer and a sketch artist,

You know,

Pick the ideal woman from their society.

Yes,

I saw that.

It was a wide range of body types and styles from some with big boobs to some with big butts to like tiny little skinny to short,

Like,

I mean,

It was amazing.

And then when I saw that diversity over all of that,

I was,

I was in awe of,

You know,

So the people in those countries are Photoshopping stuff to look more like,

Like,

So if I'm a stick figure and I want to go model in Columbia where they want big butts,

So they're putting me on the front of the magazine and adding Photoshop,

Adding a little butt to me,

Right?

Or they take the big person and send them to Japan and they want flat,

They're getting small.

It was,

It was incredible to me to see that,

You know,

With Photoshop and photography,

These were leading into selling a certain type of image in society.

And you know,

And so for me,

The part of the,

You know,

The spiritual truth of this and like walking in surrender is how do we finally come to a place where we can have an experience where everything is acceptable and all is beautiful,

Right?

Like there instead of it being this certain thing in each of these societies is when,

When will we start putting people on the magazine covers or,

Or,

Or open,

Owning up to the absolute diverse beauty that,

That really surrounds us because I think we are trying to homogenize everything and bring this BS to everywhere.

I think it's just a matter of exposure.

We've seen the same thing for majority of us for a lifetime and it's not really,

Really been challenged until,

In my opinion,

Just the past couple of years where we've got Dove doing these real women campaigns and Target for the first time is not Photoshopping their bathing suit ads.

I think the more that we see it,

The more that it becomes familiar and it won't be so separate and other.

So now I kind of actually have the opposite effect now when I saw Ashley Graham on Sports Illustrated,

I thought she looks gorgeous.

And then you looked at her,

They did this lineup with a lot of other women and I'm like,

The other women look very unhealthy,

You know,

No judgment,

But just that she looked the most norm.

You know what I mean?

That was normal to me and I don't even like that word,

But it was just like,

Oh yeah,

Like that's a human being.

She's not this,

You know,

Kind of shadow of an idea of what we're supposed to look like or what we're striving to what we think we're supposed to look like.

Well,

And it's so unhealthy anyways,

Like even with Photoshop for those women to get to that space,

Like the amount of water drop that they do in the dieting.

And so I know I did it for years and you're walking around and when I would walk around in regular society,

I mean I was so like thin looking,

But when you put me in a magazine,

It looked like what everybody wanted you to look like,

But it really wasn't reality at all for what the experience was.

And so it was such a dichotomy and such a different experience of that.

So one of the things that I love about Yemira is that you're an intuitive,

You're an empath,

Like you're deeply connected.

And I know that you use photography to really transform your clients' lives.

So what is your definition of spirituality?

Well,

I've always loved the metaphysical.

I've always kind of been fascinated with,

You know,

That sort of subject and I've been studying it since I was eight years old and I was trying to make sense of what was happening for me.

I think spirituality is really kind of understanding and knowing that we're divine beings and that we are creating our reality.

And there is a very legitimate,

Now backed by science,

Mind,

Body,

Spirit connection.

Ah,

Yep.

Yes.

I didn't need science,

But it helps.

It helps for other people.

It helps all the non-believers out there that are listening to Truth Serum because they need a shot of reality that aren't there yet.

That there is,

There is a definite connection.

And that's why I talk about bridging science and spirituality because there are so many people that are on one side of the fence to the other.

And when we could start to show and bring those things together and see how everything is exactly perfect the way that it is,

And that we've got this connection,

It's really,

Really powerful.

So,

You know,

I found for myself that as I dove deeper into spirituality and really the truth of the world and started to see things when I started breaking down the realities that I was doing,

And transforming my life,

You know,

That I kept coming to all these different things and these different things that worked for me.

And when I talk to other people,

You know,

What is a ritual or a practice or a thing,

Something that you can't live without?

Like the five minute solution for somebody that's trying to transform their life and they think they have to do everything,

They get overwhelmed,

And they need a complete overhaul.

I believe we have like small little steps,

Right?

So what's your suggestion for that first small little step for our audience for somebody that's really trying to take that first step?

So I have a shower playlist.

I love to sing,

But I'm not a trained singer or a musician.

Singing is so healing and so is music.

It's very transformative.

It's really,

Really beautiful medicine.

So I'll sing in the shower whilst water is also very healing.

It's the most receptive of all the elements.

So kind of like expression with that combination of water is very powerful for me.

It can change my whole day.

Wow.

I love to sing in the shower.

I'm a canary,

But you just do it because I never really thought of it in that kind of aspect of,

You know,

As a healing kind of ritual.

So how often do you sing in the shower?

I try to do every day.

I don't always remember and also I get,

I need to update my playlist cause I specifically chose things that involve like,

You know,

Extending notes and things that really get the vibration going.

There are songs that I just like can't not sing.

I try every day.

I don't,

But I sang outside of the shower today.

I sing,

So I am the same way.

I was actually,

My girlfriend and I were driving up to the Sierra,

Sierra Nevada.

And on the way back I'm singing my heart out.

So I don't know I'm saying in the wrong words.

She starts dying laughing.

She's like,

She's like,

You have so much joy for the world that you just say.

And I said,

Yeah,

That's what it is for me.

Singing is just joyful in this experience.

So I'm doing it.

I do it all the time.

I dance in my living room and I sing and once in a while in the shower,

But I think I'm going to do more showers.

Do you,

Do you have like one of those,

Like the bathroom radios that like is in your shower or?

No,

I wish I just use my phone.

Oh yeah.

Well see me,

I'd end up with the phone in the shower and then it would be,

I'm always trying to overdo things.

I'm like,

Oh,

Let me do this.

I understand.

It's a very legitimate,

It's a vibration.

You know,

I,

I know that I personally respond very strongly to sound,

To hear it sound healing,

To music,

To the vibration of sound.

So I try to involve myself in that in whatever way possible,

Whether it means like going to find,

You know,

Singing bowl events or singing or literally having the dance party.

It shifts your vibration.

It actually changes your,

The frequency of your vibration.

Yeah.

Awesome.

So Mira,

What's up next for you?

What's exciting and new?

What are you at,

What are you excited about in creating?

I know that you're a big world,

You know,

You love to travel and you know,

You do this incredible photography and work with,

You work with,

You know,

Amazing entrepreneurs and you're doing some really cool stuff.

So share a little bit about where you're going and what's up next.

Yeah.

Lots of cool things are happening here.

So I'm,

I'm the kind of person that has like an idea every second.

So I've just got like journals and journals and journals full of ideas,

But to actually put them together and activate them can take some time.

So I've got a bit of travel coming up,

But I have two new projects I'm working on,

Which is really interesting to me.

So one of them is a motherhood series.

I want to help continue to empower women and to really talk about motherhood.

And it apparently is my first film,

But it's also going to have a photo shoot.

So I'm doing my first film.

This is really thrilling.

Love to have you as part of it.

I believe you're doing,

Going to do it,

Going to film and stuff.

Oh my God.

That's so incredible.

And I would love to be a part of it.

Please.

I need a,

I think that's so interesting.

I was just kind of thinking about for whatever reason,

I was just examining my own feelings about motherhood and my relationship with my mom and how we treat mothers and how much isolation there is and judgment.

Yeah.

I just thought we got to highlight this.

This is the time to not only like have a viral post,

But this needs to become a conversation because this is still,

Mothers are still women.

And I don't know any other further isolation than being a mother.

It's so,

And I'm not a mother,

But my,

My conversations with mothers is like,

Oh my God,

You don't understand how hard it is and how much judgment there is.

Well,

And because nobody's talking about it,

Right?

Like you're trying to be pretending to be perfect or pretending to be in that place or not,

You know,

Not trying to,

There's not the,

In the past,

Not the vulnerability to open up to.

I had postpartum depression.

I had this.

I have a crazy kid that's driving me nuts and it's okay to say that.

Like truth,

Kindness,

Truth.

We did an episode called the truth about being a mother.

So yeah,

I'd like to connect you with that.

Yeah.

So I need as many mothers on earth as possible.

I also think that it's important to talk to,

You know,

Kind of have two sides of things while the focus is to empower and uplift mothers,

But also people who can't have children or people who've chosen to not have children,

There's an equal stigma for your life decisions regarding that.

So so there's,

There will be an accompanying photo shoot and I've already got so many wonderful people lined up.

And I'm really,

Really excited about it.

So and as a non mother,

I think it's,

It's an interesting perspective to you know,

Share with people and be really honest that this is from me who first was unable to have children and then decided not to have children.

Yeah.

So that's one project I've also in order to continue this support and changing the narratives,

I have branding shoots this whole fall,

Which is really exciting.

More women,

More women.

And then also another project I have is a stock photo shoot.

It will also be a very long ongoing series of real people and to kind of like infuse some more reality and more diversity into stock photography at just even my own searches.

Like if you look for concepts like abundance or something that's just really cheesy,

Weird,

Terrible things available.

For the stock photography,

Let me know for our websites.

Like,

I mean,

That's for sure.

Yeah.

That's,

I'm so glad you're doing that.

That's another place where when you're building as an entrepreneur building business,

You don't have certain things for like,

You know,

Blog posts all the time and different things like that.

And we're always looking for stuff and we're like,

Oh yeah.

And then everyone ends up using the same thing cause it's free.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So they're going to be available for purchase like ongoing.

I'm not going to wait until I'm finished because of this may be a lifelong project.

I think that it's really important to have a more accurate representation.

And even though my background is advertising,

I,

It's just not the truth.

Like people want to see a boat.

They want to feel something,

You know,

They want to see something real or interesting or compelling.

So,

So that's what's happening.

Fantastic.

I love it.

Okay.

So I have two more questions for you,

But before I do,

I want you to tell everybody how they find you,

How they connect with you so they can get to your awesome photography or get photographed by you and,

And all of that.

Yeah.

If you're coming through Melissa,

Like say truth serum or something.

So I know,

I know who you are and where you're coming from.

So everything is my name.

It's Mira Zaki,

M I R A Z like zebra,

AKI.

Com.

All of my handles are at Mira Zaki photo,

P H O T O.

So if we aren't connected or there's weird Facebook,

Like,

You know,

Walls,

Just find Melissa and then you can find me.

So everybody,

I want you to go check out Mira Zaki.

Com,

M I R A Z A K I.

Com and really connect with her.

She's incredible.

I'm telling you she's doing some amazing work in the world.

And so now onto our last two questions.

First one is if you could do one thing in this world before you pass to the next realm,

Whether it could be mission related,

It can be business related,

Can be adventure related,

But what's something that you have to do before you leave?

What's on your bliss list?

You know,

It's funny cause the literal first thing that comes to mind is the reason why I'm a photographer.

I want a picture as impactful on the cover of national geographic as the Afghan girl because that's the whole reason I'm a photographer.

So that's my life dream.

Awesome.

Wow.

And that is such an impact.

That's kind of chill.

Me too.

I got tears in my eyes.

So Mira,

A really great answer.

So you're 110 years old,

You're on your death bed and unfortunately none of your family or friends or anybody who could be there with you.

Only person that could be there is one person,

A reporter.

So he comes in,

He stands beside your death bed and he says,

He asked you,

He says,

He's going to write your epilogue and he's going to write your obituary.

He's going to really get your word out to the world.

He says,

If you had one truth that you could leave for all of your friends,

Family and humanity to know,

What would you say?

Do what you love.

Do what you love.

Hell yeah.

Do what you love.

Thank you Mira so much for joining us today for Truth Serum.

You are a shot of truth.

Thank you again.

Thank you so much.

Bye everyone.

See you all in the next episode of Truth Serum.

Bye oh