The (Gorgeous) Antidote To Photo Filter Overload

Just a few years ago, it seemed like utter wizardry that you could get rid of red-eye with the click of a mouse (and a photo-editing program you downloaded onto your computer). These days, you’ve got a million different filters to choose from that immediately erase zits, even out skin tone, and create the overall look of a character in a Godard film. (You, just hazier.) And, while ubiquitous filtering has changed the expectations of how stylized our run-of-the-mill portraits need to be, anything that takes a half-second to do is just a ‘gram — it’s not quite art.

What is undeniably art is The Push Pose, a collaborative portraiture project between creative director Emma Fletcher and photographer Tamara Schlesinger. Featuring the women you’ve been harboring not-so-secret heart-eyes for, The Push Pose takes original photos of these babes and does them over in beautiful, imaginative ways. Says Fletcher, "[We photograph] the subject freely without strongly adhering to a particular concept. The photographs are then transformed in processes through painting, folding, or collaging.”

The results are stunning, from the women involved, to the personalities featured, to the incredible amount of detail and care put into turning these photos into something beyond a 2-D snap. Some things are just a little too jaw-droppy to accurately describe without resorting to emoji. Read on to see some of the women featured and the “filters” applied, but please note before trying at home: This kind of craft takes more than just your iPhone.