You struck a nerve here and I hope you don't mind my thoughts.

I've often wondered why photographers edit faces/skin so much. I could be wrong, but it seems like there's been a lot of softening, lightening, and smoothing, almost to where it loses its authenticity. I know that a lot of people do this on dating apps because they're trying to look flawless, but it actually would come across as unrealistic, i.e., trying to fool those swiping. In photography/art, I'd value the natural beauty of someone almost unretouched to see their confidence in themselves and their expressions better. Natural features speak strongly to me for some reason.

In the sense of photography/art, how do you find a balance of subjects being natural and edited? Very nice stuff here. I'm really asking generally.