Photographer Steven Burton Photoshops Out Ex-Gang Members Tattoos

For his latest project “Skin Deep”, photographer Steven Burton captured powerful portraits of heavily tattooed ex-gang members and digitally removed their tattooes using Photoshop.

More info: Steven Burton, Instagram, Facebook, Kickstarter (h/t: photogrist)

“The concept came to me when I watched the homeboys going through the tattoo removal process,” Steven says.

He spent two years and over 400 hours in Photoshop removing tattoos that covered former LA gang members.

“When I started Skin Deep I had a simple concept: take portraits of heavily tattooed ex-gang members and remove the tattoos using digital re-touching to create before and after portraits,” Steven says on his Kickstarter page. “Most of the homeboys/girls hadn’t seen themselves without tattoos for decades, so during the interviews, I presented the images. There was a deep emotional response by the subjects.“