I tend not to be that interested in celebrities and their shenanigans
But I know there are a lot of kids out there
That read these magazines
That look up to these celebrities
And try to emulate their style
And want to use the same products
Photoshopping seems to be rampant these days
A slang term that is used to describe any image that has been digitally altered or manipulated
And boy do the magazines and ads like to use it
I guess we have all been there
Looked at a photos of a celebrity or model in a magazine
And literally wanted to be them and look like them
Their flawless and radiant skin
Perfectly coiffed hair
Endlessly long legs
Not a stretch mark or blemish in sight
It can be really depressing
And we inevitably compare ourselves
We for get that these images are photoshopped
Changed
Manipulated to within an inch of their lives
This image is pretty famous
There is just no way, no how that the proportions of this girls body can be real
Look at her legs
He waist
Her teeny tiny arms
And we are supposed to emulate this?
It's physically impossible
Both photos are of the same woman
With 50 pounds shaved off the first photo
In 1989
Oprah Winfrey graced the cover of TV Guide
This was before there was photoshop
So photos had to be manipulated the old fashioned was
Oprah's head was pasted on to Anne Margaret's body
Without either of their permission
This photo of Kate Winslet was taken in 2009
She was outraged when British GQ slimmed her down without her permission
Apart from the fact that Kate appreciates her own natural body
You can actually see her real reflection in the mirror behind her
Rookie mistake
In March 2009
A mistakenly unretouched version of this Kim Kardashian photograph appeared on the Complex magazine web site
When it was replaced by the retouched version later on
There was uproar
In 2011 Rolling Stone published this vamped up version of Katie Perry's photograph
Here they seem to have smoothed her skin
And increased her bust size
But to me this photo doesn't look a whole lot different
And I don't see why they had to photoshop it
She looks amazing before she was retouched
In 2005 Dove launched their campaign for their firming lotions
The campaign was fronted by ads with 'real' women of various sizes, shapes and ethnicities
In order to 'change the way society views beauty'
And to 'provoke discussion and debate ' about public perceptions of beauty
The campaign was sullied when a prominent photo retoucher told The New Yorker about about the challenges if doctoring the women to make them look real but no unattractive
Public outcry did much damage to the ads
These are just some of the images that have made the headlines over the years
It seems that us girls are expected to be perfect
And real bodies are not acceptable
Perfection is the goal
And it's am impossible goal
What do you think about photoshopping?
These are all so sad to see. I headdesk-ed at Kate Winslet's one though. Really, she shows her body proudly in a lot of movies, who do they think they were fooling?!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a young teen, I used to buy those typical girls magazines. I remember, one month they started putting little disclaimers next to the photos of the models, saying 'reality check!', and that they were photoshopped and didn't really look like that. Surely it'd have been easier (and better for a young girl's confidence) to maybe NOT photoshop them beyond recognition in the first place? I understand touching up photos is part of it, but most of them go way too far.
A little off topic, but I've actually read some interesting things recently about photoshopping underweight, unwell models to look healthier. They smooth out the bones and use all these little tricks to make them look like you can be that thin and skip all the flaws that come with it.
Okay, here's a couple of articles on it. See the difference?
http://jezebel.com/5947061/karlie-kloss-loses-her-ribs-to-numero
http://www.mamamia.com.au/wellbeing/should-magazines-use-photoshop-to-make-models-look-fatter/
"Most consumers seem to accept the idea that models are skinny. But they don't like to be confronted with images that show the consequences of being that skinny in a realistic way. They want the bones airbrushed out. It lets them off the hook."
That's basically it. Anyway, I thought you might find it interesting.
xxxx
P.S, Miss Eloise is okay. She's not been posting much but I see her around on FB.
Deletexx
Oh thanks Bella
DeleteI will definitely check them out
I'm glad she is ok
I wonder why she isn't blogging these days? x
Nowadays I always assume that any photo in a mag or and ad is photoshopped. That is sad. Not only for the message it sends everyone, especially young girls, seeing it, but also for the poor model who probably looks pretty damn good anyway.
ReplyDeleteI know CP
DeleteI think the models look amazing before they are retouched
In my opinion a lot of them don't need to be photoshopped x
I wonder with some of the models and celebrities if their confidence ever takes a dice because their photo was retouched. If I ever became famous - however unlikely that will be - I wouldn't want my images retouched and would be offended if they were. I also wonder why more models etc don't ask them to stop retouching their photos
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deletemodels have no say in the choosing or even - gasp!- editing pictures (where would be come to if they had? that is not what they are payed for!!!).
Deleteimages have been retouched back in 1940s already (marlene d. e.g. and she loved it, sternbergs lighting made her famous.. )
and if you just take lighting ... if one is shot in harsh light and/or in perfect studio lighting.. you would not recognize the same person! it is a business. If models looked like the women in the silly dove campaign (who uses images manipulation as well) why should that make any money? beauty is rarity. Advertising is selling lies. buy into it or dont.
i personally still need dreams and illusions. i loathe the banal and the everyday. I regard photoshpo as normal, and at the same time i am aware that this isn't real. but beauty isn't what you guys think real is. beauty is a lie, a moment, a fleeting, passing moment. regardless.
x
Honestly, I always assumed pictures were photoshopped. It's part of why I never really aspired to look like models in magazines. (this is going to sound awful) I don't think of them as real people when I see them in photos because I know they don't look like that. If it's not photoshop, I know models have so much makeup on and have professionals do their hair.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me think that when I got my photos taken for the yearbook when I was a senior in high school, the photographer actually edited the photos. Not making anyone thinner, but making people's faces clearer or changing colors a bit to make it look better. I think mostly to encourage people to pay for the photos (I didn't end up buying mine). It's definitely not just magazines. I think a lot of professional photographers do it so they can charge more. I've admittedly done the same thing to photos of myself. I almost never post pictures on facebook without messing with contrast and color and even making pimples disappear. I guess doing that to my own pictures never bothered me, but I wouldn't want someone to do it without asking.
totally agree with this "I always assumed pictures were photoshopped", funny (maybe because I worked as a photographer) i never photoshop my own, but of course i try to have good lighting (so where is the line?) and on blogger all of them are webcam pics. its the way things are. i do not believe in images depicting "reality" (what ever that is, surely it is philosophically very disputable that only one concept of it should exist) .ever. full stop.
Delete*raises hand* Yep, that's me. Guilty as charged. I'm one of those kids.
ReplyDeleteI know they're photoshopped...but still, I'd do most things - if not anything - to be that thin.
I don't like photoshopping unless it's for fun (I dye my hair in photoshop sometimes for fun) but they do what they do.
Love,
Christie
Me being a graphic designer, I am all-too-familiar with Photoshop and the art of having to manipulate a photo according to a clients demands. I strongly feel very opposed to all drain a photo when there is no need to. I believe that any human, male or female, child or adult should be left naturally. People wonder why we have the disorders that we have. People question why we look at photos of these celebrities and question why we do not look "flawless" as they do. Funny because they are not as flawless as they are portrayed in these magazines.
ReplyDeleteScars, blemishes, stretch marks, and many other flaws, they are human just like us. People need to wake up and see that this photos are not real. They're not reality. I know that it is easier said than done, but we need to except ourselves for who we truly are. And believe me, I should take my own advice but I do know that it is hard to be excepting when we are faced with these images every day.