Why are models so much better looking than I am?
August 8, 2008
Check out Glenn Feron’s retouching skills. I truly couldn’t look away. No wonder you never see anyone in real life who looks like a magazine model. They don’t even look like themselves. Even Faith Hill is not as hot as… Faith Hill. As a designer who has done her share of retouching, I’m impressed at the technical prowess behind Glenn Feron’s work, but I think good retouching enhances what’s already there, it doesn’t completely revise it.
What do you think? Does this contribute to the low self-esteem of many girls and women (and men)? Or is it acceptable to make people look as good as they can?
I agree - retouching is best when it’s enhanced, not revised. It’s awfully hard to remember that the famous people we’re used to seeing look so beautiful in magazines are actually not that much more attractive than the rest of us in all our un-retouched glory. So yes, it’s acceptable to make people look as good as possible - that’s what we all want! But we should still look like ourselves, and not a sexy cousin of ourselves.
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Comment by Nicki — August 8, 2008 @ 1:02 pm
I’m officially fascinated. I can’t stop looking at the before/after photos.
Comment by TT — August 8, 2008 @ 2:02 pm
You pose a good question. I guess everyone wants to look as good as they possibly can. However, mechanical retouching of photos leads to an unreal image. And I worry about young girls (and boys?) holding themselves up for comparison. It’s an impossible situation that most times leads to disappointment.
Comment by quegal — August 8, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
OMG these images are a TRAINWRECK! Having just recently worked with you on a project that required some photo retouching, I think there’s retouching and there’s retouching. Taking a shadow off a face is one thing, and I’m not sure exactly where the line is, but wherever it is, he’s crossed it with his tanorexic plastic people.
Comment by elizasmom — August 11, 2008 @ 11:50 am
Thanks for your comments Nicki, TT, quegal and elizasmom. And, as always elizasmom, you’ve managed to create an expression that not only perfectly captures the moment, but also made me laugh out loud: tanorexic plastic people. Nice.
Comment by Leslie Tane Design — August 11, 2008 @ 1:03 pm
OK, I just read his about page and he has this sweet, heartfelt tribute to his beloved deceased wife and now I feel really bad for slamming his work. But I still don’t like it.
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Comment by elizasmom — August 11, 2008 @ 9:20 pm
That’s OK, Elizasmom. We can all say that he’s a very nice man who suffered a tragedy and still think that his retouching is too much. I still love you.
Comment by Leslie Tane Design — August 11, 2008 @ 9:25 pm
Since acquiring basic Photoshop skills I have been guiltily known to re-touch vacation photos, whitening my teeth and taking out little lines here and there, smoothing the edges. I don’t really think I’m super vain, but can’t help myself. And it is a big time waster.
I think collectively we as a society can’t help ourselves…we have the skills so we use them. We want beauty, whatever we think that is. Fantasy, yes. Damaging?….not sure.
Comment by Tina Cornell — August 11, 2008 @ 9:31 pm
I’ve been known to do a little self-retouching, too, Tina. I like to think I’m making myself look more like me on a good day, but am I really? Sometimes a little Photoshop is a dangerous thing.
Comment by Leslie Tane Design — August 12, 2008 @ 4:00 pm
I think that it DEFINITELY attributes to girls having low self-esteem about themselves. I think that if we could all see movie stars and singers as they really are (i.e. see them in real life), then we wouldn’t feel so bad about ourselves. Poor teenage girls probably have the hardest times (eating disorders, anyone?), especially when going through awkward stages.
Comment by Leslie — August 12, 2008 @ 9:14 pm
I agree with Leslie above, there’s no question that it’s damaging to our youth. There’s nothing wrong with retouching photos, but companies present it as the ideal image and make people continually buy their products to help them achieve that image knowing that it’s impossible. Younger men & women don’t see an enhanced photo, they see someone they wish they could look like, and that mindset is wrong.
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Comment by Jason — August 13, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
I’m really offended by the blue eyes! It’s so unnatural here! On the same subject, there are young girls in Asia (mostly in China) who want nothing more to than to have blue eyes! They wear colored contacts (which look horrible, and have been known to cause eye damage when worn improperly), in hopes of becoming more attractive. It’s really a shame, people should be comfortable in their own skin… young girls shouldn’t have to worry about being compared to a standard of beauty that is impossible to achieve in real life.
Girls: Brown eyes can be just as beautiful as blue. You shouldn’t worry about it too much! Not everyone can be naturally beautiful, but everyone can learn to accept & appreciate their natural self. You know what they say, “Real beauty is on the inside.”
Comment by Gerund — January 15, 2009 @ 2:02 am
… oh, and people with blue eyes also run a higher chance of getting eye cancer… so it might be a good thing to have brown! lol.
Comment by Gerund — January 15, 2009 @ 2:05 am
There is an ethical issue with retouching. Young girls all over the world desperately try anything to look like these people, and that’s pretty sad. No doubt his skill is amazing, but how much retouching is too much? And when do we draw the line? Should magazines let readers know how much an image has been retouched. This just seems like consumerism gone overboard.
Comment by designscene — April 9, 2009 @ 2:33 pm
Thanks for your comment, designscene. I agree that we have a responsibility and shouldn’t portray photoshopped perfection as attainable reality. Check out this video on this subject: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP31r70_QNM Fascinating.
Comment by Leslie Tane Design — April 13, 2009 @ 11:37 am