Photographs capture a moment in time that can be revisited many times over the course of one’s lifetime and beyond. When we think of all the iconic photographs of famous people, we can’t help but wonder how accurate those images are. Often, when we do happen to spot a celebrity in person, our thoughts almost always run to, “they don’t look nearly as good in real life as they do on camera.” That’s because a picture tells a story that is usually altered.
To Retouch, Or Not to Retouch? That is the Question.
Lately, Photoshopped images have become quite controversial, particularly those of famous women. Fashion magazines have been notorious for airbrushing away flaws for decades, but the latest technology gives them creative license to wipe away more than just a few lines, wrinkles, and dark shadows. Photoshop has allowed editors to miraculously re-shape bodies to achieve standards of beauty that are unattainable for the average woman. Moreover, the lengths to which these magazines go to perfect women’s bodies might include eliminating a limb or other body part for the sake of fashion.
Recently, Photoshopping has become a polarizing debate online. Fashion bloggers have taken to pointing out the extreme techniques magazines such as Vogue have employed to seemingly re-invent women like Lena Dunham, who, if she was not the star of a successful cable television series, would never wind up on the cover of the world’s most influential fashion magazine. It just so happens that Ms. Dunham is another in a long line of female celebrities who have graced the covers of fashion magazines, replacing fashion models as the new ideal of beauty. And, since these women are not “sample-sized,” human clothes hangers, technology must be employed to make them look as close to that ideal as possible. That technology has set off a firestorm of controversy, with many in the blogosphere arguing that these images are dangerous. Young girls and women will try to emulate these images to their detriment – anything from an eating disorder to a plastic surgery addiction – in the effort to achieve these unrealistic images. Some celebrities have spoken out about the dangers of these doctored-up photographs, but that doesn’t seem to stop magazines from trying to outdo one another in the pursuit of what they believe is the perfect female image.
Many of us realize that no amount of plastic surgery or hours logged in at the gym will allow us to transform ourselves into our favorite celebrity. We take in the images and appreciate them for what they are: fantasies that are fun indulgences, but not reality. The reality is that beauty is more than just looks; it is all about who you are on the inside, as well as on the outside. If you are confident in who you are, that will make you exponentially more attractive even if you don’t look like the hottest star in Hollywood. You can become the very best version of yourself without having to Photoshop your image. Knowledge gives you the power to overlook those little flaws the fashion magazines find so irritating. Online training allows you to grow as a person, giving you the confidence you need to appreciate the technology used to capture amazing images, instead of being fooled into thinking they are real.
