Celebrities today have a few faces, but, mostly, we see two: the primped, red-carpet ready face, and the raw, sunglasses-clad, "I'm just running to Starbucks in my sweatpants, why do you insist upon photographing me?" face. Falling almost completely off the radar, however, is the face that poses for magazine covers and fashion spreads: the Photoshopped face.
Of course, it's not always the face in the literal sense. In the case of Kim Kardashian's leaked pre-Photoshop
Complex Magazine cover from this Spring (shown above), cellulite was offender. Kardashian handled the situation with grace, writing in her blog: "So what: I have a little cellulite. What curvy girl doesn't!? How many people do you think are photoshopped? It happens all the time!"
And she's got a point—virtually all celebrity covers are Photoshopped, but they're usually done too well for us to notice. If I saw the Kim Kardashian post-Photoshop picture on the right only, I doubt I would ask if it was true to life, mostly because I'm used to seeing celebrities who are porcelain-skinned, impossibly thin but still curvy, and without so much as a stray hair in sight.
But after seeing Kardashian's unedited photo, each celebrity magazine cover or ad that comes my way causes me to question what it would look like minus the editing and what would happen if they kept it. Would using a less perfect picture have been as empowering as seeing the beauty in the unedited Kardashian shot? Or is altering the way we look digitally no different from applying makeup and just another part of the art of a Photoshoot that I'm taking too seriously?
What do you think about Photoshopped celebrity photos? Is it harmless? Or is it part of a larger image problem with a simple solution?
Comments (40)
really, its there to sell.
isnt that the point?
dude.
they lightened her skin color!
Eh, whatever. The sooner magazine covers go HDR instead of photoshopping, the better. At least it will be something new... and way cooler than just making people look "better"
Oh my goodness... You mean celebrities DONT look how they look on magazine covers and photographs? ....shocker...
It's no worse than plastic surgery or being caked with makeup..
hahaha, they changed her hairline. thats just hysterical.
curvy =/= cellulite. sorry, kim. unless you'd like to concede that curvy = fat. but that's a dead horse that's been beaten enough.
I once caught a bad airbrush job in this Victoria's Secret catalog where the model's wrist was impossibly twig-like.
I think that photoshopped pictures tend to make us believe in a body utopia. Everyone has flaws...Flaws are beautiful! Photoshop and make up should work together in a natural way, not superficial and utopic.
seriously, everything is photoshopped. every picture found in magazines, journals, ads, everything.
it might be color correction, airbrush, defining the contours, adding in more colors, cleavage, etc.
Want to see some bad photoshop? go to http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/
i watch america's next top model...and man do they retouch on a lot of stuff, mainly belly fat and some cellulite as well.
@Meowmeowkimmaee@xanga - whoa that's crazy!!
@kimi_thinks@xanga - I watched one episode where they showed the before picture of the girl and the after. They did A LOT of touching up on her.
i actually think this unedited picture of kim looks great, cause the difference is quite subtle. now...mariah carey's retoucher...
Oh no. Cellulite. That breaks every bank possible, for sure. Yawn.
It sells. That's all that matters to the magazine-it sells.
Is it a problem? Only for those that let it. If you are aware that the photos in your favorite magazines are photoshopped, and realize that you CANNOT look that perfect without surgery or other heavy means, then it's not a problem.
Celebrities are people, like us. They have FLAWS. OH-EMM_GEE. To sell something [make up, clothes, sex, whatever], they need to be perfect. Photoshop is the solution.
i believe every cover is photoshopped & to be honest i dont think i'll pay attention to the cellulite if i was given the regular pic, at least not for a good while then i mite be like OMG whats that?
I don't really have a problem with photoshop when done tastefully. But when these people cease to look human or physically possible, that's when I have a problem
i like her imperfect picture better, cos it's the real her. she looks good regardless of cellulite or whateversss
It happens all the time. I don't think we can change anything about it; I guess what matters the most is for individuals to know that it's been photoshopped and react accordingly.
i think her un retouched picture is still gorgeous. it's great to know that she's human and she has flaws too. when you have a big ass guess what it comes with cellulite. trust me ... i have a pretty small waist (28 in.) and a huge ass (44 in) and for a long time i wasn't comfortable with myself.
@Imnotcrazyjustinsane@xanga - hhah thats what i was laughing about first thing too LOL
i thought kim liked her fat ass and big bust, if that was so true then why did she photoshop some off?
I think all the photoshopped imagery we are fed definately creates an image problem. When I was younger I dont know how many times I tried things in magazines to get "glowing, perfect skin" just like the model in the picture....only to look at myself in the mirror and see all these little pores that just wouldnt go away. If we had real images, people would look more...well...human! and more relatable.
i'm fine with it. :)
I think we'd all love a little Photoshop, but I do believe that the practice promotes a perfect beauty ideal that doesn't exist. How many girls look at those images and believe that they are real? Those girls are then crushed because they don't feel that they measure up. I wish that beautiful pictures could be empowering instead through promoting real beauty and health.
i think that people really should be ohotographed the way they are...why take a photo of someone and then make it something that is isn't? why people most fashion magizines post pictures that make regular people feel insecure causing most of the weight problems that young teen girls face