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Photoshopping school portraits
Filed under: Day Care & Education, That's Entertainment
It's common knowledge that magazine photographers Photoshop the ever-living crap out of the images they take of models and celebrities. Once a person understands how the program works, there's literally nothing they can't change about their subject's appearance (weight, height, complexion, shape -- the list is endless).
While I don't particularly agree with the practice, I can understand why they do it. The careers of actors, models and pop stars depend on them being more attractive than the rest of the population (plus hot people sell more magazines), so it's not surprising that celebrities ask to be "enhanced."
But now the trend is moving beyond high-profile personalities in glossy magazines, and into schools. Some of the requests photographers get from parents make sense -- removing a black eye, or a broken arm, for instance. Others, however, are more troublesome. Many parents ask that scars, blemishes, and physical disfigurements are eliminated, while some even ask for nicer skin tones, whiter teeth and "nose jobs" -- leading experts to fear that it's "only a matter of time" before a student's body shape is altered to look more like the models they see in Vogue, Seventeen, Cosmo, etc.
I always thought the idea of school portraits was to document kids as they grow up -- so that, one day, they'll be able to flip through old yearbooks, and remember who they were. But it seems that won't be the case for much longer, as short-sighted parents are more intent on creating an illusion of who they'd like their child to be, instead of letting their kids simply be normal -- pimples and all.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-11-2007 @ 12:38PM
LS said...This disturbing trend goes hand-in-glove with a post I was reading on another blog about self-talk and body image (http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2007/07/10/negative_selftalk_the_tight_jeans_effect.php)
We have gotten it stuffed so far into our heads that "perfect" is synonymous with a certain clothing size, the right color eyes and hair, and straight teeth that we overlook that which is within. It's become so bad that not only are we trying to change ourselves, we are teaching our kids that they're worthless unless they have the right look, and we'll go to any lengths to get that look for them, even if it's only in a photographic image.
And we wonder why childhood obesity, adolescent anorexia and overall depression is on the rise???
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7-11-2007 @ 12:43PM
Tara said...You wouldn't believe that my husband photo shopped a scar off my son's forehead in a print I put together as a birthday gift for Great Granny! My son is TWO AND A HALF! And he's already getting photoshopped. Ugh. (hopefully the scar will get lighter as he ages, it's barely noticable now, but in the photo you could see where he smashed his head through his bedroom wall after an overzealous bed jumping episode on Mother's Day.)
Note: i was going to leave the scar in the photo.
And this just reminded me that my husband also photoshopped a bruise off one of the twins foreheads in our christmas card (santa photo!) when the twins were just 15 months old.
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7-11-2007 @ 1:04PM
Jessica said..."The careers of actors, models and pop stars depend on them being more attractive than the rest of the population"
But WHY? This is where the problem starts.
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7-11-2007 @ 1:29PM
rebecca Biernesser said...LOL...I took a cavity off the tooth of my child in one picture (it was a front tooth)...lol....I didn't sent it anywhere just was messing around with the program.
As a rule though (aside from playing with programs) I don't change pictures. If I have to look at myself as a geek while growing up, then so do my kids...
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8-15-2007 @ 4:59PM
Andrew said...As a photographer who loves Photoshop, I see no problem with using the tool to enhance a person's image. I use lots of old-fashioned techniques to show people at their best. These include lighting, camera angles, posing, and the like. If I have the option to show a heavy young lady to her advantage based on my lighting, will I take it? Every time. She may not stand in that type of light at school to make a similar impression to her classmates, but it doesn't stop me from using the tool to show her she's beautiful. Photoshop is just another tool, not a malady. And it's not confined to removing scars or retouching; it allows for all sorts of composites and effects that have no relation to body image or self-esteem. Lighten up and learn to live with it. If you don't want your pictures retouched, request that from your local photographer and he or she should be happy to oblige. They'll be glad to charge you the same price for a product that takes less work.
Respectfully,
Andrew Shinn
--
Shinn Photography
Get the picture? Get the picture.
http://shinnphoto.com
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