Wow. Photoshop really is a powerful program.
It’s time for the big reveal for our unretouched cover-image contest, and, well, our winner is the July cover of Redbook, on which country singer Faith Hill (and, on a separate cover, her hubby Tim McGraw) appeared, well, as beautiful and accessible-seeming as usual.
What’s uncanny about this cover is that when the image was passed our way, we had just been flipping through Redbook, reminding ourselves that we’d stop hating women’s magazines as soon as our lives became shitty enough to warrant reading Redbook and our husbands and immune systems suddenly replaced celebrities and consumerism on our personal Most Toxic lists, when we paused to think, “Wow, Faith Hill is really hot.”
We’d had this thought before about Faith Hill, probably in the context of a Revlon display at the CVS or something, but reading this spread in the July Redbook we had one of those moments we often have with Katie Holmes wherein we were like, “Wow. She is just really really really pretty. Although we don’t much like her taste in men.”
Why don’t they just use a hand-drawn illustration? It would be just as accurate a representation.
now if we could only just invent “photoshop” like glasses that we all could wear.
To quote Family Guy…
“I’d wreck that chick. I don’t care what she looks like.”
She looks great in the unretouched photo. Nothing wrong with maturity.
There is tremendous pressure on women in America to be “beautifuL”. I sort of feel sorry for them. Photoshop works on magazine covers but it doesn’t work in three-dimensions.
I was having chicken soup for lunch one day at the restaurant at Barney’s, an upscale clothing store in Manhattan. I looked around at all the rich people. I noticed some of the women that were there. Women trying within all their means to look beautiful. But I could read some of their faces. Some of them were obviously miserable and lonely. All the money and best make-up and clothing in the world and they still weren’t happy.
The media’s powerful influence has done severe damage to women’s self-esteem. What is the message that photoshopped covers tell women? That they can’t be themselves. That they are not worthy of being beautiful unless they have a “beautifuL” face. It’s all plastic to me.
I’m with #3….she looks great in the original…does she look a bit older? Yes she does, because she isn’t 25 anymore, and thats just fine. I’ve always preferred women in their 30s and 40s anyway.
People should realize that those magazine covers are paintings and not photographs.
It’s insane how much thinner they made her arm. I don’t agree with those people who blame the media for every teenage girl with an eating disorder, but this is ridiculous.
Well I’m really upset I’m not the richest and smartest guy. Can I join the pity fest?
You mean they actually start with a photograph of a human for these things? Then why do models all look like manikins?
Aw, that’s just not right! She looks good enough to eat, un-Photoshopped. Sick.
On the other hand, mabye they could clone some hair from another guy onto her hubby’s head. That way he could stop wearing that fucking hat all the time. Either that, or he could just ‘fess up to the fact that he’s bald, and get on with his life. The hat is about two notches below a comb-over as a trick to fool people into thinking you’re not going bald.
#8 – What pity fest?
#9 – Welcome back Scott.
Some of them were obviously miserable and lonely. All the money and best make-up and clothing in the world and they still weren’t happy.
Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it makes misery a HELL of a lot more comfortable. Throw me in that brier patch, br’er fox.
I’ve dated and gotten rid of a lot of guys because too much of their life is based on women in magazines. Even in the check-out lane, when they see older actresses on the covers, they make idiotic statements like, “Wow, she still looks young!”…and sooner or later I have to endure the comments about me losing 5 pounds! and other comparisons. There are too many insensitive morons. I’m still waiting to meet a man who isn’t.
13,
Sorry, I’m taken!
😉
1.
What? You don’t have beer goggles?
14 Well, Smartalix, thank you for helping to make my point. If you’re so wonderful….of course you’re taken! Lucky girl or guy!
susie – I think you’ll find that most considerate, loving men are taken. I’m coming up on my 40th wedding anniversary.
17,
Yeah, when they were in their teens! Girls can dig in for a long time if necessary. Susie, you gotta take your lumps, or maybe become a school teacher…
#11 – OFTLO – Thanks.
18 I want to comment on what you said but you’re just a bit too vague for me to know how to take that. By ‘lumps’ I think you mean that if I want a guy, I’ll have to live with him being insensive, and also stupid (or in denial) about photoshopped magazine photos. If that’s the case, what about men who can’t stand women who oogle men in magazines? I don’t do it, but I’ve told the jerks, as I was sending them on their merry way, that they don’t touch-up the male photos, they look good enough already. This was only after they had belittled me way too much.
20,
Don’t take it to deeply. Lumps was just a bit of sarcasm mixed with cynicism. You don’t have to put up with anything unless you want too of course. But, don’t fight a losing battle. e.g. changing men or raging against faux beauty. Not worth it.
she looks better in the original photo.
they gave her concentration camp arms for the cover… yuck : (
#21 – Ahhh… I see… Well, those comments were made by someone who confused their assumptions with clairvoyance. That happens a lot with discussion thread geeks.
#20 – I’d go out with you, if you lived in Indiana… But of course, I post to message boards on the Internet, so it’s a pretty good bet that I’d go out with damn near anyone who asked. (if stereotypes are to be believed)
#13
Men are pigs, gay men are pigs but you can talk to them without the ability to talk in sport slang.
And that’s the reason Macs were created.
# 3 & #5 – being 40+ doesnt sell magazines…
#13, As with Smartalix, alas, I too am married.
If I might however, set you up with my uncle. He gets out in a couple of weeks. Well, at least he is due to be released. He is a good guy too, don’t let his circumstance bother you.
BONUS,
After 16 years of only men, he won’t mind if you don’t shave your legs. Or pits. Small imperfections like massive acne scars wouldn’t bother him much. Likewise with split ends. Anything would be better then all those bald heads, but hey, who am I to complain about bald heads. Considering the number of home made tattoos he has, he probably wouldn’t even notice yours. Alright, so the State didn’t give them the best dental care, eight or 10 teeth are better then none.
And submissive? Geeze, at least you know he’ll be in bed when the lights are out. When dinner is ready, he’ll be there in line, waiting patiently; no pushing or shoving. He’ll shower twice a week and wear clean clothes afterwards. Plus he knows how to make his bed every morning.
With his nose that flat, you know he’ll never smell much. Well, smell much of anything. As for the other smell, just remember of the twice weekly shower. But if you don’t smell so fresh, NOT THAT YOU DO, but just if, …
And he won’t really care how you dress. Over the past few years his taste in clothing has been dulled pretty much to a uniform existence. More than that might even look over dressed to him.
This reminds me of some pictures I worked on last week. My daughter and her Dance School had a recital a few weeks ago so I took a bunch of pictures. Since here in the Mid-West so many women really appear to be corn fed, I had to do some serious (ahem) adjusting.
One girl was 12 – 14 and at least 100 lbs plus. Successfully, I reduced her about 75 lbs, leaving just enough “extra” so I wouldn’t need to do too much on the face. I spent several hours on her pictures. Mostly to gain experience but also so I could give her a better picture.
On this specific picture, I agree they reduced her arm too much. They also reduced her left side and back too much as well. Her right arm looks phony, it was better with the hand on her lap, but it is very hard to insert something as detailed as a hand. They overdid the eyes and collarbone as well.
I am impressed where they drew in some dress where the right hand was, right leg is. That is very hard to pick out.
#30
Do you think the surge in Mac sales has something to do with people retouching their own photos?
#31, Angel
That plus the low cost of Adobe Photoshop Elements and several other programs. They are truly powerful packages that most people will learn with little help. I think all digital cameras today ship with some rudimentary editing program. They don’t all need a Mac either.
I can do things now I could only dream of 20 years ago. So many things were an educated guess done in the dark room, often requiring several takes to get the right effect. It could get very expensive and time consuming. Today I just click my mouse to choose what I want to do and if I don’t like it I can always start over. A marginal picture 20 years ago can be made into something great today with only a little effort.