The Morals and Values of a Photo Doctor “Oh, so you’re a Photoshop expert… Can you make me look like Angelina Jolie?” Well, yes, technically I could. But would I? No. Often times I’m asked about my line of work in such a way that it’s clear that the questioner is judging me. They immediately blame me for the problems today’s youths have with eating disorders and body image issues. After all, isn’t it through photo manipulations that models look like skeletal alien Barbie dolls? Isn’t doctoring photos professionally just another way of saying that my job is to lie through images? The simple answer is yes. I am a professional liar. But as unlikely as it sounds, this territory comes with its own set of morals and values. Just like many things around us - water, fire, internet, cars, etc. - Photoshop is just a tool. The power is in how it’s wielded. A few months ago, Esther Honig’s project, Before & After, went viral. She sent an untouched photo of herself to nearly 40 amateur and professional Photoshop artists in more than 25 countries world-wide, asking them to make her beautiful. The results are astounding. While the notion that “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” obviously reflected the different cultures of the different countries, the extent to which some of these artists went to achieve said “beauty” is somewhat scary. Sure, there were some artists who merely smoothed out her skin, while a number of others went as far as to give her makeup and jewelry. The Moroccan artist viewed beauty in her dress-code, and put Ms. Honig in a hijab. But some of the results made me feel sick, not because of the quality of the work (some high, some low), but because of the extent of the facial reconstructions done to turn Ms. Honig into someone she is not. (Shout out to The Philippines, Bangladesh, and the blue-ribbon winner of horrifying manipulations, the good ol’ US of A.) *A visual guide to this project can be found at: buzzfeed/ashleyperez/global-beauty-standards?bffb#3rnzq2, or at Esther Honig’s own site: estherhonig/#!before--after-/cvkn. So where do I fit into all this? I believe that each as every one of us is beautiful in our own way. (I know, gag, right?) (But seriously.) Nobody should feel ashamed of how they look, and NOBODY is perfect. (What does “perfect” even mean? Is there only one form of perfection? If we all looked “perfect,” would we all look identical?) Some things are temporary to how we look, popping up at the most inopportune times: pimples, flyaway hairs/hair frizz, bags under eyes from too little sleep, etc. These are things that I will fix. I will even go so far as to enhance certain features through lighting tricks (but never through sizing changes). But will I make you skinnier? Give you a larger bust? Larger muscles? Huge Disney princess eyes? Smaller nose? A six-pack? Full and pouty lips? I can, but I won’t. Esther Honig, here is my contribution to your project. Needless to say, I think you look beautiful.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 07:16:33 +0000
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