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photoshop should be banned.

I totally am aware of the fact that magazines will not sell if celebrities are not photoshopped. Although I think this is stupid, it is unfortunately a harsh reality. If celebrities look normal (i.e. "like crap") then advertisers refuse to have their product in a magazine. This is because if readers see photos of beautiful, perfect models and movie stars, chances are they will feel ugly, horrible and overweight. This then encourages them to go out and buy that foundation or mascara in the hope that they too can look like an airbrushed celebrity. So if non airbrushed celebrities were used, there would be no advertisements in a magazine, resulting in lack of funds and therefore the magazine cannot be published.

Anyway, so getting to the point. I think, there are some people who should not be photoshopped for magazines. One recent example is Julie Goodwin. The winner of Masterchef Australia. Goodwin has recently joined the team at The Australian Women's Weekly (AWW) to contribute columns about food and life as a mum of three. With any new addition to a publication, promotional and publicity shots are taken. Goodwin was no exception. Photos she had taken are below, with excessive photoshopping. I understand if they photoshop it to remove light or get rid of a couple of stray hairs, but these photos are just absolutely ridiculous.



Julie is representing the thousands of working mothers in Australia. People should aspire to be as talented and lovely as she is. Instead, people will be aspiring to run a business, a household, contribute to a magazine and at the end of it look 100% fantastic. Julie isn't supposed to be an image of absolute beauty. When are people going to start looking beyond appearances to what actually makes up a person?

I think this is the type of photo we need to see more of instead of the excessively photoshopped ones.



What do you guys think? Let me know where you stand on the whole photshopping debate.

11 comments:

Stacey said...

I'm completely on your side of this debate! I hate opening up magazines and seeing photo-shopped pictures of actors and models - especially when they're so gorgeous that they never needed the photoshopping to begin with! I was so excited to see that Girlfriend magazine has started making their fashion shoots photo-shop free. Awesome.

Personally, I love the second picture of Julie there. She looks gorgeous! Why cover up perfectly good natural beauty with stuff that isn't real?

Kez said...

Holy crap! I didn't even recognise her!
That's disgusting!

I think everything in moderation can make most people happy.
I think it's stupid to photoshop someone beyond recognition, but can understand how the use of photoshop can correct little blemishes or help a photograph to pop that bit more.

I think it's gone too far when a person ends up looking more like a painting than a real person.

. said...

i think you're absolutely right.
we live in a very screwed up society and our perceptions of beauty are completely fucked (excuse my profanity).

on a lighter note, i bought those shoes about a year ago, buuuut the brand is Scooter if that helps :)
maybe try ebay??
you will love them forever haha

Alex. said...

Miss Peregrin- Have they really?! I was at GF Magazine for work experience earlier this year and I pointed their hypocrisy out to them and suggested they run one issue with no photoshopping at all and they said they'd never be able to. I'm so going to go and check this out.. I can't believe they found models who's agents actually allowed this!

Kez- Yes, I agree. As I said, photoshopping is okay to remove small blemishes, stray hairs etc. But this is one step too far.

Juliette- Thanks heaps, I'll have a look around for them, I love them!

Alexandra said...

I totally agree. A lot of photo-shopping is so pointless. I love seeing behind-the-scenes pictures for exactly this reason.

frockandrollonline.com said...

I'm definitely with you on this one, Axe-y! (Sorry. I couldn't resist. :D ) While I understand that photoshopping may be necessary in some elements of photography (say, a cover model developing an uncomfortable wart or something on the bridge of her nose the day of an all-important shoot), it really has been taken to ridiculous and excessive levels - so many times, I'll see magazines with celebrities such as Cameron Diaz or Nicole Richie on the cover, photoshopped beyond belief to the point where they almost look unhuman - it's nuts! They're beautiful girls, do we really require technology to make them look almost alien?!

xoxo

Alexandra said...

Hi, just in reply to your comment, I bought the Rubi shoes in the middle of last year I think. Might be worth checking out a factory outlet if you live near one coz I don't think they still stock them :)

P.S. I love your background on here!

Alex. said...

Alexandra - Ahhh thanks, I'll try and suss out where one is. My friend works at a Rubi so I'll ask her to pull rank and ship me a pair haha. And thankyou, I am going through a slight floral phase at the moment ;)

Jen said...

Unfortunatly we live in a society that unless you look perfect, you are undesirable...atleast that is what the magazines tell us. Photoshopping takes away the realness. The people on the covers of the magazines are just as insecure with themselves just as much as the next person...and we are dumbfounded when celebrites say things like "I'm fat" and we can't figure out why because all their photos make them a twig.... I wish society would let our inner beauty be seen more than the external that can be altered at the click of a mouse...

Death Wears Diamond Jewellery said...

ohmigod i wouldn't have known that was her if you hadn't told us! holy crap!!!

excessive photoshopping is getting far too insane. it really irritates me. i did a post on it a week or so back too. totally agree with you

xxx

ps. awesome blog!

magnoliaamber said...

Thank you for your recent comment..

I like photoshop in moderation, please.
For a bride that wants to have her only memories of the happiest day, a pimple-vanishing is OK.
But for the lady that is ageing gracefully, a fake tummy-tuck, liposuction and imaginery botox will not do.