One of my goals for 2010 is to improve my retouching skills and hone my technique in Photoshop. Retouching is a touchy subject for a lot of people with regard to the morals and ethics surrounding it.
I personally have no problem with retouching. It's something that has been done to images since the dawn of photography. In fact, the only reason paintings weren't retouched is that they didn't need to be - Painters would paint things how they/their client wanted them! Sure, things can be taken to extremes, and good retouching is often down to using restraint and subtlety.
The media often use the idea of retouching and "unattainable perfection" as the cause of eating disorders amongst young girls. Whilst I'm not saying it's not partly to blame, I do think womens magazines are far more at fault! They often target celebrities and tear them apart if they're slightly overweight, or have a spot on their chin etc. Surely this sends a message to people saying that if you gain weight, or have spots, you will be publicly castigated?
As far as my experience with my own portfolio clients goes, they want to be retouched! It makes them feel good about themselves. They get to see the "perfect" them. Surely if it was such a bad thing, that was the cause of so much suffering, no one would want it? Or maybe it's seen as a premium, luxury thing, and as such, it now has a demand attributed to it.
I'd be very interested to know how other people feel about retouching. Do you agree with it? How far should it go? Should it be banned, or is it just a necessary evil because no one is perfect in real life, but society demands perfection in the media? Leave a comment to tell me what you think.
I've added an image comparison below. The image on the left is un-retouched, and the one on the right has been "fixed" in photoshop. Have a look and see if you can see what's been done. There's a list underneath...
Reckon you got them all? Here goes...
Blemishes removed
Skin smoothed
Fingers thinned
Lips Plumped
Teeth reshaped
Ear reshaped
Gaps in hair filled in
Wrist bone smoothed
Nose reshaped
Eyes rotated and reshaped
Stray hairs removed
Hairline tidied
Eyebrows neatened
As you can see, there's a lot needed to attain perfection!
PS. I checked with the Fifi before posting an un-retouched image, and she said it was ok! It's always good to keep your models happy! ;)
