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| Above is the ad that was banned in the UK of Julia Roberts because of photoshop abuse. |
While using post production techniques such as Photoshop image editing software is standard in the advertising industry, L'Oreal clocked some
serious overtime on Julia Roberts' face in a Lancôme ad, and now that
image has been pulled by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The ASA declared that "the ad must not appear in its current form again" on the basis that it's "misleading."
"Misleading" isn't strong enough a word. Take a look at this image.
Then take a look at another picture of Julia Roberts' face. I think the
terms "ghostly" and "surreal" are more fitting.
L'Oreal also had another of its ads pulled
by the ASA; this one for its Maybelline line of cosmetics and its use
of otherworldly alteration on the model Christy Turlington.
See Related Slideshow: 10 Tech Company Photoshop Disasters
One blogger has spoken out against the abuse and shown some great examples of this abuse in, "5 Blantant Cases of Photoshop Abuse."
Rea teens: Julia Bluhm, 14, stood outside the
magazine’s Midtown headquarters and led a protest against the industry’s
fervent use of Photoshop, before hand delivering her petition with
25,000 signatures.
Please click to read Mashable's outstanding article about Julia's success, "Seventeen Agrees to Feature 'Real Girls' Following Online Petition." Also, "Meet Julia Bluhm, feminist media activist." And finally these are, "Posts tagged 'Julia Bluhm'.
I applaud all of today's men and women fighting the abuse of Photoshopping and more within the movement to present the real (girl) woman!
11 comments:
Advertisers need to understand that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Stop glorifying synthetic people.
I know how to use photoshop and use it sometimes to edit pictures to lighten them or do some other color setting but thats it. I wish more magazines did no retouch, no makeup issues where teen girls (and women) got to see what these stars and models really look like. I think a lot of them are a lot more "average" looking than we are led to believe. So many people have their bodies so insanely photoshopped they look so much skinnier in print than they do in real life. People need to embrace when they look like, and be positive role models for all these children who strive to be "beautiful" like these stars!
Photoshop has its place, but I agree it's been way overused. There is a point where we have to accept the "imperfections" of nature that are what real beauty is about. My sister in law is a photoshop whiz, so she loves tweaking her already amazing photos. But my husband had to talk to her about using it on photos of her baby daughter. It must be tempting to make her cheeks a little rosier, her eyes a little bluer, but what kind of message will that tell her daughter as she gets older?
http://www.erinemhatton.com/blog
Great post! I never use photo shop I don't think you should change anything that is natural.
I can understand some minor retouching. That makes sense to me as a designer and as a hobbyist model. Sometimes, things just look better when blemishes (even birthmarks) are removed, wrinkles are lessened, bulges are smoothed out, and stray hairs are gotten rid of.
But at the same time, overdoing it just doesn't make any sense to me. If you're going to slim someone down so much they look like a different person, why not just hire someone who's that slim to begin with?
Then again, the website Photoshop Disasters is a guilty pleasure of mine, and if we start really cracking down on limiting the amount of retouching that's used, the site could go away. That would make me sad ;)
These photo editing programs are just a small contributor to the overall message that marketers use in regards to women especially. Let's get real. I HAVE noticed though in the last few years more "real" looking women AND men in advertising... ie: receding hair lines, excessive weight, etc. Amen!
Wonderful post.
It's disgusting that we glorify plastic people and think that unnatural, airbrushed photographs are "beautiful".
Someone who is comfortable in their own skin (their REAL skin) is a zillion times better than someone who tries to hide it by any means necessary.
Brigitte Bardot is one of the most beautiful women in the world. She is 77 years old now...and looks it! She has grown old gracefully, and hasn't bothered with facelifts, peels, and other junk.
I find it hard to believe most pictures any longer....anything can be photoshopped! It has its place and I've used it many times, but false and lying still isn't good!
I agree that Photoshop is abused at times. Yet, it can really do nice things for your photos. I myself feel a boost when I see that I don't have dark circles in my headshot. Heehee! But, on a serious note, self-esteem is from within. I'm an adult and I know that those pictures are altered and not realistic. I worry more about younger pre-teens and teens that think this is the beauty norm. I say just boycott the magazines :) Create your own reality of beauty. Don't give the negative the attention.
More and more masks available all the time; thanks for this post!
Photoshopping yourself or others is just one way of taking away the "imperfections of life" and trying to make yourself or others appear the way that you want them to be instead of the way that God made them. I have real issues with the whole idea and I own Photoshop and have never used it yet. I have a good program that takes scratches out of pics and things that should be helped but not the appearance of a person. Wrinkles, silver hair, bulges... you are what you are. God made you that way and you should be proud of who you are!
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