Too Much Photo Shop!

By: Shane Terenzi

I know my last blog was about the cover of T with Julianne Moore on the cover but this blog is about another cover or covers in general. The new cover of London’s Harper’s Bazaar featuring Megan Fox is absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, when you look more into the cover, you find out that it is not all Megan Fox. Widely know, Fox has a “toe thumb”- where her thumb is shorter and resembles a toe, not a finger. Many people have this, not a deformity, just a characteristic. On the cover though, photo shopped is a “normal” thumb from a hand model. I guess my concern is why do you need to do that? Megan Fox is undisputedly sexy. Her thumb is not the first thing any guy or girl looks at when they look at her.

I think this problem of photo shopping has dominated our society and increasingly is taking more and more of a presence. As a makeup artist, I understand wanting your work to look the best it can be. I also do not want my work to not be relevant any more. If someone at a computer can sit there and photo shop makeup on the model, give her a hair style, and take out any imperfection, what then becomes my role as an artist. The only people needed in a photo shoot would be the model and photographer- not the art director, makeup artist, hair stylist, stylist, or manicurist.

Some of the covers that I have had a problem with recently include Tina Fey on Vogue and Demi Moore on W. Tina Fey its less of a problem than think that what they photo shopped could have been avoided. Fey has had a scar on her cheek since her childhood, received from a stranger slashing her face at age 5 in her front lawn. I don’t understand why they had to use that side of her face, if there is a scar on it and you don’t want to show it, shoot the other side! On W Magazine, it was blatant that Demi Moore’s hips were corrected, but corrected poorly. There is a chunk missing out of one. When asked about this, W Magazine denied it saying they did no altering of the photo. It is a professional standard now to send the photos to post production and do corrections- so don’t deny it.

In conclusion- I know that photo shop is needed. There is a level of standard that people expect from a cover. I understand smoothing of skin, correcting bumpy eyeliner, or whitening teeth. But- when you change someone drastically- especially when they are a famous personality – we will notice the obvious changes. Photo shop is to enhance a photo, not change it. Lets make the people that we show across all forms of entertainment, real not fake.

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Photo credits: Bazaar- JustJared.com, Vogue- cocoperez.com, W- popeater.com