I have a love/hate relationship with photo editing programs. When used properly, it can enhance a photo, but most people tend to overuse it just because they can. I keep saying that Instagram is the quickest and easiest way to f*** up a photo.
This reporter send her photo to several editors in several countries to see how they would "make her pretty". The experiment was to see how the standard of beauty differed from region to region, culture to culture. But you also need to remember that the standard of beauty being applied is not only a cultural standard, but the individual standard of the editor. In my opinion, the two from the USA look ridiculous. I'm also surprised by the number of edits that didn't fix her fly-away hair. I would have thought that was standard no matter where you went.
@jasonayer there were things here that stunned me but fly away hair - hahaha - fix as a portrait or perfection issue but for me that is not a beauty issue - I look my best when my hair flies away lol
Some of those edits are hideous! I particularly dislike the ones with the over exaggerated make-up, but I think there is also a tendency to over-do the skin-smoothing.
They are all quite different but I think messing with face shape (USA) and skin tone (Germenay and others) particularly offensive to the notion of personal identity. Skin softening can always be put down to blur / soft focus and hair colour to dye and eye colour to contact lens. But I generally think the less messing the better - she was already beautiful anyway.
A number are just technically very crude. The editors should read some of the writings and workshops from Scott Kelby. His "Photoshop for Photographers" books are full of advanced advice to handle situations like this. The German one has lost all facial depth and features, the USA one is hideously distorted with the fake hair and the ones with exaggerated lipstick or rouge are clownish. I am actually drawn to the Moroccan one; the handling of the skin tone and detail is technically very good, and there is no problem with the hair of course.
Stick it out with Photoshop. Carefully and thoughtfully used by those who know all the ins and outs, it can improve every single frame you shoot, not just portraits.
Well I also think the skill level of the individual editors comes into play here. I mean who was really doing these? The two from the US looked like they were done by someone with no idea of what they were doing just messing around in free trial programs.
The article says she found the people on "an international freelancing website where anyone can hire freelancers from around the globe to complete almost any task imaginable." I'm guessing you could find someone to do almost any job in the world, badly, on the internet.
The project may say something about cultural perception of beauty but it may say more about the individual bad taste, or lack of skills, of lots of people offering their services for sale on the net.
I agree with Joanne (@gardencat) that using different editors introduces too many variables to make the results worth anything. Then again, not using different editors would mean there are no variables at all!
Ultimately, all art (including photography AND photo editing - which is an art in itself) is highly subjective, and the results will always be a matter of taste and opinion.
When it comes to 'beauty', as long as you are comfortable with how you look, that's what matters. And when it comes to photography, as long as you (or you client, if you're on a paid shoot!) are happy with your pictures, that's what matters.
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Stick it out with Photoshop. Carefully and thoughtfully used by those who know all the ins and outs, it can improve every single frame you shoot, not just portraits.
The article says she found the people on "an international freelancing website where anyone can hire freelancers from around the globe to complete almost any task imaginable." I'm guessing you could find someone to do almost any job in the world, badly, on the internet.
The project may say something about cultural perception of beauty but it may say more about the individual bad taste, or lack of skills, of lots of people offering their services for sale on the net.
Ultimately, all art (including photography AND photo editing - which is an art in itself) is highly subjective, and the results will always be a matter of taste and opinion.
When it comes to 'beauty', as long as you are comfortable with how you look, that's what matters. And when it comes to photography, as long as you (or you client, if you're on a paid shoot!) are happy with your pictures, that's what matters.
Kit has some good points.