{"id":6631,"date":"2010-04-04T19:14:10","date_gmt":"2010-04-04T17:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/?p=6631"},"modified":"2010-04-04T19:14:10","modified_gmt":"2010-04-04T17:14:10","slug":"retouching-much-ado-about-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/technical-tips\/retouching-much-ado-about-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"Retouching\u2026 Much Ado About Nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"
Is the April issue of French Marie Claire “throwing stones into the water? ” Their whole issue is without any retouching! Finally the readers will be exposed to the RAW truth without the artificial frills!<\/h6>\n
\"French
French Marie Claire cover April 2010<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well, almost… We have to pass through the multiplicity of advertising pages that are as expected, heavily retouched before accessing the first editorial photo that has not been tarnished by that Bad Boy on the Block, Mr. Photoshop. I personally really enjoyed the painted portrait of Julia Roberts with absolutely natural eyelashes for Lanc\u00f4me and the no eyelid-ed Sharon Stone for Dior. You can even see Julia Roberts beauty mark under her eye! Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink, say no more, say no more.<\/p>\n

Bad digital retouching can be worst enemy of celebrities…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Julia Roberts for Lanc\u00f4me, Sharon Stone for Dior \u00a9 DR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

… But it can also improve the overall image and atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Madonna for Louis Vuitton \u00a9 Steven Meisel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The recent brouhaha started in France last year with Val\u00e9rie Boyer, a member of the National Assembly of France from the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Bouches-du-Rh\u00f4ne district, has filed a new bill stating, any image that has been retouched or post processed should include the following preamble or text, “This photo has been retouched to alter the physical appearance of a person, “Failure to comply with this provision could result in a fine of \u20ac37,500,\u00a0 ($50,000) or as high as 50 percent of the space buying budget of the advertising campaign.<\/p>\n

There is something unhealthy in the misrepresentation of body image in our society, said the Marseille’s Congress Woman who wants to “enlighten the consumer.” “It is outrageous,” she says, to believe that one side of the spectrum are the little people with their flaws, cellulite and at the other extreme there are the perfect people. There is an indecency in having us believe we look better at 70 than at 20. I wish to restore and highlight the barrier between the virtual and physical reality.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Turning the pages of the April issue of French Marie Claire I see that the photographers had to use the old techniques before Photoshop existed…<\/p>\n

Burning out the skin using overexposure, soft light, adding a half blue filter to whiten the skin, pulled back images, large smiles for celebrities so their nasal labial folds are hidden, pulled back hair with hands stretching the skin and smoothing the wrinkles. Using grainy film and converting the images to black and white to neutralize the skin tones.<\/p>\n

This is where I see digital retouching as necessary! Necessary for making banal images more interesting and a little more dreamy. Photography has changed a lot in the manner in which photos are captured. Today photographers have a lot more latitude giving them the opportunity to use more extreme angles, close-up’s and harder light.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To think that retouching is only about reshaping a model or celebrity or erasing the wrinkles and spots is quite naive. Photoshop is necessary for photographers who rely on the digital retouching process to make their images acceptable.\u00a0Many of them wouldn’t have been published only 15 years ago, when fashion photographers had to know how to light an image, know which type of film should be used to give the most favourable rendition and how it will translate to print.<\/p>\n

Photoshop is also a fabulous tool to enhance the artistic possibilities of the photographer and creative director as never before. I don’t think I would be interested in buying copies of Num\u00e9ro, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, V, Pop or W magazine if the images, styling and scenery dramatizations were as banal as what I saw in the Marie Claire un-retouched issue. When I buy Feminine Press magazines, it is certainly not for its literary content, but more so for their\u00a0 Fashion and Beauty stories with their creative visual impact.<\/p>\n

Even in the 1930’s photos were heavily retouched using traditional artisan methods, using pencils, paint brushes & spot removers as well as\u00a0 in the dark room with dodge and burn techniques.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Joan Crawford \u00a9 George Hurrell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No one is fooled and even adolescents know that a 15 year old model in a glossy magazine is retouched to the maximum. Many teen-aged internet users use a light version of Photoshop or other similar programs to retouch their own photos they post on Facebook! Does doing so lead them to anorexia? If so there would be many more cases. Why doesn’t Val\u00e9rie Boyer also advocate for the censorship of TV programs like Extreme Makeover that shows how quickly and easily one can be “transformed surgically” from the ground up? What about 3D images, films, video games, cartoons or why not the censorship of sculpture-painter Fernando Botero who glorifies women at the other end of the anorexic spectrum?<\/p>\n

French Elle Magazine went even further last year with actresses and models who accepted to pose for Peter Lindbergh without retouching and without make up!!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It does not say if the celebrities featured were botox free, hyaluronic acid or plastic surgery free… That might be a great next theme where there is no retouching, make up, injections or plastic surgery and what you look like first thing in the morning. This niche has already been taken by paparazzi and people magazines.<\/p>\n

… And all of this makes me wonder if Val\u00e9rie Boyer is using an un-retouched portrait of herself on her website?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is the April issue of French Marie Claire “throwing stones into the water? ” Their whole issue is without any retouching! Finally the readers will be exposed to the RAW truth without the artificial frills!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[654],"tags":[70,165,803,804,20,805,806,670,156,167,807],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/Marie-Clairecouv1-e1277505953313.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paG8MM-1IX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7866,"url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/benjamin-kanarek-work\/recalling-pierre-cardin-benjamin-kanarek-archives\/","url_meta":{"origin":6631,"position":0},"title":"Recalling Pierre Cardin from Benjamin Kanarek's Archives","author":"Benjamin Kanarek","date":"May 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Going through some of Benjamin Kanarek's archives and I fell on images that he photographed for \"Votre Beaut\u00e9\" Magazine around 20 years ago. It is part of a series that he shot exclusively highlighting the Couturier Pierre Cardin","rel":"","context":"In "Benjamin Kanarek Work"","block_context":{"text":"Benjamin Kanarek Work","link":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/category\/benjamin-kanarek-work\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Cardin-21.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Cardin-21.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Cardin-21.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10213,"url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/technical-tips\/melding-minds-photographer-digital-retoucher\/","url_meta":{"origin":6631,"position":1},"title":"Photographer and Digital Retoucher","author":"Benjamin Kanarek","date":"September 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting perspective on the world of digital retouching and the tools available from software Photoshop to hardware with the Wacom Tablet","rel":"","context":"In "Technical Tips"","block_context":{"text":"Technical Tips","link":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/category\/technical-tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Wacom-Cintiq-21UX-front-view-590x439.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Wacom-Cintiq-21UX-front-view-590x439.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Wacom-Cintiq-21UX-front-view-590x439.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14417,"url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/technical-tips\/importance-graphic-tablet-digital-retouching\/","url_meta":{"origin":6631,"position":2},"title":"The Importance of a Graphic Tablet in the Digital Retouching World","author":"Benjamin Kanarek","date":"March 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"What role does a graphic tablet play in enhancing the post production process?","rel":"","context":"In "Technical Tips"","block_context":{"text":"Technical Tips","link":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/category\/technical-tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wacom-Cintiq-21UX-560x223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wacom-Cintiq-21UX-560x223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wacom-Cintiq-21UX-560x223.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13867,"url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/technical-tips\/working-16bit-mode-photoshop\/","url_meta":{"origin":6631,"position":3},"title":"Working in 16 Bit Mode in Photoshop","author":"Benjamin Kanarek","date":"February 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by: Dietmar Kohl Photographer Dietmar Kohl shares with us his technique for working in 16 bit mode in Photoshop. Thanks Dietmar, I'm sure this will be very helpful to those wishing to maintain the highest resolution when retouching your images. Benjamin Kanarek So here we go... I just downloaded\u00a0 the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technical Tips"","block_context":{"text":"Technical Tips","link":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/category\/technical-tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/273-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":796,"url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/technical-tips\/post-processing-variation-add-dimension-flat-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":6631,"position":4},"title":"Post Processing Variation to "Add Dimension to Your Flat Photos"","author":"Benjamin Kanarek","date":"July 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Remember you my last post about Adding Dimension to Your Flat Photos - One Post Production Technique, well nothing is carved in stone, here is one variation","rel":"","context":"In "Technical Tips"","block_context":{"text":"Technical Tips","link":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/category\/technical-tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/CRW_1825retouched.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1198,"url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/technical-tips\/eyes-of-laura-mars\/","url_meta":{"origin":6631,"position":5},"title":""Eyes of Laura Mars"","author":"Benjamin Kanarek","date":"August 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Eyes of Laura Mars I was inspired to write this short introduction to this film from 1978 starring Faye Dunaway called \"Eyes of Laura Mars\" by someone on a photography forum that said that some of my imagery reminded him of the film.\u00a0 I had totally forgotten how affected I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technical Tips"","block_context":{"text":"Technical Tips","link":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/category\/technical-tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/35901m9.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6631"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}