Put down the airbrush and back away slowly..
There's a trend I see more and more in the fitness world when it comes to photography, and thats the overuse of the "airbrush" to smooth out a models complexion and other flaws. While I have no complaints for the technique in general, there are some instances where the entire surface of the skin is blurred beyond recongnition, eliminating any scant trace of pore or folicle or — gasp — mole. What we're left with is an odd, plastic-y haze of a skin that muffles all of the definition and shape and contours that most of you have worked so hard to attain.
The key to retouching a photo is to make the viewer believe nothing was ever done to it; that the model really is that perfect. As soon as poorly blurred skin enters the picture, the reality of the photo goes out the window. What else was done to it? Is that her real waistline? Is that definition airbrushed on? As soon as that seed of doubt is planted, the true essence of the photo and the model are gone.
Now, I'm not discounting the whole foggy lens look completely. Theres a time and a place for that. The time is usually around Valentines Day and the place is usually at the photo studio at your local mall.
Oh, but I kid.
That's just my general viewpoint on the whole trend, but I'd like to hear your thoughts as well. Should the Wizards of the Wacom tablet keep cloning, rubber stamping, airbrushing, smudging and blurring the skin to smithereens? Or should a more subtle approach be taken so the natural, raw beauty be captured and presented?
Inquiring minds want to know.
2 Comments:
I agree!
While I've been known to knock a bad zit to kingdom come in Photoshop, I have seen way too many women with "digital foundation", smeared with a mouse across an entire image.
Agreed, back away from the airbrush....
I haven’t been in favor of heavy-handed airbrushing since my Senior year in high school. Senior year headshots were something to anticipate – glamour headshots in color. What’s not to love? Well, surprisingly, my pictures. An overzealous photographer (and/or photographer’s assistant) recognized the mole on my right cheek and the third grade chicken pox scar on my left cheek as a “flaw” (I can only assume) and deleted any character in my face by erasing both marks. I declined the mask in the proofs mailed to me and opted to order untouched pictures.
The Dove marketing campaign that showcased the process of airbrushing and digitally altering a model until she was “cover girl ready” underscored how rampant the use of airbrushing and like technology has become today, so it’s no surprise that it is starting to take its place in the fitness world.
It seems to me that in some fitness cases, airbrushing is being used to define a photographer’s “style.” In other cases, perhaps it’s a key ingredient to attracting and retaining members to photo galleries on membership websites. And possibly in other cases, perhaps it’s a way to make a fitness model more “mainstream.”
Is there a place for airbrushing? Sure, I could have used it when my face makeup was a shade too light for my body. It might be helpful if an uncharacteristic pimple showed up on the tip of my nose the day of a shoot. Airbrushing the entire body, though, to rid it of stretch marks, acne, scars, tattoos, would beg the question: Is the model comfortable enough with himself or herself to participate in a photoshoot? In my limited experience, an affirmative answer to that question makes for a better picture than any level of airbrushing could.
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