The Pros and Cons of Digital Photo Enhancement

Wed Sep 13, 2006 2:12PM EDT

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Did you catch the story about Katie Couric's slimmed-down look in an airbrushed photo in a CBS promotional magazine before she took the helm at CBS Evening News? Lots of folks were upset by it, and Katie and CBS execs mostly laughed it off.

But reader Lisa K. had a different take. The story inspired her to have a recent photo of her taken on the beach touched up to slim and shape her arms. She sent it off to PhotoChop.com (screenshot), and for $5 she has a digitally enhanced photo more to her liking. She's gone back with some more business, once to remove a fresh scrape from her son's nose.  

Lisa writes: One could argue that we are misrepresenting ourselves through these modified pictures, but the reality is that it can change a picture from something you dislike to something enjoyable. I have no moral hang-up in giving myself a little "enhancing" on my personal photos while celebrities every day are portraying themselves to the public this way.

Good point, Lisa. But I've got two girls, and I don't want them getting more messages that women should be thinner, wrinkle-free, and perfect—whatever that is. (PhotoChop's motto: With PhotoChop, you can be flawless.) So I'm not going to be spreading that message by altering my suspect photos. But, hey, there are lots of times a little blemish removal, stray hair fixing, and other enhancements just plain make a photo better. And the tools are available, so go for it.

Lisa asks if there are other services besides PhotoChop that digitally enhance photos. Do birds fly? Sure there are. Local camera stores can do the work. You can also try some basic photo editing tips and techniques with whatever photo editor you prefer.

But if you want to make finer enhancements, more advanced photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro may be the way to go. Here are some tips for using Paint Shop Pro, and a PhotoShop help site. I also found this popular step-by-step "How to Airbrush Your Photos in Photoshop" tutorial on Digg, though the result is a bit too plastic and unreal for me.

Got more tips for online or do-it-yourself photo enhancing? Please share.

Comments on The Pros and Cons of Digital Photo Enhancement

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  • 1 Posted by lmfrankenberger on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    My god we all need to get lives so bad!!! Seriously this beauty thing is way out of control.

  • 2 Posted by olgaocon on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    Tip: Touch up your teeth with white soft round air brush tool to create a sparkle!

  • 3 Posted by dynamojack@pacbell.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    something a tad shallow about that.... but then if you do that you probably are not concerned about being shallow

  • 4 Posted by oobersli on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Using the patch tool and clone brush in photoshop is the best and easyiest way to photo manip. your pictures. Just make sure the pictures aren't super small or have a low pixel resolution.

  • 5 Posted by mikewofsey on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:20PM EDT Report Abuse

    Stupid. Why get rid of blemishes, wrinkles, scrapes and scars? They're what make us beautiful and human. If you want perfection, study higher math ... because the perfection in humans are our imperfections.

  • 6 Posted by robertremaxcoastal on Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    no sense in publishing the article w/o before and after pictures, we don't need another lecture on how women view their bodies vs the media's presentation, it's been done to death

  • 7 Posted by ashleygailey on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have no problem with removing a zit, stray hair, or scrape from photos... I use PhotoShop all the time to do so. I don't trim pounds off though. I'd like to take about 20 pounds off, but I'll do that through diet and exercise, not photo editing.

  • 8 Posted by mizutamariis on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    I find it so funny that I am finding this story at this precise moment. My little sister just had her senior pictures taken. When we got the prints back, none of the pictures really made her happy. Our mom had done her "makeup", which only honestly consisted of eyebrow pencil. No eye shadow, eye liner, not even blush! So I, being the Photoshop Queen, edited my sister's photos (with her permission, of course). I added the right makeup (taking the focus off her artifically brown eyebrows and restroing them to their natural blonde color), brightening teeth, taking the grey out of her hair and cleaning up lint, etc. In no way have I edited off scars, moles, freckles, etc. because, even ~I~ will admit, after so many "edits" the subject no longer looks like the family member you love! So, while I will admit that I have manipulated her photos, I am simply trying to make up for the fact that the camera is unable to capture my sister in her full beauty. I only wish I'd been able to do this sort of stuff to MY senior pictures!

  • 9 Posted by sdkidduran on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    Take it from someone who has done photography for quite some time cameras don't lie.

  • 10 Posted by lebhabee on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:47PM EDT Report Abuse

    i think its great i love the way i look in photos. and to speak on the topic of i dont want my girls getting the idea of being perfect i think perfection is not realalistic but to have the tool to make ur freshmen year of high school photo better i am sure that mother would have jumped at the chance. But i do feel that u need to talk to these youn woman and tell them there is perfect in every shapes color and form thanks

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