This video is pretty crazy… shows you just what a normal ad does with original photography. This video is for Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty… which is the first time I can recall a cosmetics or skincare company taking on pop culture’s obsession with fashion models, extreme dieting, and unheathly body images… as well the health and cultural problems they cause.

This reminded me of some pretty remarkable/scary sites regarding photo touch-ups. I’ve done some of this work for clients in the past, though it was more for product photography rather than glamour shots. However, I have had a few jobs where I helped “compensate for poor lighting and the lack of a professional makeup artist.”

While morally questionable (or just plain despicable, depending on how you see it), it’s quite satisfying work from a photoshopper’s standpoint. It’s the kind of photo work where you can make a great photo spectacular… and more often than not, completely unrealistic.

Here are a few sites with before & after retouches that I found impressive. The best one - http://www.glennferon.com/ - doesn’t currently have his before & after shots up, but here are some others that will make you think for a moment before admiring a pretty face. Behind every amazing photographer, is an equally truth-defying retouch artist.

Greg Apodaca’s Digital Portfolio
Has a variety of photo retouches.

FluidEffect.com
Some pretty high-profile image work with click-to-see-before shots.

Detouching!
Making the celebs look bad… really bad…

www.nasonart.com
For the most part, more subtle retouching work.