FitSugar

Test Run: Panasonic's New Beauty Retouching Camera

Allure — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:29:36 PDT

We're excited to present this article from Allure!

I'm totally against airbrushing-in theory. Since I'm also one of the many women who loathe how they look in photos (a peek at my Facebook page reveals this with way too many embarrassing images of me making the fishy face in attempts to look "hot"), I couldn't help but be intrigued when I heard that Panasonic has a new camera that offers instant retouching.

See the story - and the amazing results - when you keep reading.

See Makeup Ads - Without Retouching!

BellaSugar — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 03:20:36 PDT

Retouching is everywhere, but not in these ads. Make Up For Ever's new campaign is its first to ditch Photoshop. Instead, it's showing off its line of HD makeup in ads made without the touch-ups ubiquitous in the beauty industry. Sure, the women featured are stunning in the first place. And yes, great lighting, top stylists, and professional makeup artists help a lot. Still, how refreshing is it to see an honest view of what products can do - not to mention women who look real instead of digitally "perfected"? If you're in love with these makeup looks, you can create them with these guides. What do you think of this effort?

Redbook Retouches Faith Hill. What Do You Think?

BellaSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:50:04 PDT

How many times have you heard that models and celebrities really aren't as perfect as they look on the covers of magazines? It's a message that's been drilled into my head over and over, and yet I still look at magazines and wonder how on earth anyone looks that flawless. Even with excellent makeup and flattering lighting, most photos are retouched in Photoshop to create an unattainable level of perfection.

Hearing that is one thing, but seeing it is another. Jezebel offered $10,000 to anyone who would come forward with a cover photo before it had been retouched. And finally, someone has. The July cover of Redbook features Faith Hill. She looks very pretty and fresh, right? She did before being Photoshopped, too, yet she's been heavily retouched. To see the "before" picture,

read more So, here's Faith Hill, before Photoshop. Honestly? I thought she looked pretty good before the retouching. She looks healthy, happy, and is showing a few smile lines, too. I understand why magazines might want to even out her skin tone and balance the cover, but this retouching is pretty heavy (the designer even added an arm, eliminated the bend of her elbow, and made her back thinner). I want to know what you think about retouching. Does it bother you, or do you not mind? Do you think magazines do too much of it? (And how long do you think it will be before the identity of Jezebel's anonymous photo-supplier is found out?!) Source

Photo Retouching Is Creepy

GiggleSugar — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 16:00:00 PST

And software that allows you to "resculpt your face" is even creepier. PortraitProfessional doesn't just take away zits, wrinkles, or unflattering shadows. It gives you a freakin' new face. According to their website, it's "the world's first touchup software that actually knows about human beauty." And guess what, your face ain't one example of that! (Thanks, guys!) What's the point of even taking a picture? See below for pics of "before when I looked like myself" and "after when I look like a totally different android person." The morbidly curious can see even more pics by clicking the above link.

View 3 Photos ›

Media Makes Us Feel Bad, But It Shouldn't

FitSugar — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 16:30:00 PST

Do you ever look at a picture of a model and wonder if it's the real model or if it is just really airbrushed?

The media world is increasingly fixated on appearances, making us (the readers and viewers) increasing fixated on appearances as well. The number of tricks used to achieve the perfect appearance are totally countless -- From plastic surgery to retouching, models can appear to have bigger breasts, smaller stomachs or fuller lips.

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs wanted to show how easy it is to change someone’s appearance in this campaign. So stop obsessing over looking like the images of models in magazines, it's not real and you are, so embrace what's real.

A Visual History of Beauty

BellaSugar — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:04:37 PST

How artists have envisioned beautiful women over the ages - YouBeauty
Nine gush-worthy blushes - Real Simple
Roast-beef-scented perfume is very much a real thing - Stylelist
Glamour pledges to tone down its photo retouching - Styleite
Valentine's Day nail art you won't be able to resist - Refinery 29
Create the glossy eye makeup look on your own - Beautylish
10 things you should know about Fashion Week - Glo
Naomi Campbell doesn't think she's a supermodel - The Cut

Best Apps and Tools For Serious Photographers

Kristy Korcz — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:21:19 PST

Serious photography requires a serious camera, but that doesn't mean you have to be chained to a laptop or desktop to process them. Paul Pierson, app designer and photo nerd, tossed his laptop aside for six months in order to find out if the iPad and iOS apps could handle a professional photo work flow. He found that the iPad is actually quicker and more efficient in processing photos than the traditional setup of a computer and Photoshop software, not to mention a lot less expensive.

At this year's Macworld, Paul shared some of his favorite tools and apps to help you create a love match between your DSLR and iPad. First tip? Get a Card Reader from Photojojo ($30) so you can get those beautiful images captured on your DSLR to your iPad and, thus, your camera apps. Duh. Also you'll probably want an iPad with lots of storage - 64GB ($700), please.

Load up your iPad with the apps below for professional photographers, and experiment with more than one to create stunning images with less equipment.

Sunseeker ($5) - Helps you find where the sun is, or it will be, with the help of augmented reality. Great for landscape photos.

ioShutter ($70, coming Feb. 12) - Turns your iPhone into an intervalometer. This tool plugs into your iPhone and SLR, allowing you to fire your SLR again and again with the app and help you create beautiful time-lapse sequences.

Ollo Clip ($70) - This clip-on lens gives your iPhone or iPad an advantage with three different lenses built right in - fish-eye, wide angle, and macro.

ACDSee Camera Flash ($1) - Brings out details in underexposed images.

Snapseed ($5) - Won Apple's App of the Year because of its variety of filters, edit tools, and selective adjust tools like edge detection that applies changes to objects within the perimeter.

Ready for more? See the rest of the list after the break.

Meet the Mind Behind the Going-Viral "Fotoshop" Video

Annie Tomlin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:27:30 PST

At first glance, the above video seems like any other beauty commercial: beautiful women, a flashy soundtrack, and promises of perfection. Keep watching, though, and you'll find that the key "product" is Fotoshop by Adobé. Filmmaker Jesse Rosten created the faux commercial as commentary on the prevalence of Photoshop, and we're betting his video will reach a million views by the week's end. We caught up with him to find out why he created the spot, what he hopes people will take away from it, and whether he's a Photoshop user himself.

BellaSugar: The idea for Fotoshop came to you while watching an infomercial with before-and-after pictures that looked identical, just Photoshopped. What moved you from watching the commercial to do a project about the subject?
Jesse Rosten: I suppose I just like to make things. They say when you have a song stuck in your head the remedy is to listen to the actual song. It's like that with me and ideas. If I get an idea that I'm passionate about, I tend to obsess over them. The only cure is to go produce the idea. The beauty of modern filmmaking tools and internet distribution is that one doesn't need permission anymore to go make something. This required a lot of work, but was relatively inexpensive to put together. Plus, it was a lot of fun!

BS: I have to confess - I actually expected you to be a woman when I saw the video, but I'm glad to see a man tackle the issue. Why do you think men should care if women have their wrinkles airbrushed away?
JR: I thought it would be funny to have a men's version of the product, putting one's head on a herculean body, etc. But I opted to keep it simple and focused on women since they suffer the most with societal expectations of beauty. This is a complex issue and I don't pretend to have the answer, but as the incidents of eating disorders and anorexia among American women continue to rise, I think it's important to keep the discussion alive.

Read the full Q&A.

Link Time: Models Get Snapped With No Makeup, Hair, or Styling For Viva London

FabSugar — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:17:54 PDT

Top models get photographed with no retouching for Viva London - Vogue UK
Chloë Moretz would love a fashion line, ‘maybe when I’m 16’ - The Cut
Manolo Blahnik and shoeboxes at the SCAD - Racked
An exclusive peek at Aiko's Resort 2011 collection - Vogue Daily
Elle Fanning's style icons are Alexa Chung and Marilyn Monroe - People StyleWatch
The best SoCal bathing suit boutiques - Refinery29
Fashion conundrum: what shoes to wear to a beach wedding - Lucky
Riot act: punk-inspired Spring fashion - Teen Vogue
YSL's Muse Two Artisanal is both chic and socially responsible - Purse Blog

Tool Unveils the Reality of Photoshopped Magazines

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:27:01 PST

Looking at a rack of magazines, it's hard to find a cover that hasn't been photoshopped in to perfection. Now PhD computer science students at the University of Dartmouth have developed a software tool to rate photographs based on how much digital alterations were made.

The tool, which is part of recently released research in the National Academy of Sciences is intended to bring a level of truth to media and advertising and create awareness for natural beauty, without Photoshop. “The ubiquity of these unrealistic and highly idealized images has been linked to eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction in men, women, and children,” the paper said. “In response, several countries have considered legislating the labeling of retouched photos.”

The researchers hope the tool will one day be used to put warning labels on altered images, describing how much the photos have been changed. Would you support labels on heavily photoshopped images within media content and advertisement?