You might've heard, but we're no fans of Photoshop manipulation. And while we think it's really sad when magazine editors decide that it's not okay to have an elbow and some crow's feet on a cover, it makes us even sadder to hear that some magazines retouch their models to look bigger. Yes, that's right. Bigger. Self magazine seems unashamed of the fact that they need to plump up models because they tend to be too gaunt and bony to successfully represent the publication's so-called "healthy" image. "We retouch to make the models look bigger, healthier," says Self's art director.

Um, how about instead you just hire models who actually live the Self lifestyle? Athletic girls who eat? These kind of girls actually exist! And you wouldn't have to pay someone to do away with their visible ribs and non-existent thighs. Better yet: Run the photos of these scary-skinny girls unretouched. Please. And let's just see what readers think of the models' bodies. Would readers run away from the glossy pages forever? (Run at a steady clip, of course — since of course they're hip to the importance of fitness from reading Self.)

The Other Kind Of Photoshop Fraud [Portfolio.com]

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