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Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching

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midwesternmom
11/07/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
My son has a noticable surgical scar, and I would be livid if they airbrushed it away. It is part of his story, and part of his beautiful smile. He is not embarrassed about his face, and he doesn't need some stupid adult to make him that way. #toddlerphotoretouching
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Wandell
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
When I was in the 9th grade I got a birth mark removed and was left with a rather large, pink scar over my throat. Over time it really grew on me, and came to accept it as something inherantly "Wandell".

When I graduated from high school I had to go and get my pictures taken. There was a makeup lady there and she asked if i would like her to cover up the scar for me, and I said NO. After the pictures were taken, they called my house and asked if I would like it photoshopped out, and, again, I said NO.

In the end, my pictures WERE photoshopped despite my requests to have my big, gross, ugly scar that makes people think I've had some kind of throat surgery left in the picture! I guess it was just unacceptable. #toddlerphotoretouching
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Dancingfrog
11/06/09

@Wandell: Sounds like you should have gone back for a refund or for reprinting of the original proofs. What they did wasn't right. You asked for no photoshopping, and that's what you should have gotten.

@jhuang: Um... that's not exactly a nice thing to do, either. If you wanted to give business to your local studio, why not get your grad photos there? Instead you had one studio do the work for you (taking the shots) and you didn't pay them the full cost, it seems, for both their time and product (since you stated it was cheaper to get them printed by another source). Then you paid another studio to take off the evidence that the first studio did the work in the first place. #toddlerphotoretouching
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yvanehtnioj
11/07/09

@Dancingfrog: If a company charges you a certain amount for the proofs, what you do with them after that is your business. As long as she didn't steal from the first place, it's not really your place to tell her she's out of line for finding a way to get the product she wanted cheaper.

Finding a cheaper alternative != not paying the full cost for the work done to the first place, contrary to your assumption. It's possible to pay the full cost for the proofs and have it be cheaper to print copies elsewhere. #toddlerphotoretouching
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Australienne
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
When I was about 14 (pre-Facebook and Myspace), one of my friends had a digital camera (this is back when they were super expensive) and used to post photos she'd taken on a website. Her dad would frequently photoshop out a tiny beauty mark above my eyebrow thinking it was/looked like a pimple. You know, because god forbid his teenage daughter have friends with acne. #toddlerphotoretouching
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NellMood promoted this comment Australienne was starred Australienne was unstarred

NellMood
11/06/09

@Australienne: That's really inappropriate. What a jerky thing to do to a 14 year old. #toddlerphotoretouching
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DramaClub
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
My son's picture day was yesterday. And of course two days before picture day he crashes and ends up with a palm-sized patch of road rash right on his forehead. Call me superficial if you want but I opted for retouching. A school photo is supposed to represent the kid at that age/grade and he wasn't going to go through the whole year with road rash on his forehead.

I get why Swedish Papa is mad about the scar. That's a permanent part of his child's appearance and isn't anything to be ashamed of. It's not a flaw. But a scratch, boogers, zits, and other temporary facial irregularities I think are perfectly ok to minimize through the magic of photoshop.

When you have a date, you don't draw a circle around your zit and wear it like a badge of honor so why should my kid have to wear his road rash like that on picture day in order for people to say his parents love him just the way he is? #toddlerphotoretouching
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token_illiterate_commenter
11/06/09

@DramaClub: That road rash is not a permanent part of your son's face. You chose to make his picture look like he normally looks. This photography studio decided that child's face was not good enough. #toddlerphotoretouching
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BytheSea
11/06/09

@DramaClub: I agree about the scar, but I have a 7th grade school picture of me with a huge cold sore that I desperatly want burned but my mother refuses to part with. #toddlerphotoretouching
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miss_so_unknown
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
When I had my senior pictures taken for high school graduation, the photographer retouched my photos and completely removed a prominent mole on my face. This was completely unacceptable, but my mother said nothing to the man because he was "doing me a favor." It was the oddest feeling - these photos were sent to my entire family, and I didn't think that I looked like me. I understand this father's anger and support it. There was no reason for this to happen to me, and there's definitely no reason for it to happen to a three year old. #toddlerphotoretouching
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boxspelunker
11/06/09

@miss_so_unknown: When we got my senior pictures, they had edited out the scar in the center of my forehead and the one near my mouth. I had never even noticed the one near my mouth until that very moment, when it wasn't there anymore. It was weird.

My mom was totally indifferent. #toddlerphotoretouching
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LeCauchemar
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
Should I ever have a newborn I will ask that they photoshop teeth into all the pictures. Gums are gross. #toddlerphotoretouching
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Highsmith
11/06/09

@LeCauchemar: Don't forget hair. I don't like these drooling little Larry David lookalikes. #toddlerphotoretouching
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NellMood
11/06/09

@LeCauchemar: You should have long hair put in, too. Those bald heads are creepy.
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Edited by NellMood at 11/06/09 5:30 PM NellMood was starred NellMood was unstarred

LeCauchemar
11/06/09

@NellMood: Oh don't worry - the kid will wear a wig from the moment it pops out. #toddlerphotoretouching
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token_illiterate_commenter
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
When did reality become unacceptable? #toddlerphotoretouching
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NellMood
11/06/09

@token_illiterate_commenter: Ugh, reality is so gross! I prefer my children to look like precious moments dolls. #toddlerphotoretouching
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Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd)
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
Scars are not ugly. They just are what they are: texture on your skin. They are interesting. They tell a story. I have some doozies that I spent years hiding and fervently rubbing Mederma on until one day I said, Fuck it. I'm not going the rest of my life not wearing sandals or sleeveless shirts because of some thickened pink skin. If anyone doesn't like it, it's their problem, not mine. Own your scar, Little Swedish Girl! #toddlerphotoretouching
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Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd)
11/06/09

@Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd): I would be lying if I said Padma Lakshmi had nothing to do with this realization. #toddlerphotoretouching
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BeckyIva
11/06/09

@Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd): I have fairly prominent vitiligo that I actually sort of like. It's so irksome when people act like it's some huge tragedy, and say "oh but there must be something you can do about it..." #toddlerphotoretouching
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SidheDragon
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
I work for a major national professional photography lab. I often argue with our on staff photogs who retouch stuff until its a completely different person. They argue "the brides love it". I argue "of course they do! now they're [whatever supermodel closely resembles the subject], not who they really are!"

Especially now in the digital age, things are just never what they seem.

We've also had photogs in this same situation, they remove a scar or a mole or a booboo even and catch hell from the parents. As well they should. We even had one catch hell for removing the snot running out of a toddlers nose. I was on the side of the parents in all these situations. Preserve the moment, not the ideal of the moment. Preserve the human-ness of the moment. Photographers try to create a false purity, manufactured perfection, when the purity and perfection are already there. #toddlerphotoretouching
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BytheSea
11/06/09

@SidheDragon: My brother's friend is a potogtapher and she even touches up her family photos. they're beautiful, but in 20 years, she won't have her kids, she'll have an artistic representation of her life. #toddlerphotoretouching
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Tchotchke
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
Oh, thank god. Now if only they could do something about all that extra pudge I see babies carrying. #toddlerphotoretouching
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Maritsa
11/06/09

@Tchotchke: We just want them to look their best!! #toddlerphotoretouching
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femme-bot
11/06/09

@Tchotchke: All fruit diet!? #toddlerphotoretouching
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Tchotchke
11/06/09

@femme-bot: Fruit causes bloat! #toddlerphotoretouching
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voteforme
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
This isn't being taken at face value, and Anna has re-contextualized the company's quote to make them look bad. It's completely reasonable for them to go through pre-school pix and get rid of scratches and runny noses. This is about one dad who's mad at the company. It's not about objectifying a little girl. #toddlerphotoretouching
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femme-bot
11/06/09

@voteforme: A scar isn't a scratch or a runny nose. Or a "flaw". #toddlerphotoretouching
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
Oh for fuck's sake, a scar is not the same thing as a smudge of chocolate or a drool spot. It is permanent and a part of her. #toddlerphotoretouching
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marciax3
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
I was on yearbook in Arkansas and there was a policy of using the lightest exposure for African-Americans because "they'll appreciate it."
Lifetouch must be like the hand of God.
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BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) promoted this comment Edited by marciax3 at 11/06/09 4:32 PM marciax3 was starred marciax3 was unstarred

yvanehtnioj
11/06/09

@marciax3: Well, there it is. I'm getting a concussion from deepening the head-shaped dent in my desk, so I'm just going to give up on this week and go get a drink. If anyone needs me, I'll be at the bar. In the darkest exposure available. #toddlerphotoretouching
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marciax3
11/06/09

@yvanehtnioj: Cheers! #toddlerphotoretouching
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Angry-Librarian
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
As a photographer, I brush, color correct, dodge, burn, and mediate composition; in order to make my images more impactful and beautiful, at the same time blurring the lines between photography and painting. Sometimes, photography is about the photograph and not the model. #toddlerphotoretouching
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yvanehtnioj promoted this comment Angry-Librarian was starred Angry-Librarian was unstarred

yvanehtnioj
11/06/09

@Angry-Librarian: Sure, when it's art. Not when it's a school photo. Those pictures are most definitely about "the model[s]". #toddlerphotoretouching
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cate3710
11/06/09

@Angry-Librarian: Which is perfectly fine for artistic photos. But for a class photo? I think that should be all about the people. #toddlerphotoretouching
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Hiroine Protagonist
11/07/09

@Angry-Librarian: Impactful, eh? #toddlerphotoretouching
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BeckySharper
11/06/09

In reply to Even Toddlers Now Require Retouching
Fucking ridiculous.

That said, if I could have had airbrushing in my school photos, I would have been the happiest high-schooler alive. #toddlerphotoretouching
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