Photoshopped and air-brushed pics: how much is too much?

[Redwolf]

What do you approve of for advertising pics?

I would assume that no one has a problem with a provider using a decent camera, good lighting, and outfits which showcase her best. (Some will strategically keep the eyes off of certain areas, most frequently the tummy by providing butt pics, leg pics, breast pics, and the tummy covered with a lifted skirt.) Also, even though not as attractive or pleasing, we can agree - I believe - on the acceptability of hiding an identity by photoshopping over a face or turning the head or hiding the face behind hair.

Also, I think that there easily is consensus about a dislike for using someone else's pics.

That said, how much for you is too much photoshopping or airbrushing?Tatoos or other distinguishing features airbrushed? Air-brushing of baby stretch marks? Use of much older pics (maybe even 10 years old) that show a more fit or tighter lady? What if the skin is smoothed out? Wrinkles gone? A stomach or ass made tighter through air-brushing? How much can a girl change before you would like to see new pics in order to get a more accurate image? Ladies, are you quicker to get new pics after a successful period of dieting and work-out than after you have gained some weight or lost some tone?

We could also consider related to this things like cosmetic surgery and breast implants, which actually change the physical look.

A case to consider is
http://eccie.net/showthread.php?t=90312
Molly's touched up photos have better lighting and outfits and it is just possible that she has toned up more through the gym and diet. Her thighs and butt seem most improved whether through hard work and/or computer. There is an improved look to her face through IMO a better use of make-up but also less shine to the face (I am sympathetic about that).

The second set really is better likely with the help of some air-brushing (others here would be able to see this better than me) but also by using better outfits, lighting, camera, etc.

Confession: I am aware how much I would need airbrushing/photoshopping to be an Internet hunk (certainly easier to use someone else's pics). So, this is not a heavy criticism of the ladies or nit-picking at their slight flaws. Rather, this is an attempt to elicit from the guys how much 'accuracy' they want or require from advertising pics and to invite the girls to share their thoughts about editing their pics, etc.

[topnotchmassage]

Personally, I strive to represent myself in my photos as realistically as possible. I have a problem with the idea of a guy showing up at my house after looking at a photo, and thinking "Seriously?.."
I'll admit that I'm not going to take a photo of myself when I wake up in the morning without make up on, and put it out as a sample...but I also don't answer the door looking that way. I would like for every guy who comes to my door to be pleasantly surprised...not the other way around.
and I also think it's important to keep pics current.
Guys should have the opportunity to know what to expect.
What you see should be(or at least be very close to) what you get.
IMO

[Miss_Mya]

This is a very interesting question. I personally do not touch-up any of my pics because that can cost some money unless you have the skills to do it yourself (which I do not). I think using airbrushing to get rid of tattoos is kind of pushing the line to false advertising because if a hobbyist wants a provider with no tattoos and she has airbrushed hers out and he goes to see her and then sees them then I am sure he would feel like he was tricked. I would never airbrush something out that others would eventually see anyway because what is the point. It's kind of like the ladies that like to wear undergarments that hide the bulge and to make them look slimmer to impress a guy. Let's face it eventually the guy will see you naked and then all those little beauty and slimming secrets will be out in the open.
I personally will take new pictures at any time because it's fun for me. I would never wait till I dropped those unwanted pounds. I am a pretty honest person and I know my pictures probably would look better with some touch up work but I wouldn't feel right about doing it. Just my thoughts.

[Allie_Kat]

I don't blur my face out, I actually don't have a face at all. LOL.
Just kidding. I blur my face out for security reasons. That won't ever change.
As far as photo shopping tattoos out, I understand that some tattoos are identifying and therefore if a girl is UTR or not wanting people to know who she is, then it's okay to take them out. BUT...maybe she should tell the client when she's scheduling with him that she has some tattoos.

[JackJohnson]

Maybe she did work out, but Ive been looking at those airbrushed pics, and the more I blow them up, it appears they really been photoshopped. My evidence... at least one analysis

on the pic in the pink bikini the angle of the light source doesnt appear to match teh shadows around her hip area... also she's IN the water and doesnt appear to be very wet (no glisten off the body) like off her chest... I think there are some other flaws, but I digress

Personally... if I'm shopping for a provider based on her looks/pictures (and... surely I do at first glance...) then photoshopping your pics is certainly false advertising. If you don't want a girl with tatoos and she 'shopped them off, not a good thing.

the rule here is... like always... "caveat emptor"

I am sure that some folks won't agree, but it is why you always have a choice. If you have a reason why you think what you ordered isn't what you were delivered... send it back. Be polite, offer her some gas money for her time, or a tip if you're at her place, and leave. The market will correct itself.

It's exactly why sites like this, that offer free exchange of information are so valuable. I appreciate it as a community service, and think it has made my shopping ever more selective. My thanks to everyone who posts!

[CaptainKaos]

As with most things in life, I think moderation is the key. Photoshop can work wonders, but the naked eye has a pretty good bullshit detector. Things that are overdone often make your mind start to notice the subtle hints of over brushing. I can tell you that I'm okay with using Photoshop to get rid of zits, bruises, errant hairs and other things that aren't permanent.

[Redwolf]

Originally Posted by topnotchmassage

Personally, I strive to represent myself in my photos as realistically as possible. I have a problem with the idea of a guy showing up at my house after looking at a photo, and thinking "Seriously?.."
I'll admit that I'm not going to take a photo of myself when I wake up in the morning without make up on, and put it out as a sample...but I also don't answer the door looking that way. I would like for every guy who comes to my door to be pleasantly surprised...not the other way around.
and I also think it's important to keep pics current.
Guys should have the opportunity to know what to expect.
What you see should be(or at least be very close to) what you get.
IMO

100% in agreement
Might I add, you represent yourself very well. Can I be surprised at your door?

[Redwolf]

Originally Posted by Miss_Mya

This is a very interesting question. I personally do not touch-up any of my pics because that can cost some money unless you have the skills to do it yourself (which I do not). I think using airbrushing to get rid of tattoos is kind of pushing the line to false advertising because if a hobbyist wants a provider with no tattoos and she has airbrushed hers out and he goes to see her and then sees them then I am sure he would feel like he was tricked. I would never airbrush something out that others would eventually see anyway because what is the point. It's kind of like the ladies that like to wear undergarments that hide the bulge and to make them look slimmer to impress a guy. Let's face it eventually the guy will see you naked and then all those little beauty and slimming secrets will be out in the open.
I personally will take new pictures at any time because it's fun for me. I would never wait till I dropped those unwanted pounds. I am a pretty honest person and I know my pictures probably would look better with some touch up work but I wouldn't feel right about doing it. Just my thoughts.

That is two in a row for accurate representation pics.

The reason why I would be fine with photoshopping a tatoo is if it is an identifying feature. I would want, in that case, to know that the lady has a tatoo in a certain place.

May I give a related example, although more profound regarding honesty in photoshopping. I always assumed that behind the blur of what would be normally a face, Allie_Kat actually had a face. But now, I know that she doesn't. It is good for her to provide such accuracy.

Miss Mya, I think that honest, accurate, and well-done pics which show off a lady's most proud features (fine to air-brush anything identifying) will benefit her most in the long run. Fake pics or pics so egregiously altered might get some business but will likely kill repeat business and reviews will suffer.

I would say, Miss Mya, that if a lady has a 'problem area', i.e., a part of her body with which she lacks confidence, she does not have to have zoomed in pics on said body parts. A super tight and tone lady with small breasts might choose to show off her mid-section or spinning flexibility, whereas a well-endowed lady might excite guys with more pics showing her abundant cleavage.

[Guest061019]

Here is a case where the retouching is just a bit excessive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
This is an extreme case, but it also is an excellent example of what can be accomplished.
I know that most providers don't have the means to have this level of retouching done on their images. If images like this did show up in an AD, the first thing people would say is "To Good To Be True"
I don't think that a "little retouching" is a bad thing. But changing a person's entire appearance or shaving off 60lbs is just as bad as using fake pics. Which is in essence exactly what the provider is doing.

[Guest061019]

Redwolf,
Please don't use the term "Air-Brushed" unless you are referring to an "old school print" All retouching is now done on the computer and with programs like photoshop. It is so prevalent now that "Photoshop, and Photoshopping" is now listed as a noun and a VERB! in Webster's dictionary.

Thanks for starting this discussion! I really enjoy it!!

[topnotchmassage]

Originally Posted by Redwolf

100% in agreement
Might I add, you represent yourself very well. Can I be surprised at your door?

Thank you...and sure, you can

[topnotchmassage]

Originally Posted by BullDog211

Redwolf,
Please don't use the term "Air-Brushed" unless you are referring to an "old school print" All retouching is now done on the computer and with programs like photoshop. It is so prevalent now that "Photoshop, and Photoshopping" is now listed as a noun and a VERB! in Webster's dictionary.

Thanks for starting this discussion! I really enjoy it!!

One of the definitions of "airbrush" is 'to prettify or sanitize'...not exclusively by means of an actual airbrush.
so, It also applies.

[Redwolf]

Gotcha. No more airbr******. Just kidding. I was really using the word airbrushing in a figurative way, sometimes using it and photoshopping interchangeably. It is frequently used this way in the discussion of editing of images. That said, photoshopping is a more exact word. For accuracy, it is good to use.

Bulldog, I am glad that you like the discussion. It is fascinating as well as helpful.

I enjoyed the YouTube video. I imagine that a reasonable consensus here on the ECCIE forum would be that the lighting, hair styling, make-up, etc. would certainly be appropriate. (everything up to about the 40 sec. mark) Also, IMO there would be consensus in the view that changing the shape of the shoulders and elongating the neck are examples of going too far.

Personally, I don't have a problem with photoshopping off the glisten of a shiny forehead or a zit or temporaray blemish. Something like adding (not every girl should be the ex-Laker Girl turned Guess spokesmodel) or removing a permanent mole might be too much editing. These are things that are commonly done by women in their use of make-up. So its not a big deal.

I would love it if some of the providers shared with us their biggest photoshops. It might be too much to ask but it would also be fascinating to see some before and after pics. One may have edited a visible tatoo of her boyfriend's name. Another might erase some forehead wrinkles. Another may do nothing once the camera has taken the picture.

A poll might be in order for the provider's approved use of photoshopping.

[topnotchmassage]

Originally Posted by Redwolf

I would love it if some of the providers shared with us their biggest photoshops. It might be too much to ask but it would also be fascinating to see some before and after pics. One may have edited a visible tatoo of her boyfriend's name. Another might erase some forehead wrinkles. Another may do nothing once the camera has taken the picture.

As I mentioned, I don't tend to do much editing to my pics...I more often choose the pics I post based on which I find most naturally flattering.
One of the photographers who hired me as a 'model' did this, though...
I can't say for sure, what he did besides change the color...I have found that adjusting the color of pics often helps to even the skin tone, and such.
Here is a before and after, as requested. Bubba, please remove if you consider this 'self-promoting'.

[Redwolf]

Is the left pic after and the right pic before?