It’s a subject debated time and time again. Photoshop! Now don’t get me wrong it’s a great piece of software when used in the correct manner. As a headshot photographer, I myself use Photoshop but (here’s the key phrase) in moderation, I use it to hide small blemishes that always magically appear the morning of a shoot, eliminate a few stray hairs or to lighten the area around my clients eyes. However it’s very commonly abused, often trimming down already exceptionally slender young ladies.
Dove, being in my opinion amongst the thought-leader’s of the beauty industry, have continued to battle against Photoshop and the unrealistic portrayal of women in advertisements with their ‘Real Beauty’ campaign. The Dove mission reads ‘our mission is to help develop girls’ self-esteem from a young age, so they have the confidence to feel happy in themselves and reach their full potential. We’ve got lots of resources that can help teach children better body confidence’ – and that’s a damn good aim if you ask me! Backed up with their self-esteem toolkits and resources offered online.
I came across a fantastic article by Joe Berkowitz discussing Dove’s latest tactic and it really is quite brilliant. Dreamed up by Ogilvy & Mather Toronto Dove seemingly infiltrated Photoshop and created a Photoshop action ‘Beautify’ – aimed at editors and the like transforming slim women to even slimmer women. It seemed as though when actioned it added a nice natural glow to the model when in fact it regresses the picture to it’s previous unedited form.
Heres the video…
It never ceases to amaze me that people are continuously trying to change one another. There is so much beauty in this world and amongst one another we need to stop every now and then and really appreciate the beauty in front of us, embracing the flaws and imperfections that make everything so much more unique rather than airbrushing it to look the way we’ve been made to think it ought to. The most interesting thing I see in my clients is usually the feature they are most insecure about! It’s hard for us to see ourselves the way other’s see us, the Dove sketch demonstrates this beautifully. Give it a watch and then try to start looking at yourself as other’s see you, you’ll be feeling great in no time.
