This vid does not go with this story but it’s really eye opening
Irin Carmon — Models’ Real Faces, Before The Photoshop Magic You are not the only one whose skin isn’t always perfect. But you could get that feeling from looking at the magically pore and blemish-free images we’re bombarded with on billboards and in magazines. One photographer inadvertently let us in on the process. Watch the miraculous transformation in our video.
Here is the photographer, M. Seth Jones, on his process:
In these selected images, you can witness first hand the impact that retouching has the potential to make on a single image. Every image presented to me has an ideal state, that I’m attempting to reach; retouch is so completely subjective, that it is likely that no two retouchers will approach an image in the same manner, or reach the same finished outcome. At this stage, it’s clear to see that retouching, at least the way I approach it, is not so much about tapering necklines and re-sculpting facial structure; but rather, sculpting light, and the way it falls on the subject, as well as clarifying the distinctions between the individual colours of the image’s palette. This ensures that every element sits harmoniously within the final frame, enabling that ideal state to be presented to the viewer with little-to-no visual distractions.