REAL VS. FAKE: Photoshopped Celebrities, Before & After
Thanks to photoshop, the critical standard at which we judge beauty has become increasingly unrealistic.
Jessica Alba
Repositioned her head, eyes, and hair strands,
Thinned waist, thighs and knees,
Raised and enhanced chest/cleavage.
Penelope Cruz
De-frizzed and repositioned hair strands,
Lowered neckline, enhanced cleavage,
Thinned rib cage, softened collar bone,
Removed wrinkles around eyes and mouth.
Keira Knightley
Enlarged chest,
Added volume to hair,
Softened eyes and eye brows.
Kelly Clarkson
Thinned face and jawline,
Thinned stomach, thighs and behind,
Minimized shoulder.
Brittany Murphy
Removed lower eye lids,
Smoothed and softened skin tone,
Minimized shadows, brightened eyes and hair color.
Kim Kardashian
Removed cellulite and veins in legs,
Thinned waist/stomach,
Smoothed hairline and elbow.
Serena Williams
Removed circles under eyes, removed mole on shoulder,
Flattened stomach, smoothed back and thighs,
Darkened eye brows, lightened hair roots.
Faith Hill
Removed lower eye lids, softened lines around mouth,
Minimized her arm, back and collar bone,
Thinned thighs and waist.
Nicollette Sheridan
Removed bags from under eyes,
Removed wrinkles from eyes, mouth, neck and hands.
Eva Longoria
Removed dark circles under eyes, removed blemish on cheek,
Thinned waist, made shirt more transparent,
Enlarged arm, thighs and behind,
Enhanced eyes and hair color.
Mena Suvari
Removed acne from forehead,
Evened skin tone, brightened eye color.
Madonna
Removed bags from under eyes,
Removed wrinkles,
Brightened eyes, hair, and skin tone.
Britney Spears
Enlarged/ repositioned head, hair and necklace,
Enlarged/ raised contrast on eyes and mouth,
Removed minor wrinkles from eyes, mouth and neck,
Brightened eyes, hair, and skin tone.
Clive Owen (Lancome Men’s Perfume Ad, and Lancome Men’s Anti-Aging Cream Ad)
Softened lower eye lids,
Removed wrinkles from eyes, forehead and mouth,
Smoothed skin tone.
Tyra Banks
Removed lower eye lids, removed fine hairs on upper lip,
Enhanced eye color, whitened teeth,
De-frizzed and repositioned hair strands.
Mariah Carey (on set for photo shoot, and final published photo)
Smoothed and thinned stomach, shrunk belly button,
Raised chest, altered swimsuit top,
Evened skin tone, removed tan lines.
Rachel Weisz
Raised head, lightened facial features,
Thinned arms, knees and calves.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Removed dark circles from under eyes,
Brightened eyes and evened out skin tone.
Justin Timberlake
Removed dark circles from under eyes,
Removed shine and creases from forehead,
Brightened eyes and hair color, smoothed skin tone.
Cameron Diaz
Made breasts more symmetrical,
Softened hip bones, smoothed skin tone,
Brightened eyes and hair color.
Softened eye brows and collar bone,
Brightened eye, lip, and hair color.
Beyonce
Thinned stomach, hips, and calf muscle,
Removed bags from under eyes, repositioned eye lids,
Defrizzed and repositioned hair strands.
Heidi Klum & Cast of Project Runway, Season 1
Cast Members:
Moved Wendy Pepper’s head up and to the right, (possibly a position taken from another photo.)
Heidi:
Thinned waist and hips,
Raised and enhanced chest/cleavage,
Removed veins and ankle bone from foot.
Sources:
[1] “Jessica Alba: Latest Photoshop Victim” Socialite Life Blog. December 8, 2008
[2] “Celebrities Before and After Photoshop” Hemmy Galleries
[3] “Keira Knightley Bazoomed for King Arthur Promotion” Gawker.com, July 8, 2004
[5] “Celebrities Without Photoshop” CrazyGossip Blog. December 23, 2006
[6] Photo Tampering Throughout History // Dartmouth Study
[8] “Britney Spears With and Without Photoshop” Team Sugar Blog. May 30, 2007
[9] “Love it or Hate it? Clive Owen for Lancome Hypnose for Men” Team Sugar Blog. October 20, 2007
[10] “What Did Lancome Do to Clive Owen’s Face?” Back in Skinny Jeans Blog. April 4, 2008
[11] “Mariah Carey in a Bikini: Before and After Photoshop” Current.com Clipper, July 4, 2008
[12] “Celebrity Photoshop Before and Afters” TopSocialite.com, February 8, 2008
[13] “iWanex Studio: Professional Photo Retouching Services” Online Portfolio
[14] “Photo Perfect or Photoshop? Celebrity Tricks Revealed” Mocha City. September 2, 2007
[15] Project Runway Retouched Promo // Brian Dilg Photography
Seeing isn’t believing. It’s good to see how these celebs look before the retouching. They’re much more human. I was beginning to think Madonna was made of plastic.
yaaakkkkk
Not surprisingly, I like most of the before photoshop pictures much better. Especially Rachel Weisz, Clive Owen, and Naomi Watts.
what a perfect world :p
Ageism in Hollywood is no secret. I agree these women look much more like “real” people in the untouched photographs. Unfortunately, to stay in the game in their professions, they have to do this. Wish I had a team to retouch me on my bad days.
Justin Timberlake looks better all rough than photoshopped. Just sayin’.
before shows original look of celebreties while after is an artificial outlook, buttomline still looke better
I agree with what ladidadida said. For me I really like the before picture more on Penelope Cruz. I also would take Keira Knightley no matter what shape she is in. That woman is perfect.
What does Hollywood have against lower eyelids? Seriously.
To be honest, I don’t have a problem with brightening the colors at all. It makes the pictures much more eye catching and professional looking, and more lifelike. I don’t agree with all the physical alterations though. Especially the Faith Hill picture where they thinned her arm. It looks so weird.
I love freckles esp on NW. Also, apparently magazines have a jihad against natural undereye deposits. It holds your eyes up, people!
I’m left thinking that there are some really bad lighting people out there. I’ve directed a number of photoshoots and the working of the image after. Some of those before shots are pretty poor.
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
Has anyone seen the photoshoot Brad Pitt recently did with a photographer who does no retouching, shoots with harsh lighting, and tries to bring out the age in a person’s face? I wish I could remember his name. In any case, Pitt still looks amazing without all the retouching. Also, the before photographs are all much better. Sure, the lighting is brighter on the retouched ones, but everyone’s skin looks alien.
go cameron diaz!! she’s just as gorgeous in both pictures
I had no idea how ugly most of these celebs are in real life. It’s crazy. Imagine how a person that ACTUALLY LOOKS GOOD would look after being professionally retouched
Mariah Carey looks like she also may have done away with some stretch marks or whatever you call the loss of tummy tone that sets in after you’ve been pregnant.
“Miz Mariah, you ain’t gonna be no 16 inch waist no more…”
they 4got 2 put hediz shoe bak on!
they only have the heel there!
And these fakes are what we have to imitate? Impossible!
Excellent collection and excellent point being made. I posted a link to this page on my daily blog:
http://www.otherthoughtfortheday.blogspot.com/
Ted
How hyprocrite are everybody. All like to say “I like much the ‘before’ ” but the truth is that when they appear the way they are, people cannot stop commenting how bad they look.
Its people who make all these famous and media obssesed by these kind of things.
If people stopped saying that Mariah Carey is “fat as a whale” then she wouldnt even bother in asking for photosopped pictures every album release.
Get over with it.
I do like the before pictures better and I don’t consider myself a hypocrite. In fact I don’t think I criticise the way people look at all (more the way some people act). To me the before pictures look softer, more real, imperfect and the altered ones look harsher and fake and clinical. When I see the real celebrity it reflects on me as a person, I see their humaness and feel as though its ok for me to be human too (its okay for me to be imperfect). When I see these photoshopped pictures the more beautiful they are, the worse I feel about myself – and I tend to stay away from these images for this reason. Which is probably why I honestly do NOT like the after photos. I can appreciate the artistry and the beauty as I would a painting, but not as a real person. Because whether you know or not, some people can just tell a fake and it makes them feel negatively whether they want to or not.
I must say your post is fabulous. thanks for showing us