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Photoshop Has Been Around Longer Than We’ve Been Complaining About It


We live in the era of the Photoshop police. And, with good reason: The prevalence and degree of heavy retouching are increasing. Media companies put up rewards for unretouched shots, social media acts as a collective whistleblower whenever an overly altered image of a celebrity is published, and women on magazine covers get their limbs severed by wayward mouse clicks. But, it turns out "photoshopping" isn't a new phenomenon: Bustle has the scoop on some seriously shocking photos of Joan Crawford from the 1930s.
This isn't just some grease-on-the-lens trickery. A retoucher spent six hours in a dark room with a special machine, pencil, and chemicals. If you look at the before-and-after shots above, you'll notice that the pro made her skin tone more even (and glowier), smoothed her lines, and erased a dark spot on her cheekbone. In the "after," she looks much younger. And, this was all done without computers — which is pretty incredible.
The takeaway? Our "addiction" to Photoshop is nothing new, and neither are today's beauty standards. It shows that our desire for celebrities to always appear flawless isn't new, either. The biggest difference between then and now is that, thanks to the Internet, the discussion is now public. And, perhaps, that's for the better. It may help us shift our perspectives and recognize that people in the public eye are just that — people. (Bustle)


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