Retouching...a "Scandal?"

So have you all heard about the so-called "scandal" regarding Self magazine's cover photo of Kelly Clarkson? I'm sorry, but this one has me ROLLING MY EYES. Kelly has no problem with being touched up in her photos. But there are people who are of the opinion (and who are apparently in an uproad) that photo retouching is hurting the self-esteem of our youth.

So...I want to ask these people if I were to take their portraits, and they had a huge zit on their nose, would they want me to leave it there? Or if the holiday season had just passed and they'd indulged in a little too much pie and had an inch or two here and there that I could easily suck in (which I enjoy doing, by the way), would they really want me to leave it there? I mean, I could. If they really wanted.

But honestly? People I know LOVE to be retouched! Because pictures are a representation...they are not necessarily the "real thing." Standing in a room with you--that's the real thing. And senior portraits or fun shots...people even love looking almost "unreal." It's about fantasy and illusion sometimes. And it's fun!

That said, if I'm doing your portraits and you don't want to be touched up, just let me know. I can restrain myself. Really, I can.

And here's a video of some of the news coverage of Kelly Clarkson's retouch. Because she's the ONLY person in the world who has ever been retouched for a photo shoot. Ever.

Parents, if you are concerned with your child's self-esteem or body image, please promptly inform them that EVERYONE in public photos are touched up and that it is indeed unrealistic to expect to look "picture perfect" every day and that they should not compare themselves to the pictures.