People have been obsessed with the concept of beauty for years but with the emergence of reality television shows like America’s Next Top Model and Make Me a Supermodel, the fascination with achieving the perfect face, body and skin has led many young women and even teenage girls to develop a warped sense of body image. It seems that the idea of the “perfect woman” is thrown in our faces no matter where we look: television, magazines, billboards, catalogs, etc. But what many women are still unaware of is the fact that there is one major tool responsible for the perfect bodies they strive for: it’s called Photoshop.

Over the past decade the advancements in technology have boomed, leading to many new and innovative approaches to various businesses. Photoshop in particular started off as a computer software program that allowed photographers to retouch and eliminate flaws in their images. It was only a matter of time before Photoshop became a necessity in the modeling world. The fashion and beauty industry makes millions, if not billions of dollars each year. By creating magazine spreads and advertisements featuring some of the most gorgeous women on the planet, millions of young women and teenage girls everywhere became bombarded by the industry’s idea of “the perfect woman.” Through Photoshop’s abilities, models graced the pages of high fashion magazines sporting perfectly tanned skin, smooth complexions and bodies that looked as if someone took the best assets of multiple women and pieced them together to form one goddess. The reality is that the latter is not far from the truth.

Photoshop has the power to do amazing things with photographic images and if you are not familiar with the way it works, you might be surprised to know just how much this software can transform an otherwise ordinary picture into an extraordinary one.

Think that supermodels and top models are born perfect? While they definitely carry great genetics, even these beauties do not always resemble the pictures taken of them. The following techniques are very common in the modeling, fashion and advertising industry:

Airbrush Tool: Using the airbrush tool, a photographer or other Photoshop editing professional has the ability to smooth out a model’s complexion or other parts of her body. This effectively creates a uniform, glowing appearance that is free of flaws like stretch marks, cellulite or hyperpigmentation.

Healing Brush: As the name implies, this Photoshop tool is mainly used on a model’s face to literally erase any unappealing factors, including blemishes, pimples, red splotches and fine lines around the eyes, forehead and mouth.

Selection Tools (Lasso): Believe it or not, a Photoshop editing professional can use specific lasso tools to select certain parts of a model’s body or isolate a facial feature in order to remove and replace it with a better part or feature. While not done too extensively, there have been publicized instances where a model or celebrity’s appearance on a magazine cover consisted of a different body. Kate Winslet was shocked to see a cover image of her on a fashion magazine that replaced her legs with a different pair that was slimmer and more “attractive.”

These are just a handful of the Photoshop tools that are regularly put to use in order to create a façade that too many women believe is real. Before trying to strive for perfection it is important to realize that the only way to achieve this is by dissecting your picture in Photoshop.

Related Articles
	How Beauty Trends Happen Ever wonder how a trend starts in the beauty industry? Who calls whom to say that starting today everyone is going to stop wearing nail polish and start using lip liner again? A trend starts somewhere and it ends somewhere, and in the middle someone is responsible for getting the word out so that   ...Read more		Expert Opinions – Who Decides you Look Good? (Women) Talk shows. Magazines. Advertisements. Opinions about what looks good and whether or not you fit the bill are everywhere from notes passed in 7th grade math class to the way your husband looks at you on your wedding day. So who gets to decide? We asked seven women age 13 – 80 who they consider   ...Read more