The guy who pretty much changed his race from hispanic to caucasian, DEFINITELY bothered me most. Changing one's weight bothered me, and significantly changing one's age bothered me. Changing things more specific to the individual person than a demographic group, bothered me either very little or not at all.
To the question of whether it's deception... A few of the people who radically changed their faces to where I wouldn't recognize them from a picture, really depends what the picture is for. Dating site? Deception. Acting job? Deception. It also depends what exactly they changed and by how much. Reducing a little under-eye puff seems different than entirely removing 15 years worth of wrinkles. Changing your entire face shape to what you wish you looked like, unless you are presenting it to people who otherwise don't know what you look like, and in a context where it MATTERS what you look like, this is probably more of a personal choice. And in a context of where it MATTERS what you look like, I think the line is "could you look like that in person given a day's notice?" (Meaning, without plastic surgery.)
Minor changes bother me not at all in either context. If it's something that could be covered with conventional makeup (acne, skin redness, minor brow shaping, lip color) go for it. If it's something that would otherwise have been done with traditional photography (soft frontal light for wrinkles, soft filter for skin blemishes, directional lighting for eye sparkle, bad shine on skin, etc.), go for it. I especially have no problem with removing spinach caught in teeth or flyaway hair, as this is no different than looking in a mirror and doing a quick brush-up before the picture is taken. I regularly smooth out sweat on dancers, glare in eyeglasses, and unpowdered noses.
Of course, I don't think there's anything wrong with pop singers lip synching their stage shows, either, unless they have directly lied about it. And I have always thought anyone who believes reality TV isn't completely manipulated into something only vaguely related to reality, is pitifully unthinking. It's fundamentally about the *purpose* of the image.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2007-03-07 10:53 pm (UTC)To the question of whether it's deception... A few of the people who radically changed their faces to where I wouldn't recognize them from a picture, really depends what the picture is for. Dating site? Deception. Acting job? Deception. It also depends what exactly they changed and by how much. Reducing a little under-eye puff seems different than entirely removing 15 years worth of wrinkles. Changing your entire face shape to what you wish you looked like, unless you are presenting it to people who otherwise don't know what you look like, and in a context where it MATTERS what you look like, this is probably more of a personal choice. And in a context of where it MATTERS what you look like, I think the line is "could you look like that in person given a day's notice?" (Meaning, without plastic surgery.)
Minor changes bother me not at all in either context. If it's something that could be covered with conventional makeup (acne, skin redness, minor brow shaping, lip color) go for it. If it's something that would otherwise have been done with traditional photography (soft frontal light for wrinkles, soft filter for skin blemishes, directional lighting for eye sparkle, bad shine on skin, etc.), go for it. I especially have no problem with removing spinach caught in teeth or flyaway hair, as this is no different than looking in a mirror and doing a quick brush-up before the picture is taken. I regularly smooth out sweat on dancers, glare in eyeglasses, and unpowdered noses.
Of course, I don't think there's anything wrong with pop singers lip synching their stage shows, either, unless they have directly lied about it. And I have always thought anyone who believes reality TV isn't completely manipulated into something only vaguely related to reality, is pitifully unthinking. It's fundamentally about the *purpose* of the image.