How Does Photo Airbrushing Work?

Airbrushing is another name for photo retouching and the purpose of it is to correct the photograph from camera flaws or to fix flaws on the subject. Celebrities that appear on the front cover of magazines are typically airbrushed so that they look perfect. Software programs used for this include Adobe Photoshop, which is one of the most popular for photo retouching.

Basics of Photo Airbrushing

Photos that are airbrushed are edited in digital format, that is to say that the professional doing the retouching is doing so on computer with a graphics editing program. These software programs such as Photoshop allow the the person doing the airbrushing to manipulate the image by removing flaws, such as scars, dark circles under the eyes and other skin imperfections. The result is a beautiful image of a person that looks completely natural. In addition, airbrushing can make a person appear smaller or thinner.

Protests Against Airbrushing

Photo retouching has been so perfected by the artists doing the work that many groups have protested against the over-use of airbrushing among people in the photos. One of the reasons for this was due to young girls and boys thinking they needed to look perfect as the photos on the magazines.

Many celebrities that caught wind of this decided to show themselves on camera without any makeup at all in order to show teens that they do not always look like the edited images they see. These kinds of events are useful, and while airbrushing has its place, it can send the wrong message to young people if it is not used properly.