On the Today Show Thursday, plus-sized model Crystal Renn (pictured here) complained that a photographer re-touched a photo he took of her turning her size 10 frame into what she believes appears to be a size 2. (See the video here).
Photo retouching has been controversial of late. Glamour magazine last year made a huge deal out of including larger-size models in the pages of their magazine and people have cried "foul play" when celebrities such as Demi Moore or Kate Winslet have been the targets of extreme re-touching. It bothers me that media images influence young girls and models to be anorexic or bulimic but after much consideration, I think this model is making a mountain out of a molehill. The changes made to her picture don't seem extreme to me and she still looks healthy in the retouched image. Also, once a model poses for a photo does she really have a say in how it's presented as long as it's not defamatory or defaming? She was, after all, paid to pose.
What do you think?
Photo of model before (left) and after (right) the retouching: Today Show
Comments
“She was, after all, paid to pose.”
She was likely ‘paid to pose’ as a plus-sized model. She was beautiful in the before picture. There was no good reason to turn her into a super skinny ‘ideal’ of beauty that this photographer seems to think everyone wants.
And since she is a plus sized model, being re-touched to look skinny could very well be considered defamatory, especially if anyone thinks it was done with her consent.
She was paid because her presence suited the product.
As an artist and graphic designer I understand the “manipulation” perfectly. Although she is fine with her curves and ugly spots on her body, disturbing shadows on her arms and too short cut off legs that distact from the main-object: being the t-shirt and not the model.
This kind of photography (and manipulation) is about displaying a product and beauty. And not about the opinion of the display.
To think that any form of display (fashion, beauty, cars…) is real is disturbing by itself.
Honestly, 10 to a 2 is a bit of an exaggeration, so they photoshopped a bit of fat on her, it’s not like the photoshopped half her body.
It is normal to do a bit of retouching and reshaping for a more aesthetic appearance, removing any awkwardness from the pose.
As stated in earlier comments, she was paid to pose as a model that suited the product. It seems it would be less work to simply choose a smaller model than to go through all that work in post-production (trust me, I know – I’m a photographer).
That said, the changes weren’t that drastic. This particular model seems to be exaggerating a little.
Julyne, I agree with you.
The retouching isn’t extreme. Once a pro poses, the photos are in the hands of the magazine to do their will.
I am much more concerned by the horrid eye makeup and the obnoxious expression. She looks stupid and ugly.
What’s shocking to me is that a size 10 is considered “plus.” Most clothing lines I have seen, when not using numerical sizes, list 10 as MEDIUM. Medium is in the middle, not plus anything (or maybe plus bones & guts…)
And it’s too bad that artists would consider the human body ugly and disturbing, and therefore in need of retouching. That’s exactly where our culture gets these bizarre ideas of what people actually look like in the real world.
The changes are minimal, but important to this model because she wants perceptions of her to be real, which is why she isn’t a super thin model anymore like in the beginning of her career. The fact that she is labeled plus size when she is a real size 8-10 (not huge at all) should have been considered by the photographer. The image was more attractive when she had thighs and breasts. Would Kate Moss be angry if they added 20 pounds to her image? Wouldn’t everyone think she had gained the weight versus it was done digitally…and what would that mean for her clients and career.
A size 10 considered a Plus-Size….PLEASE! Does she really model for Plus Size Stores such as Lane Bryant, etc. I would think that having her model Plus Size Fashions would be false advertising!!JMHO
i don’t see what the problem was, she was paid to pose, and she got paid, once she leaves that room, the photographers can retouch the pictures anyway they want, i mean she’s a MODEL she should be well aware by now that photographers do this, it’s just because she’s a plus-size model that it’s getting press time.
Since when is a size 10 model a plus size? There are no size 10 clothes in a plus size store? This a terrible reminder of why our girls and young women feel so awful about their body shapes and sizes. I work with HSN and whenever we show plus sized models wearing our clothing, they are in the 1x + range! That is a plus size! I cannot believe they are calling a size 10 plus sized now! That’s just disturbing to me! ‘Hollywood’ is extremely messed up!
A size 10 is considered a plus size????? In what universe?
Considering the average woman wears a size 12-14, a size 10 is NOT “plus size”. Ridiculous.
the model is abviously comfortable with the way she looks so why make her feel bad about not be smaller. I think she looks fabulous and confident before the retouching. Size 10 is not plus size in the real world but in modeling it apparently is…
Never, please, say that size 10 is Plus Size… then if I’m size 12, what am I???? An Extra Plus Size woman???
I think the ‘larger’ issue in this story is that of society’s altered perception of what is now considered ‘plus-size.’ Thanks to Hollywood and the fashion industry, we are taught to view a woman who wears a size 10 as being too large. No wonder we have an epidemic of anorexia and bulemia ravaging young females.
What I want to know is what is wrong with our country that they consider a size 10 to be PLUS SIZE???? This is so promoting the misconception that anorexic bodies are the norm and everyone should look that way! I think the natural picture showing her tinsy winsy little curve looks just FINE!
From the interview…it sounds like the fashion industry considers anyone from size 8 up to be plus sized, so the plus sized models could vary from size 8 to size 20.
I did not see a side by side comparison with the two photos except the small pics above, so it’s hard to determine how extreme the photoshopping was. But changing someone from a size 10 to a size 2 sounds extreme.
I can understand the model’s point of view. She had/ has anorexia and is not interested in promoting anorexia in the general female public and particularly teenage girls, who are the most open to media/ fashion industry influence. So this must have a particular sting for her. And if they wanted a size 2 undernourished model to promote their product, why not hire one?
I work in healthcare.. I find the fashion industry and their classification of women disturbing in general. A woman who is size 10 and 5′10″ is not plus sized, she is actually on the slimmer end of the normal scale for this height. On the other hand, a 5′10″ model who is a size 2 (with probably a BMI of 18 or under) is NOT normal nor is she healthy, unless she just happens to be a normally very very thin body`type.
I loved Madrid’s idea of banning models with BMI’s of 18 or under from their fashion shows. No, advertising isn’t real, but the average person (especially teenage girls) doesn’t know this. It’s time the fashion industry got a conscience and a soul.
Today, while waiting in a doctor’s office, I picked up a Bazaar magazine which I hadn’t seen in a very long time, obviously. I was stunned at how terribly skinny the young models are. Many looked like little more than stick figures! Their arms and legs were nothing but bone. They looked nothing like ‘normal’ women. Whether the pictures were altered of not, what kind of message are we sending teens and young women today?
Fortunately, my long-time significant other loves me just the way I am, with feminine curves. And, because of him, I have learned to love them also.
Woah! Since when is a size 10 plus sized? Go figure…I thought 14 and up was considered plus sized…that means the majority of the women who weigh anywhere from 130 and up are considered plus sized? What a crock!
@Carolyn – Actually YES, she *does* model for plus size stores like Lane Bryant with extreme frequency. Like explained in the video she has lost weight. A simple google search will turn up a lot more pictures of her modeling and looking more voluptuous.
I agree that the retouching was not extreme but can understand why she would be upset with the retouching. I don’t think she would want her fans to feel like she is losing weight and turning her back on them. She is endorsing HAES (Health At Every Size.)
It’s sad that size 10-12 are considered “plus” and that stores that sell “plus” size clothes don’t use women who wear sizes 20 and up, but people need to speak up if they want change.
I can’t believe some one who wears a size 10 is a plus size model. Very sad.
What?? size 10 is plus size? i thought that was average, or even smaller than average! If someone wanted to Photoshop me, I’d be honored! Models are always de-freckled, de-moled, teeth enhanced, etc. Models have a limited career time due to ageist mentality. If you want to model, you already know this. Like wise dancers. Better to either make the money fast, or have a back up plan. That is reality.
I hope at some point young women will look at the fashion magazines and snort in derision at the stick figure models. Let’s all model something better….HEALTH. Let’s influence the young women in our lives to see that true beauty is beauty based on real health, physically, mentally, spiritually, and whatever else. If you don’t feel good, how can you look good?
Size 10 is a plus size? Surely you jest! Plus sizes start at size 16, not a skinny 10. Depends on what was in the contract she signed as to what the photographer can do with the photos.
WHAT? Since when is a size ten a PLUS size? Plus size stores don’t even have size ten. Very sad if you ask me.
Let me start with the fact that, at a size 10, she is “plus sized”??!! Seriously?! Since, according to all the studies/articles, the average woman is a size 12 or 14 and considering that a size 10 is considered a “medium”, how is this woman a plus size? Now, that being said, why should there have been any need to re-touch her body in the photo? She looked fine “as is”. The issue is that the fashion industry is obssessed with un-natural, and unhealthy, body shapes that DO NOT represent real women. This is what leads young girls to develop eating disorders and leads to low self-esteem. As Miss Piggy so wonderfully stated, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye”.
Are you kidding me? Her face shape has been completely altered to the point where the picture on the right looks like a different person. It has been narrowed and squished! I can understand minor retouching for “flaws” like cellulite, freckles, rolls, or any other natural phenomenon to appear more put-together or “picture perfect”, but changing someone’s body size? That’s just stupid. I would be offended and thinking, “Why is my body good enough to be professionally photographed but not good enough to be displayed as-is?”
Yes The retouching isn’t extreme. Once a pro poses, the photos are in the hands of the magazine to do their will.
I think the young model in question was right to ‘blow the whistle’ on those responsible for altering her picture. I think it shows that she is conscientious about the image that she is projecting to teenagers and to the general public. I disagree with the coldly cynical idea, (however ‘realistic’ it may be in the fantasy world of the media and advertising,) that a model is no more than an object, paid to exhibit merchandise, like a clothes hanger! Yes, she is paid to model the clothes, but she is not paid to sell her values or conscience. Well done, Crystal Renn, for having the courage to speak up!
I think she was OVERREACTING. She’s in the fashion business so she KNOWS they always do that. i’m a model too, i’m skinny bu they still edit my pictures before putting them out there.
When did size 10 become a plus size??? No wonder that young women look at these phony photos and end up with eating disorders trying to look like something not real.
I, too, despise this unhealthy preoccupation with unnatural skinniness but gee, these models are such spoiled babies! As pampered & overpaid as they are, they have some nerve complaining about ANYTHING!
It bothers me that people might think the retouched picture is of a plus-sized model, or that people might think that the clothes would look that way on a plus-sized figure. I find the sizes that they call “plus sized” to be pretty depressing already.
If you’re going to use a plus-sized model, you should accept that her body will have curves and bumps. Women who are looking at plus-sized bodies want to see bodies that look more like their own. It’s off-putting to have someone think they can just delete the differences between plus and skinny, yet get the same PR benefit from using non-skinny models.
So we have the skinny regular models at 5′9″ to 6′ and beyond and then they usually wear 4 to 6″ heels. These women look like walking skeletons to me. Most are either genetically that size or smoke cigarettes/take some illegal drug or diet/exercise excessively to maintain that size…. Not the best use of our time! No wonder we have yet to have a woman in the White House, that we do not have 50% representation in Congress (we make up 53% of the population) and that while we have made huge strides in lower and mid-management, upper management, presidents and CEOs of companies are almost always male.
Then we have the supposed plus size models….again they are 5′8″ to over 6′ and wearing stilletos that yet make them taller yet. Plus size models can be anywhere from size 8 to 10 to 14 to 18.
Where are the real women models? Those of us 5′ to 5′7″ and who wear a size 6 to size 14? We have NO idea how an article of clothing is going to look on us because we are not seeing clothes on our realities. I rarely buy any clothes and sew what I have found to be what is flattering to me….making a trial run first of a fabric that is less expensive and not one of my favs. But if my first try works and is flattering, I can wear it as I made it out of a wearable fabric (don’t sew a muslin copy first because if it works out who wants to wear a scratchy beige cotton muslim?)
I get the magazines and briefly look at the clothes but have tuned out the models. Most I find not that attractive anyway!
I am shocked at a woman who is a size 10 thinking they are a plus size. I is insulting to the women who are a “real plus size”. The reasons we are in that situation is divergent. But plus sized women on the basic whole are trying to have self-esteem, want to look good, feel sexy, have stylish outfits etc. at a reasonable cost, be given advise on how to use the best parts of themselves i.e. eys, hair etc. to their advantage. None of this is easy and we have little support. What can be done for real plus sized women?
I just tried to post an in depth comment concerning the “size 10 plus size” . An outraging insult to real plus sized women. When I tried to post it, I was told I already had-which I hadn’t EVER!! Doubt that this will post either. Please feel free to contact me. I want to feel confident, sexy, stylish as a size 20 plus size and I know a lot of women feel the same. Please help us.
That the fashion world sees a normal sized body as a plus size shows the disconnect. Why don’t they just design for crackheads? They’re the only ones who can fit the clothes.
Models that are a size 10 along with the models that are a size 2 are retouched in fashion and advertising. It has become an industry standard to smooth and contour body parts. There is a fine line between pleasing the public and insulting it….. There is a great Book by Nigel Barker coming out in September called “The Beauty Equation” that touches on this subject and describes inner and outer beauty. There is even a website, http://www.beautyequation.com where you can build a portfolio online by doing photo challenges in the book. You get to see yourself at your best through your eyes, unretouched!
It is scary to think that “plus-size” is a size 10!! That’s all I have to say about that and no I am not fat.
I do not care so much about facial retouching for women modeling clothing. I am also fine with them smoothing out wrinkles and bumps.
BUT
I am disgusted when they materially change the look and fit of clothing they are selling OR if they airbrush faces selling foundation or make lashes extra thick and lovely on mascara ads. That sort of thing. I saw an ad for Lancome cosmetics and I nearly fell off my seat. It is deceptive. It is a lie. It is false advertising and something should be done. I am only one person. But I can guarantee others were equally pissed and will be just like me and never ever buy Lancome cosmetics again. I used to buy Definicils mascara, their tinted moisturizer and their smooth hold lipstick. Never ever again.
I just learned apparently I am plus-sized … how scary is that. Just when I had become comfortable trading up from Size 10 to Size 12 jeans I now learn Size 10 is considered a PLUS Size in “the” industry. Lord help us all, can you imagine what they would have considered Marilyn Monroe now-a-days!
It’s ok !