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When I had the use of an iPad, I really got into makeup and plastic surgery software. You’d think I was absolutely the last person in the world to even contemplate plastic surgery, but the resulting face, even though it wasn’t really me anymore, was undeniably a grade more feminine.
On my phone right now I have two image editing apps called Polish and Toon Art. The first is a general editor with most functions required to process raw images. It has a few beautification tweaks. The most effective common ones convert spots and wrinkles to smooth surfaces, enlarge eyes and soften shapes. I don’t really use these. It does have a cartoon option but it’s pants.
Toon Art on the other hand, has two filters out of the hundreds they offer which I think improve my look. One works on faces, and requires a pretty close-up photo, while the other is a full body cartoon, and pretty nicely done line art, so that I really do become a cartoon character.
The image I got from the face filter Pop-2 with this forward-styled blonde wig, put me in mind of pinups from the 40s, 50s and 60s. A bit of asking Mr. Google about these and I discovered my Hollywood spirit animal is Veronica Lake, inventor of the “peek-a-boo” hairstyle. Of course she was a famed beauty of her time, and the idea that a mere little algorithm can put me in her league, is crazy. (In the mashup above, image is reversed for same side partings),
Philosophical thoughts
Of course it is for fun, to see what you can do. But the whole process itself is one of artifice and presentation. Veronica Lake no doubt had the services of the best couturiers, makeup artists and hairdressers that money can buy to achieve her effects. And I have my network of these too, on a much smaller scale, obviously. Not forgetting of course, the photography itself, the use of diffuse lighting at various angles to reduce shadows on the face, etc. for soft focus effects.
Is there a concern that people are presenting a manipulated image of themselves that is false? It put me in mind of an old science fiction story which postulated some kind of holographic external image visible to other people which concealed their true bodies, called a Hypnad. There’s a plot point in this story where the Hypnad system breaks down and everybody realizes how ugly they really are. I think it just serves to be upfront about using beautification filters, but they should be allowed, for the purposes of fun and experimentation.
Thanks for taking the time to read my article and would love to hear your comments regarding my article or answer one or more of the questions I’ve posed to you below:
- Have you used a particular photo app to enhance your looks before you posted a picture?
- Which photo apps are your favorites and why?
- What to you use the photo apps to enhance?
Hello Ladies,
The whole concept of makeup could be described as, “presenting a manipulated image of themselves that is false.” Many woman would be horrified to be out without makeup.
My look is completely changed by apply my makeup. I am not as good as some it’s the professionals who have done my makeup during a make over session, but I have learned from them and feel I apply it fairly well. I have met a few people who did not know me yet in both personas and most did not realize I was the same person.
There is also the question of famous people who are featured in magazines and advertisements. These presentations are manipulated quite a bit. There are very few who criticize these adjustments. Those that do are concerned of the negative effects the “false images” have on our young girls self image as they try to achieve the “impossible image.”
What about our pictures, the ones we keep to ourselves and those that we post? I have seen se real photos of myself where I think, “That looks like a completely different person.” I will refer to my own pictures on CDH. I look at “Second Night in Vegas,” blue dress and silver heels and think I look like a different woman compare to my other pictures.
So does altering our photos present a false image? I say, “No,” if the alterations are subtle. Most of the “defects” we notice in a photo disappear when we are interacting with someone live, such as the little imperfections around the eyes. So touching them up in a photo doesn’t present a false image. Nor does a slight slimming of the waist.
Are my pictures altered? A few have been touched up but most haven’t. All, however, present me in a way that would be difficult to recognize me if we met when not presenting myself as Diana.
