Getty ImagesIt's no secret that there is a lot of editing that happens between the time a celeb's photo is taken to when it finally gets published, but the amount of work (and exactly what kind of work) put into perfecting a star's snapshot may surprise you.
An anonymous magazine retoucher who is a 20-year veteran of the trade gave an interview to xoVain, where he revealed some of the most shocking requests he's gotten from art directors, creative directors and even publicists when it came to trying to create the industry's ideal.
So what did we learn? Oh, let's see...
Let's Start With a Fun Fact: Women get retouched much more than men because there's more pressure on them to look flawless. "I've got to say, I do generally get asked to retouch women more. It's always 'do more, do more, do more' to the women celebrities than the men. Male celebrities have actually told us that they don't want to be retouched at all," he says.
Get That Collarbone Outta Here: Not surprisingly, weight is often a target when retouching, but sometimes it goes too far. "With women they always want too thin. They always want thinner waist, thinner legs. And these women are already skinny. Women that you would think are kind of too thin and they still say, 'Thin her thighs out a little bit.'
"And I'm thinking, What are they seeing? I'm a student of anatomy...and you have to really know your anatomy when you're messing around with people's bodies. I've had instructions like, 'Remove this, it's distracting.' It's the woman's collarbone, for God's sake. Is she not supposed to have bones? So when it's time to fight and say no, I'll do it. I'm not going to damage my own reputation."
He adds that he's taken "10, 20 pounds, at least" off of the celeb when slimming their figure.
No Glam Squad? No Problem: The retoucher admits that sometimes they'll change lip color in photos, add highlights to hair and even give the lady a manicure if she needs it! "More often now, because they know what a digital retoucher can do, they take less care in hair and makeup. We've had pictures where hair is a mess—like, all over the place—because 'the digital guy will fix it.'"
He continues, "We've had to put color on someone's cheek, makeup on their eyes, lipstick on their lips, reshape their eyebrows, lengthen their lashes. I've even gone so far as to put nail polish and fingernails on. There will be a model that will have absolutely no fingernails —no manicure at all, busted up cuticles and all of that—and I'll have to shape and render fingernails."
They Can (Almost) Turn that Frown Upside Down: "Yes, but not too drastic," he says when asked if he can change a person's expression. "I'm talking about taking someone with no expression at all and giving them a slightly upturned smile, a Mona Lisa smile. You can alter people's eyes—if they're squinting you can open them up with the Morph tool."
Mary J. Blige Says No: The retoucher did reveal that the R&B diva was the only female celebrity he's worked with that requested zero Photoshop. "Only once. Mary J. Blige. [She has a scar] that means something to her."
Victoria's Secret Models Are No Exception: "I've retouched Victoria's Secret catalogue images—the most beautiful women on the planet. You wouldn't believe the stuff you have to fix on a regular basis. There are disgusting terms that retouchers have coined over the years—'vagina armpits' is one." (Shout out to Jennifer Lawrence!)
Big Heads in Hollywood: Sure, there's lots of ego in Tinseltown, but when asked to literally shrink a star's head—that was pushing it. "Yes, but I always try and dial it back, like when they said they wanted me to make [name redacted's] head smaller. I said no for a while and then I gave in and did a slight variation of what I thought would be acceptable and it went out the door."
So what's the lesson here, kids? Don't judge a celeb by their magazine cover.