What that "artist" (your quotes, not mine) has done is his job. The choices were most likely not his, but those of his client(s) and/or director(s). Touch-ups like this are not uncommon at all - in fact, they're the standard.

The artist from whom you took those photographs was giving us a behind-the-scenes look - hardly an invitation for you to attack his artistic credibility. You don't show much "artistic" integrity yourself, and you're not even getting paid for it.

The whole point is that this is the standard. A standard that is leading to a dangerous mentality of what we are supposed to be.

Just because you are doing your job and getting paid doesn't mean that you aren't contributing to the problem. I don't intend to single this person out as this is a problem that is happening everywhere. So far, however, I haven't been able to find many other sites with this kind of work. When I do I will include those examples as well.

But as far as I'm concerned once something is online its fair game.

"But as far as I'm concerned once something is online its fair game."

Have you not heard of copyright? Fair use? You think you can do whatever you please with anything you find online? You've got to be kidding.

So I could start my own blog, steal all the info from your post, and pass it off as my own without so much as a comment from you? Like you said, it's online, so it's "fair game", right?

Start reading those terms and conditions on every site you visit, pal; you're way off-base. You cannot just steal anything you find online.

My point was not about contributing to the problem, but the fact that you have miscontrued what the problem is. You blame the touch-up artist for an institutional issue - while you steal his individual work. How exactly have you helped anything here? You have one example, steal it for your own bastardization (which is essentially another example of the very thing you're trying to demonize), then start talking about "artistic" integrity. Maybe you should keep your mouth shut until you find more than one example to steal, hotshot.

Hi, the French daily ' Libération' had an article about all this ' retouching '. Fascinating ( and scary ), they said to visit ' detouch.org' where other 'artistry ' is visible. I agree with Jason. We females are fed up pretending our skin is perfect, we don't have any ribs or other bones, not to mention slight flab, and God, who needs a tummy ?. And of course we all have ginormous boobs, all round and ' touchable '. Oops, I notice big bums are à la mode, but only if shiny.!! well done J, from Ros Hilson. I am short, not skinny but quite pretty! As are most of us !!! I have to say this, it's nearly women's day...

Oh, we don't have veins or arteries either!