Set Photoshop to Thinspiration

[essentialsaltes]

It would be easy to make fun of fatness or cosplay, but I wish to probe the philosophical question:

At what point does a photo of you become not a photo of you?

Here is a retouched photo of me from New Year's.

Comments

[aaronjv.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure this even matters. Online presences are faked for flattery, and we as a species are fleeing into the virtual world because the real one is so ugly, so why not live the lie and enjoy the illusion?

The Cake Is A Lie.

My ass, however, is not.

OK, serious answer (according to moi):
a photo is no longer a photo of you when the finished results would take more than a (normal) day's work*. So skin blemishes can be covered by make up, hair can be colored, platform shoes can be worn, a tummy can be sucked in (maybe even liposuctioned, but not 200 lbs of it), unseemly hair can be removed, tans can be sprayed on, etc.

My def. is pretty liberal, but the above and the link you leave in your comment are beyond the pale. Both would take much more than a day to pull off (a true day from both could be a lot of bandages and an IV drip in the hospital, though).

* work on you IRL with accessible commercial products, not a day of photoshopping or a day at the hands of Rick Baker.