Look Ma, No Photoshop
How People Magazine used all the camera tricks in the book to make stars look great without makeup.
This year's incarnation of People’s 100 Most Beautiful issue features something totally bold and daring: Ten stars without (gasp!) makeup and without (the horror!) retouching. The magazine makes a big fuss about the guts it takes to dare to go without, but a closer look at the pictures reveals the use of classic in-camera tricks to hide aging and blemishes.
The moral of the story: don’t feel bad, ladies, if you don’t look this good without makeup—you probably don’t walk around overexposed and slightly blurry. After the jump, we deconstruct a few of the most egregious cases.
Eva Longoria, 32: Flatterers take note: Next time you want to take
years off a face, try a long exposure. If you look closely, you’ll see
that no part of Eva’s face is actually in sharp focus, and that, in
fact, she’s moving slightly. That bit of blur disguises imperfections
and smoothes her skin, while the fan that’s blowing her hair makes the
whole thing seem more natural.
Jessica Alba, 26: Lots of exposure on this shot makes Ms Alba appear
smooth and pretty, and her white shirt helps too. Notice how almost all
of these woman are wearing white, and are photographed against white.
Their clothing acts as a natural reflector that help fill in the
shadows that reveal blemishes, scars, or dark circles.
Jessica Biel, 25: No doubt Ms. Biel is a beautiful woman, but she looks
even more so when cleverly photographed. Check it out: The only thing
sharp in this shot is her right eye, and a little bit of her hair. Her
skin is so blown out by overexposure that you can’t see her freckles,
not to mention that half of her face is hidden.
Jessica Simpson, 26: When in doubt, cover it with hair. We can barely
see Jessica Simpson in this shot! And what we can see, we suspect might
be concealed with a soft-focus filter. Notice how her hair is super
sharp, but her skin seems pore-less? She could be totally blessed, or
the filter could be blurring it smooth.
Rachel Bilson, 25: Hello overexposure! Want to make someone look good?
Make the picture so bright as to hide any spots that might really be
there. See that freckle on her right cheek? It hints at spots the
bright light could be hiding.
Rosario Dawson, 27: Pardon us, but we seem to remember Rosario Dawson
having brown skin. Not in this shot! A closer look in her eye shows
what we in the biz might call a “beauty dish.” That is, a giant
reflector that, when placed close by, blows out anything that’s
not-so-pretty. Couple that with an angle that hides half her face, and
you’ve got a recipe for a flattering shot – no retouching required.
Excellent post - very interesting to see the tricks used.
- www.photographyvoter.com
Posted by: Paul O Connor | May 03, 2007 at 09:27 AM
Very insightful article! We couldn't help but link it from our photography section page on http://www.eos-pro.com
Posted by: EOS Digital Photographer | May 04, 2007 at 01:31 AM
Cool
Posted by: cole | May 19, 2007 at 12:43 PM
hi
it is very good but try to use young edea.ok?
Posted by: nima | May 26, 2007 at 03:41 AM
Excellent tips about classic in-camera tricks which saves time on touch-ups? Do you have anymore?
Posted by: Jerome | August 31, 2007 at 03:08 PM
Great info for the general public..and great tips for photographers!
Posted by: PamN | February 02, 2008 at 05:31 PM
great tips that were otherwise forgotten in this digital era. thanks for sharing!
Posted by: beginning photography tips | April 12, 2008 at 02:55 PM