The Beauty Shot

The truth takes another step back with a new camera made by Samsung. 

When I was a self-conscious teenage girl I had no idea that the models on the covers of Cosmo were anything but natural.  I remember marvelling at their perfection.  Flawless skin.  Every hair in place. I assumed they were from a different species than me, with my frizzy ends and monthly breakouts.  They didn’t have a care in the world while I cared about everything too much. 

Now I know better. I’ve seen supermodels without makeup and while many of them are indeed very beautiful, they have many of the issues and imperfections that plague the rest of us: skin discolourations, freckles and zits.  They also have what we don’t have: makeup and hair artists at the ready, wardrobe advisors and an endless supply of film or digital space with which to store the hundreds of “bad” photos that are taken of them before they get that one sweet shot.

A few years ago a camera came out that thinned the look of its human subjects. Now we have a model that automatically corrects blemishes and other pitfalls of being a human being.  What the hell? 

I believe that the closer we get to living the truth, the better off we all are.  I don’t want my friends and me to move more toward the supermodel version of reality.  I want the supermodels to come more toward us and I respect the ones who admit they have flaws and their business is built on a ruse.  It’s fantasy and there’s nothing wrong with that unless it’s passed off as reality.  I have been extremely unhappy with the way I’ve looked in some photos.  Who hasn’t?  But it is what it is and altering a picture of reality won’t alter actual reality!  More exercise, concealer and a dedication to a deep conditioner might. And that’s just realistic.