How to Photoshop Yourself Thin

In the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe was considered to be the standard for American beauty. Today, she probably wouldn't even book a model or actress gig; she would be considered fat. However, with the modern marvels of Photoshop, everyone can change their appearance and get flawless skin, whiter teeth--and get this--even taller and thinner.

Designer Ralph Lauren apologized for retouching an ad using an already-skinny model, Filippa Hamilton, making her look entirely emaciated, according to a recent "Huffington Post" report. The model told the "New York Daily News" that the fashion house fired her in April for being too fat.

The "fat" Hamilton is 5-foot-10, 120 lbs., wears a Size 4 and had worked for Ralph Lauren since 2002.

The World Health Organization reports that 33 percent of American women are obese--and by any standard--Filippa Hamilton is skinny.

With all the hoopla of looking thin and the technology to make it possible--here's how graphic design artists do it. Follow these steps to manipulate your own photos--but don't get too carried away. You don't want to end up looking emaciated.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Photoshop or GIMP
• A Digital image with some bleed area

1. 
   Thin Started in the 1970s

   Find an image to work with. Use one that has some “bleed area” around the subject since “bending” the image will create some image loss. As a photographer, I love Photoshop and GIMP and all of the editing tools. They save me bacon, allowing me to adjust exposures, correct color, crop and manipulate images in thousands of ways. Here is a photograph of a model on a fashion shoot. Is she too skinny, too fat or just right? I would say, just right, but this image was taken in the 1970s. Could she cut it in the weird world of Ralph Lauren today?

2. 
   Select Curve Bend Filter

   With this image we can use the Curve Bend Tool in GIMP to make her fit the fashion model-skinny standard. This tool will actually stretch the image making the model taller and thinner. You can find this tool under the FILTERS tab in GIMP. Open the Filter to display the tool panel.

3. 
   Curve Bend Filter

   Take a minute to get used to the Curve Bend tool Panel. Experiment with the sliders and settings using the previewer. She is a little too short by today’s standard (5-foot-7) so we will make her taller and slimmer by stretching her in the vertical part of the curve. Notice when we do this that the curve causes some of the top of the image to be lost. Use the preview function and experiment with curving the top or the bottom of the image. Keep in mind the final cropping of the image, so it will appear natural.

4. 
   Crop for Image Loss

   Use the cropping tool to reframe the image. Use the rectangle select tool to re-frame the image removing the unwanted background. Here she is, a little taller and a little thinner. My memory says she was about 5-foot-7 and 125 lbs. Now she looks more like 5-foot-9 and 120 lbs. Notice though, that some of the image is missing from the curve bend adjustment. To adjust this, select the rectangle select tool from the tool bar and reframe the image eliminating the missing part of the image.

5. 
   Side by Side Comparison

   Use the merge function to make a filmstrip comparing the two pictures. Here they are and you can see the one on the right is taller and thinner. She still won’t qualify to fit the weird mind of Ralph Lauren. Although she has now the more correct painfully thin body image, she is doing something that fashionistas are forbidden from doing today. That’s right she is smiling. Smiles are not allowed on the runway anymore.

Resources

• Huffington Post Article

[bonsueb]

on 11/15/2009 Thanks for your article. I was considering upgrading my old Photoshop software and you just helped tip the scales in that direction! An upgrade is going on my Christmas list!

[besesitos]

on 11/13/2009 Thanks for the article on How to Photoshop Yourself Thin! What a sick world the fashion industry is! Hugs

[geriann]

on 11/11/2009 how much does photoshop cost?

[sweetsaah]

on 11/11/2009 i am a some photographer............. nice tip .

[southpaw123]

on 11/10/2009 As a photographer wanna-be I really appreciate how you walked us through the steps so carefully in how to do this. I learned a lot. Whether or not people use it, information, all info., is good to know if you are into photography. Thank you for these educational tips.