Inside the Big Lie

by Richard Martha

Image Manipulation:
What it is and What it isn't

On May 12th an article appeared in the New Yorker about Pascal Dangin, the owner of a company called Box here in New York City. The long feature written by Lauren Collins, gives us a glimpse in the life of what many consider to be the best fashion retoucher in the business. The photographers and ad agencies that hire Box for their services are of the absolute upper echelon in the glamour industry and have allowed him to build a stronghold of around 80 employees, undeniably a very impressive feat by any measure.

In the past it seems that Mr. Dangin has always refrained from speaking of his clients and the retouching services that he was commissioned to execute. However, in this article he spoke more candidly, contrary to his earlier philosophy in 2003 and I quote, “I never want to talk about my work, because it's kind of taboo,” he said. "The people who benefit from my work do not benefit from me talking about it.” 'The writer even pointed out the gratitude that artists like Annie Leibovitz and Patrick Demarchelier expressed for the opportunity to work with Box. In the printed version of the article they even showed some very modest before & after photos of a Demarchelier job.

During the interview the matter of ethics in image manipulation arose and the writer mentioned a recent Dove ad campaign which features real woman in their undergarments. A campaign that’s meant to create a deliberate break away from the fashion model aesthetic which seems to have negatively affected many young woman everywhere. When Pascal was asked how he felt about these natural images he replied that Box had retouched those images as well. “Do you know how much retouching was on that?” he asked. “But it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.”

The Dove remark created a week long media frenzy. The worse coming from the Daily News, “Okay, Dove ads NOT prettied up, tech backpedals. PHOTO RETOUCHER Pascal Dangin needs an airbrush to remove the foot from his mouth." Dove officials, in an attempt to salvage credibility, quickly cleaned up any misconceptions in a five-paragraph statement insisting none of the women in the campaign had their bodies digitally altered. Leibovitz points out that Pascal does all kinds of work but is primarily a printer. And Pascal, surely with rancor confirmed that only dust removal and color treatment were performed on these images. Even the writer caught flack for misinterpretation

It was interesting to follow the discourse that ensued. Perhaps a chance to explain the type of retouching that was required, following the masterful foundation captured by Ms. Leibovitz, to ensure the success of the Dove campaign, would have been more uplifting. Luckily, scouring the blogosphere, I found a more subjective opinion here.

A bigger picture perspective from Ireland here.
And more scientific breakdowns here and here.
All these links will hopefully give a better understanding of image manipulation. What it is and what it isn’t.

This month I would like to introduce Martin Evening, the author of Photoshop CS3 for Photographers. His books have tremendously helped me, over the years, understanding all the bells and whistles within Photoshop and how to apply them. I’ve recommended his books to many of my friends, colleagues and clients, eager to learn the ropes.

June 2008

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