Should Magazine Covers Be PhotoShopped?

There may have been a variety of mixed reactions when the April edition of the Insyder magazine came out, mostly to do with the photography on the cover to capture Calif Record’s leading ladies Avril, Kendi and Size 8.

The image, as shown above, featured the musicians clad in little black dresses and looking their best smiling at the camera for the cover photoshoot of what may be Kenya’s leading teen’s magazine.

There was a broad array of sentiments as to the quality of the shoot, with some saying the artistes looked great on the cover, though others blamed the Insyder Magazine for what they termed a ‘terrible photoshoot’ that did not even bother to photoshop the ladies for a ‘cleaner’ shot.

Whatever the case may be, the biggest question remains: ‘To Photosphop or Not to Photoshop’?

Adjusting an image for the cover of a magazine is common practice across the globe, as celebrities or prominent personalities are airbrushed and their images processed on a computer to make them appear near perfect to the eye. Many are then are surprised when they meet these celebrities in person and see someone they barely recognize in some cases.

In America, there has been growing concern about these processed images and use of the perennial ‘slim models’ which makes a growing number of teenagers feel insecure about their bodies or image, all for the love of an artificial creation.

There have even been petitions by teenage girls to the popular teen magazine Seventeen, asking them to feature at least one unaltered photo spread on their monthly cover, because girls are experiencing feelings of inadequacy or are struggling to make themselves appear more and more like these photo altered images they see on their favourite magazines.

Should magazines then show women in their natural beauty, and particularly celebrities who are considered role models in their society or should we be exposed to computer altered images hiding what others would call flaws?