Contributed by: Editor on Thursday, August 21 2008 @ 09:30 am
Last modified on
An article called You and improved takes a look at a few of the photo retouching services that are available on the internet. Since the rise of social networking sites this type of business has become a lot more popular. Now it is not only dating site members using the service but people from Facebook, Flicker and MySpace as well.
A few services like Look Better Online offer the full package which includes a photographer, a studio (with proper lighting, etc..), and photo touch ups if needed. Most of the photo touch up services just take your pre-existing pictures which you have uploaded to their website. Retouching can include simple things like fixing the lighting of the photo, removing red eye and whitening your teeth. More advance retouching services allow for the removal of acne, moles and reducing your wrinkles. Some services even go a step further and offer to slim the person in the photo as well. This can include everything from your arms and legs to your waist. I also notice on one site I found, you can go the other way in which men can get a more muscular physic and woman can have larger breasts.
In a world where almost every commercial photo printed now has been retouched, does these type of services have a place in online dating? Like profile writing services, for the most part I think they do. Some people just don't take good pictures (I am one of them!) and going to a professional can help. The photographer can find your best angle and enhance your features with the proper lighting and background. For those of you who already have a decent picture with just a few problems you don't know how to fix then these retouching services are a great option. Small touch ups like red eye, acne removal, lighting and color usually start around the $5 mark. With regards to online dating I think this is where most people should stop. Getting your photo "Slimmed" may help you get more responses but in the end you are not being truthful in which on your first date your partner will discover. The way you look shouldn't matter, but for a lot of people it does.