It’s no surprise that social media is full of photoshopped and heavily edited photos. However, we tend to forget that when we’re scrolling through Instagram or any other platform and we’re bombarded with pictures of beautiful-looking people with perfect bodies doing amazing things.
But the truth is, a lot of these ‘perfect’ photos are all an illusion: they’re heavily altered to make us think that the models and influencers are living the dream while their real lives might be completely different. A set of photos taken by 2 supposedly Chinese social media stars and posted online showed their fans just how powerful Photoshop is. And just how much it can hoodwink us without us being aware of what’s going on.
The influencers showed how photo editing software can make them look radically different. Both the social media stars made themselves look skinnier and altered their faces.
2 influencers showed their fans what they look like when they don’t edit their photos
Image credits: Ex Treme
Image credits: Ex Treme
Here’s what the 2 influencers look after they edited their photos…
Image credits: coeyyyy
…and here’s what they look like in real life
Image credits: Ex Treme
The difference is striking
Image credits: coeyyyy
Image credits: Ex Treme
Here’s a couple more comparison pics to show you the power of photo editing software
Image credits: coeyyyy
This is how Coeyyyy’s followers are used to seeing her
Image credits: coeyyyy
Image credits: coeyyyy
Image credits: coeyyyy
The photos went viral not just in China but all over the world after Facebook user Jevin Cheng, aka Ex Treme, posted them on his page. His post got more than 5.6k likes and more than 18k shares. But the most important thing is that his post got people talking: there are over 11k comments beneath his repost of the pics.
According to World of Buzz, the caption on the models’ social media post reads: “After being secretly photographed, I haven’t been in the best of moods. That’s why these photos never made it online after I weighed my options.”
The pics shocked a lot of people. Some said that this is the reason you shouldn’t trust any photo that looks too good to be true online. While others pointed out that this is a whole other level of catfishing (for those of you who don’t what it is, it’s when somebody lures you into a relationship using a fake online persona).
Still, there were some people who doubted that the social media stars’ post was real. They think that photos can’t be photoshopped that cleanly and believe that the pics simply feature similar-looking but different women wearing the same clothes.
What do you think about the photos and about the photoshopping culture in the age of social media, Dear Pandas? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Here’s how people reacted when they saw the unedited photos
With those photoshopping skills they really have no need to be influencers. Those are some seriously marketable job skills!
I've heard though that a lot of them don't actually have any skills: there are apparently phone-filters that will do all of that: make you older, make you younger, change your gender, make you a cat ... or give you anime eyes and skin.
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I find this sort of sad. Just be the way you are. And they even look miserable in the photos.
Dont forget we have entire movies now that only have about 30% real people and places...the rest are shopped, edited and CGI'd....we have come a LONNNG way in photo processing tech!
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I don't really want to learn how to do this. It's lying. Besides, my family and friends would really call me out. Rightly so too.
This makes me sad. My daughter is 11 and growing up with s**t like this. It's far worse than women's mags when I grew up and scares me when she's old enough to have Instagram etc. I hope I raise her well enough she doesn't ever look at herself and feels the need to heavily edit her pictures. My partner says it's just the world we live in but it doesn't have to be. Kudos to the girls for showing the other side as I've seen a few articles like this, but no need for it in the first place. Though sadly the likes and hits won't come unless you kardashian filter the f**k out of yourself to attain that unrealistic standard of beauty instagram is known for so it's understandable in its own way :/
Same type of thing has been going on for years. Think Barbie and GI Joe. This is just next level with new tech. Its pushed that every women should be skinny and all men should have 6 pack. Dad bod came, where is the mom bod?
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Wow. They don't even look like the same person. And what's with the weird looking down poses? It's like they're about to burst out in tears.
Shameful all the young girls who think something’s wrong with them because they don5 look like them except they don’t exist.
this is sad, since i bet the reason they did it in the first place, was because they thought they weren't living up to beauty standards and wanted some more confidence. But now they're just setting up new beauty standards for other girls, and the cycle just keeps on going on and on...
Not only that, they've done all that work and still haven't realized that everyone else they're looking at is just as phony as they are.
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That's messed up. Girls/women are always comparing themselves to unrealistic standards, probably a good portion of their fans. People do dangerous things to look like this and the people themselves don't even look like this.
Girls/women used to paint their faces with lead paint back in the Roman days. Just for beauty. This is not as toxic for them at least. If people want to follow such influencers, why should we stop them. Good thing though these photos leaked - new generations need to be educated constantly.
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but how do you manage to edit your face in the same way over and over again. i would look different on every photo..
If they only knew it would be so much more fun if they showed their real photos.
I'd say shopped, because the hair is identical, look at the little wispy strands. The shame of it is, there are girls who fall for it and then strive for these standards of 'perfection' without realising how fake they are. Good to see the truth for a change
I'm REALLY too old... - as Murtaugh said in a well-known movie... I was quite surprised to learn that it didn't require Photoshop skills at all. The Face App application gives a very similar result - automatically by shooting!
This is where my trust issues started. First, on the bunch of phone where they have beauty plus. To know a person who I am going to video chat with, I always asks this question first. What is your phone? If I knew the phone has the capability of turning a person's face like a ghost, I don't believe in his face. Like at all. And now this? This is some next level sh*t. They are professionals. Professional photoshop user.
Literally I just want to say that; what a software technology...
... and none of them - here or in the other threads on that topic - none of them looks any better in the edited version ... it is either creepy or unnatural, downright frightening or simply ugly. Compared to some of those influencers, an actual Barbie doll looks like a fat girl with a few natural flaws on their skin ... and, actually, having a waist size that won't allow your organs to work anywhere near sufficient is, leaving aside that it would have lead to death long before they grew old enough to use photoshop, does not look beautiful. It's ugly. It's a shame anyone feels obligated to deny their true look ... I wonder ... are they equally concerned about their thoughts, morals, integrity?
If they're so concerned about their weight they should spend more time exercising and eating healthy foods. It's their health they should be concerned with. Both physical and mental.
Ok, so we have those womderful apps and filters and s**t, self adjusting music and voice intonation as well. Now while music and videos can have a marketing reason to put a cowlyflower on stage and earn, why an overweight crumpy face person decides to go modelling ? Looks like they could esrn the same just trading internet grabbed photos of everythin
Bit OT here: they took so much effort to photo-shop the bodies, but they are not able to iron or at least edit this crinkled pink dress as well...
Smoke and mirrors...then the kids follow them believing everything thing they see. It's really ridiculous.
Imagine the amount of time these ugly bitches would save if they just got their fat assess into the gym for 6 months.
I DK I keep looking at this thread and it's just so mind blowing to the point that I feel like it's not real. How do we know they could actually be influencers and someone just mocking . There is damn near no resemblance at all
I have to wonder just who these "influencers" are influencing... Not just these two. All of them.
I stopped using social media like Instagram and Facebook because all the gorgeous people out there made me feel bad about my looks and constantly compare myself to them. It honestly affected my self esteem and made me depressed. Since I’ve stopped using them I’ve felt better about myself.
The hands in the first one are exactly the same, as is the sleeve shape on the pink dress and the way their necklaces fall. Why though would you want to shock people who meet you after knowing you online?
Ladies, ladies, you bring hope to ugly people everywhere ! Kudos ! :D
I actually get furiuos about this. I have first hand knowledge of severe eating disorder in the family. This fiddling around making everything perfect might just be the one little thing triggering anorexia. So, yes the "photoshopskills" are good, but the outcome might actually kill.. By the way, you look 1000 times better as your original selves !
She looks really cute and curvy in the real photo . But with photo shop she looks just like everyone else. Rant time. Rebel Wilson Adel and Megan trainer and every funny guy in any comedy ever. All you guys lull people in to a false sense of securty. It's all about the bass is it. Size zero has no base. Once upon a time Adel said she was perfectly happy about her weight now her body's been stapled sucked out and she's getting ready for her first 1000 calorie a day mental illness (it's proven 1000 thousand calories a day does class as a eating disorder) and rebel Wilson I loved you girl you have or at least had a plus size cloths range out. Fat Amy's not so fat. As a fat unconfident bullied little girl you guys have me hope. Back to the drawing room eh. And if any one says it's about health you can suck my fat a**e. All celebs say that just admit you want to be skinny and be like everyone else.
They both look beautiful without any photoshop, I hope they know that.
Why so many females tend to photoshop themselves into looking like blow up sex dolls from another planet is beyond me. Be yourselves! Love yourselves! And photoshop should be banned on all social media, magazines etc. I think it's poison. In my opinion, too many people are a*s backwards on what really matters in life.
The whole "kardashian" look is crazy to me.. I've struggled my whole life with my self esteem. I've struggled with eating disorders and one time was so skinny, you could feel my spine, and I still wasn't happy with myself because I wasn't "thin enough" in my eyes and now that I'm older my metabolism is all screwed up but when I was younger being stick thin, no sort of curves and thin eyebrows was the thing and now being thick (but in the right spots), curvy, big a*s, thick eyebrows, thick lips is all the rage. It's a never ending cycle. I choose to not give "influencers" any of my time though because I feel like they're all fake in one way or another.
Editing?!?! This is kite f****n magic!! Like Gandalf the white sorcery wtf?!?
That is WRONG on so many levels !!! They have some serious self esteem issues !!!!!!!
That's just disgusting, I'm sorry. (not her actual physical features calm down) but why can't people just be friggin happy with who they are. I think she's prettier in person because that's whom she is. The photo shopped version looks like an asian alien. it's weird and just stupid
They look fine without the photoshop. Mind you, mad photoshop skills, could make a pretty penny from that.
That level of self hatred is either sad or sick. Probably both. Both of these ladies need some serious, long term therapy.
Is it so they're not recognized in public or are they somehow uncomfortable with themselves? We all feel that one, sometimes more often than other times. I'm still lost on calling oneself an influencer. I give them no more credit than I do a celebrity, a friend, or myself. We all have an effect on people.
Photos have been "photoshopped" already when portraits they were painted with oil on canvas. How is this different? How is this news for anybody? Mad photoshop skillz here, though.
The difference is enormous. Nobody thinks of painting is a perfect representation of reality. These aren't fantasy fan art, they really could be real people. Comparing this to an oil painting is completely ridiculous
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The legs are too big for such a small, photoshopped (bad photoshopped) body and face. Fake ... sad ... 👎👎👎
How much you have to hate yourself to do something like this...???
People like them make me feel sick to my guts. It's one thing to not like the way you look, -let's be honest, everyone has a quality they'd like to change or improve- but it's another thing to look like something that you're not, altering the way you look. And setting the unrealistical beauty standards that are being forced to you, for other people as well most of which are young.
Why? It's a******s like you that make these kids feel that they have to fake their looks.
Load More Replies...
With those photoshopping skills they really have no need to be influencers. Those are some seriously marketable job skills!
I've heard though that a lot of them don't actually have any skills: there are apparently phone-filters that will do all of that: make you older, make you younger, change your gender, make you a cat ... or give you anime eyes and skin.
Load More Replies... I find this sort of sad. Just be the way you are. And they even look miserable in the photos.
Dont forget we have entire movies now that only have about 30% real people and places...the rest are shopped, edited and CGI'd....we have come a LONNNG way in photo processing tech!
Load More Replies... I don't really want to learn how to do this. It's lying. Besides, my family and friends would really call me out. Rightly so too.
This makes me sad. My daughter is 11 and growing up with s**t like this. It's far worse than women's mags when I grew up and scares me when she's old enough to have Instagram etc. I hope I raise her well enough she doesn't ever look at herself and feels the need to heavily edit her pictures. My partner says it's just the world we live in but it doesn't have to be. Kudos to the girls for showing the other side as I've seen a few articles like this, but no need for it in the first place. Though sadly the likes and hits won't come unless you kardashian filter the f**k out of yourself to attain that unrealistic standard of beauty instagram is known for so it's understandable in its own way :/
Same type of thing has been going on for years. Think Barbie and GI Joe. This is just next level with new tech. Its pushed that every women should be skinny and all men should have 6 pack. Dad bod came, where is the mom bod?
Load More Replies... Wow. They don't even look like the same person. And what's with the weird looking down poses? It's like they're about to burst out in tears.
Shameful all the young girls who think something’s wrong with them because they don5 look like them except they don’t exist.
this is sad, since i bet the reason they did it in the first place, was because they thought they weren't living up to beauty standards and wanted some more confidence. But now they're just setting up new beauty standards for other girls, and the cycle just keeps on going on and on...
Not only that, they've done all that work and still haven't realized that everyone else they're looking at is just as phony as they are.
Load More Replies... That's messed up. Girls/women are always comparing themselves to unrealistic standards, probably a good portion of their fans. People do dangerous things to look like this and the people themselves don't even look like this.
Girls/women used to paint their faces with lead paint back in the Roman days. Just for beauty. This is not as toxic for them at least. If people want to follow such influencers, why should we stop them. Good thing though these photos leaked - new generations need to be educated constantly.
Load More Replies... but how do you manage to edit your face in the same way over and over again. i would look different on every photo..
If they only knew it would be so much more fun if they showed their real photos.
I'd say shopped, because the hair is identical, look at the little wispy strands. The shame of it is, there are girls who fall for it and then strive for these standards of 'perfection' without realising how fake they are. Good to see the truth for a change
I'm REALLY too old... - as Murtaugh said in a well-known movie... I was quite surprised to learn that it didn't require Photoshop skills at all. The Face App application gives a very similar result - automatically by shooting!
This is where my trust issues started. First, on the bunch of phone where they have beauty plus. To know a person who I am going to video chat with, I always asks this question first. What is your phone? If I knew the phone has the capability of turning a person's face like a ghost, I don't believe in his face. Like at all. And now this? This is some next level sh*t. They are professionals. Professional photoshop user.
Literally I just want to say that; what a software technology...
... and none of them - here or in the other threads on that topic - none of them looks any better in the edited version ... it is either creepy or unnatural, downright frightening or simply ugly. Compared to some of those influencers, an actual Barbie doll looks like a fat girl with a few natural flaws on their skin ... and, actually, having a waist size that won't allow your organs to work anywhere near sufficient is, leaving aside that it would have lead to death long before they grew old enough to use photoshop, does not look beautiful. It's ugly. It's a shame anyone feels obligated to deny their true look ... I wonder ... are they equally concerned about their thoughts, morals, integrity?
If they're so concerned about their weight they should spend more time exercising and eating healthy foods. It's their health they should be concerned with. Both physical and mental.
Ok, so we have those womderful apps and filters and s**t, self adjusting music and voice intonation as well. Now while music and videos can have a marketing reason to put a cowlyflower on stage and earn, why an overweight crumpy face person decides to go modelling ? Looks like they could esrn the same just trading internet grabbed photos of everythin
Bit OT here: they took so much effort to photo-shop the bodies, but they are not able to iron or at least edit this crinkled pink dress as well...
Smoke and mirrors...then the kids follow them believing everything thing they see. It's really ridiculous.
Imagine the amount of time these ugly bitches would save if they just got their fat assess into the gym for 6 months.
I DK I keep looking at this thread and it's just so mind blowing to the point that I feel like it's not real. How do we know they could actually be influencers and someone just mocking . There is damn near no resemblance at all
I have to wonder just who these "influencers" are influencing... Not just these two. All of them.
I stopped using social media like Instagram and Facebook because all the gorgeous people out there made me feel bad about my looks and constantly compare myself to them. It honestly affected my self esteem and made me depressed. Since I’ve stopped using them I’ve felt better about myself.
The hands in the first one are exactly the same, as is the sleeve shape on the pink dress and the way their necklaces fall. Why though would you want to shock people who meet you after knowing you online?
Ladies, ladies, you bring hope to ugly people everywhere ! Kudos ! :D
I actually get furiuos about this. I have first hand knowledge of severe eating disorder in the family. This fiddling around making everything perfect might just be the one little thing triggering anorexia. So, yes the "photoshopskills" are good, but the outcome might actually kill.. By the way, you look 1000 times better as your original selves !
She looks really cute and curvy in the real photo . But with photo shop she looks just like everyone else. Rant time. Rebel Wilson Adel and Megan trainer and every funny guy in any comedy ever. All you guys lull people in to a false sense of securty. It's all about the bass is it. Size zero has no base. Once upon a time Adel said she was perfectly happy about her weight now her body's been stapled sucked out and she's getting ready for her first 1000 calorie a day mental illness (it's proven 1000 thousand calories a day does class as a eating disorder) and rebel Wilson I loved you girl you have or at least had a plus size cloths range out. Fat Amy's not so fat. As a fat unconfident bullied little girl you guys have me hope. Back to the drawing room eh. And if any one says it's about health you can suck my fat a**e. All celebs say that just admit you want to be skinny and be like everyone else.
They both look beautiful without any photoshop, I hope they know that.
Why so many females tend to photoshop themselves into looking like blow up sex dolls from another planet is beyond me. Be yourselves! Love yourselves! And photoshop should be banned on all social media, magazines etc. I think it's poison. In my opinion, too many people are a*s backwards on what really matters in life.
The whole "kardashian" look is crazy to me.. I've struggled my whole life with my self esteem. I've struggled with eating disorders and one time was so skinny, you could feel my spine, and I still wasn't happy with myself because I wasn't "thin enough" in my eyes and now that I'm older my metabolism is all screwed up but when I was younger being stick thin, no sort of curves and thin eyebrows was the thing and now being thick (but in the right spots), curvy, big a*s, thick eyebrows, thick lips is all the rage. It's a never ending cycle. I choose to not give "influencers" any of my time though because I feel like they're all fake in one way or another.
Editing?!?! This is kite f****n magic!! Like Gandalf the white sorcery wtf?!?
That is WRONG on so many levels !!! They have some serious self esteem issues !!!!!!!
That's just disgusting, I'm sorry. (not her actual physical features calm down) but why can't people just be friggin happy with who they are. I think she's prettier in person because that's whom she is. The photo shopped version looks like an asian alien. it's weird and just stupid
They look fine without the photoshop. Mind you, mad photoshop skills, could make a pretty penny from that.
That level of self hatred is either sad or sick. Probably both. Both of these ladies need some serious, long term therapy.
Is it so they're not recognized in public or are they somehow uncomfortable with themselves? We all feel that one, sometimes more often than other times. I'm still lost on calling oneself an influencer. I give them no more credit than I do a celebrity, a friend, or myself. We all have an effect on people.
Photos have been "photoshopped" already when portraits they were painted with oil on canvas. How is this different? How is this news for anybody? Mad photoshop skillz here, though.
The difference is enormous. Nobody thinks of painting is a perfect representation of reality. These aren't fantasy fan art, they really could be real people. Comparing this to an oil painting is completely ridiculous
Load More Replies... The legs are too big for such a small, photoshopped (bad photoshopped) body and face. Fake ... sad ... 👎👎👎
How much you have to hate yourself to do something like this...???
People like them make me feel sick to my guts. It's one thing to not like the way you look, -let's be honest, everyone has a quality they'd like to change or improve- but it's another thing to look like something that you're not, altering the way you look. And setting the unrealistical beauty standards that are being forced to you, for other people as well most of which are young.
Why? It's a******s like you that make these kids feel that they have to fake their looks.
Load More Replies... 
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