# Which of these manipulated photos looks best? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 19, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653 "2009-04-19T21:00:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/1 "2009-04-19T21:00:55Z")
[Take a look at these three images.](http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6204/mikeretouchcomparison.jpg) Which would you select as most appealing, and why? (I have a theory and am curious to know if it has any relevance to consensus reality.) ---
**Author:** ![dragonlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@dragonlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonlady)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/2 "2009-04-19T21:14:39Z")
I like the one on the far right. The center one looks washed out, like the person is sickly pale. The first one is a subtle difference, I think from the third, a little too red maybe, or deeper shadows. I like the far right… ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Mood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@Blue\_Mood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Mood)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/3 "2009-04-19T21:16:51Z")
I prefer the one on the left. The one in the middle looks too pink, and the one on the right looks too airbrushed. ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/4 "2009-04-19T21:23:24Z")
I also prefer the one on the left. The others are too hazy and plasticky, and both of their jawlines seem to have melted into thin air. Edit: on a second look, I noticed that the real reason I dislike #2 is that the lines around the eyes are missing, making the smile look fake. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/5 "2009-04-19T21:28:12Z")
I don’t really like any of them; given their particular flaws, I’ll take the one on the left. The one in the middle does look washed out; the one on the right is fuzzy and lacks contrast, especially in the lower half of the face. The one on the left, while inordinately revealing of flaws that I assume were supposed to be concealed by the retouching, is the only one that doesn’t irritate me. I do like what the picture on the right does for the eyes – they look larger, livelier, and less puffy – but the sharpness and contrast in the picture on the left is viscerally satisfying in a way that makes a few lines and blemishes quite tolerable. A careful retouch, with lines and blemishes individually treated, and the treatment on the right restricted to the eye area, would be far better. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/6 "2009-04-19T21:39:14Z")
The one on the left is best. The middle one is too gray and sickly-looking, while the one on the right is obviously airbrushed. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/7 "2009-04-19T21:41:04Z")
The one in the middle would be the best if it had proper brightness/contrast and color. Otherwise, the one on the left. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/8 "2009-04-19T22:06:50Z")
The left or center. The right looks too overtly processed. The center is only slightly idealised but meanwhile got a little bland. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/9 "2009-04-19T22:15:35Z")
I like the far right. The middle one looks odd with the eyes, and the one on the left is just kinda… worn out (Ie: I know the left feels most natural, but I prefer the obviously manipulated right one because it looks better). ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/10 "2009-04-19T22:29:47Z")
The far right one looks too airbrushed–he has plastic skin now and it’s a little creepy. Middle one is a weird color. Left is OK. Would prefer larger images to study. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/11 "2009-04-19T23:19:07Z")
Without reading the answers, the left one (#1) The middle one looks greyish and the far right one looks “baby-faced” in a fake looking sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/12 "2009-04-19T23:59:46Z")
Right, left, center. After reading the thread and looking again–it’s the eyes on the right which really make the picture for me. ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/13 "2009-04-20T00:20:38Z")
Left, center, right. The center and right photos are too fake looking. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/14 "2009-04-20T00:30:46Z")
Left looks the best although I also prefer the eyes on the right. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/15 "2009-04-20T00:38:49Z")
I like the one on the left. The right is overdone. ---
**Author:** ![Spudo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Spudo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spudo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/16 "2009-04-20T00:53:13Z")
The left one is a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/17 "2009-04-20T01:08:50Z")
The one on the left, because it’s the most natural. The middle one is too grey/washed out, but it’s still pretty good. The one on the right is overly airbrushed and mildly creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/18 "2009-04-20T01:17:39Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > The one on the left, because it’s the most natural. The middle one is too grey/washed out, but it’s still pretty good. The one on the right is overly airbrushed and mildly creepy. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/19 "2009-04-20T01:21:52Z")
I’m replying without looking at anyone else’s responses. I found the first one (the one on the left) the most appealing. The smile looked more genuine to me because of the depth of the nasolabial folds. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653/20 "2009-04-20T01:36:20Z")
Left is best. The far right is an obvious airbrush and the middle one is too pale. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-manipulated-photos-looks-best/493653.md?page=2)