Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown?

No, I think the memorable shiner would be a piece of family history I wouldn't want to lose! I've seen adorable school pics of kids with missing teeth, wild hair, odd outfits (my own included...).

If it means that much to you that your child look perfect in a posed picture, go to a photographer and retouch that one. School photos are a record of school days, not formal portraits.

That being said, for my senior picture in high school, they repaired a chipped tooth (couldn't get it capped until I turned 18) and changed my sweater from bright orange to pale blue. Of course, the pictures then were all black and white; the framed 8x10 that hung on my parents' wall was hand-tinted. That's how it used to be!

At least one person called me 'snaggle tooth'. I did have a couple of caps in my early twenties, which I think I regret. The whole perfection scenario is like some illicit dreamscape - though I get it if a child deals with a severe deformity.

Retouching class pictures just defeats the whole concept of recording history.

I'm off on teeth, past the class photo, or other photos. Real teeth and their foibles seem to have just scooted off.

I retouch childrens photos.. but.. only in SMALL amounts.

A shiner? I might make it a little less 'errr' noticeable.. if the parents ask but that is about it.

I mostly go after the long boogers and residual lunch crumbs on their mouth or shirt.

Anything more then that, and you dont have a picture of a child, you have a fantasy

Keep 'em as they are. Kids are beautiful!


I can see middle school photo retouches (zits) and high school retouches (again, zits) but grade school, no way.

They usually do "re-shoots" in case the kids eyes were half shut or something. I'd keep the first one if it were mussed hair or a shiner or such and let the second be in the yearbook. Afterall, ya gotta have "interesting" pics for the wedding rehearsal dinner.

That was my take, squinney.

I am mystified by the parents who want these changes. These altered pictures are going to be seen mostly by family. Why would anyone want to remember his/her child as he or she wasn't. There's something creepy about this; it's a denial of one's real child.

I agree with "fixing" the chipped tooth that was going to be repaired at the proper age for that kind of work. I also agree with removing the boogers and the crumbs. I also think that retakes are fully appropriate when a kid's eyes are at half-mast or the hair is mussed way out of the kid's familiar style.

But, hey, what's the deal with desiring these "biological" changes? To me this seems like the destructive error that Plato's physician makes: the doctor keeps a statue of a "well person" in his office, and then tries to make his patients match the look of the marble person's perfect health. These parents who want bio changes possibly have in mind a fantasy image of what's currently considered by our culture to be beautiful, handsome, or cute; and that's the way they want their kids to look.

Changes in eye color? Not too farfetched! If the genes weren't there, the pixels can be shifted. I see this bio-alteration phenomenon as a product of the general homogenization of appearance in our culture. Everyone (especially females) is supposed to look thin, healthy, and have classically- proportioned features. My wife and I call this the Barbification of the young. It's crazy. What does this desire of the parents (and later of their pre-conditioned children) for visual perfection say about the value of the individual? I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that, if the typical 7th-grade class picture were half-length, you'd have parents asking for breast augmentation of their daughters by pixel. After all, their daughter is not only a beautiful face; she is also so mature for her years. Yuck!

I wouldn't want it. I would rather see my kids' pictures as they were - with all the bumps bruises and missing teeth. Just imagine 20+ years later, which picture would be more memorable, the one with the shiner or the one with everything perfect? Sometimes those "imperfections" are what make them so special.

Shewolfnm - I can understand and would appreciate removing the booger and crumbs.

When I was reading the article I was reminded of one of the most extraordinary people I've ever met.

Back in my studio days I got a call from the Ronald McDonald house about a young woman who had just undergone her latest round of reconstructive surgery after having her face and hands burned off as an infant. This young lady was feeling great about herself and really wanted to do a fashion style photo session.

At the time of the session she was about 17 years old - a hard time for girls even under the best of circumstances, and she felt beautiful.

And so she was beautiful.

We didn't retouch a single part of her portraits.

I think about her every time someone complains about a bad hair day.

I'd never want to airbrush a black eye out!

Look how proud this young lady is...

Isn't this how you want to remember your kids? Happy and proud in their natural environment?

No airbrushing!

We have class pictures of my daughter when she was in second grade
and smiling with her front teeth missing. Those pictures are priceless!

It's bad enough for kids as they succumb to the pressure of the media
to look perfect. Even their favorite Disney stars have had extensive enhancement surgeries already. Where is this trend going?

Let's emphasize a bit more on the inner beauty!