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“All that is gold does not glitter,”—J.R.R.Tolkien wrote in The Lord of the Rings. The opposite is also true: not everything that shines is gold. And it’s something that we should keep in mind in our modern world which is dominated by the internet and social media.
We’re constantly bombarded by seemingly ‘perfect’ photos of people on Instagram but a lot of the images are heavily photoshopped. The Instagram Reality subreddit is dedicated to collecting the most retouched IG photos and we’ve collected some of the freshest examples of what not to do to your pics. Scroll down, upvote your faves, and read on for our earlier in-depth interviews with the subreddit’s moderators.
When you’re done looking through this list and if you want to see more examples of mindblowing Instagram photoshops, check out Bored Panda's previous articles about the Instagram Reality subreddit right here, here, and here.
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#1
I'm So Glad This Greek TV Host Has Her Own Personal Cloud That Follows Her Everywhere She Goes
Marcellus the Third 4 years ago
Maybe the cloud is the actual star, and the fact that the girls all look similar is a coincidence? IDK don't watch Greek tv.
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#2
Maybe Just One More Filter...
#3
Damn He's Ripped
RaroaRaroa 4 years ago (edited)
Ripped all right. Ripped his arm straight out of a magazine page.
The Instagram Reality moderators previously told Bored Panda that the coronavirus quarantine had slightly increased the subreddit’s membership but the amount of edited and photoshopped photos that people upload hasn’t decreased much during the pandemic.
The mods told Bored Panda that what people want to see are natural photos of influencers and celebrities, not done up and “edited to hell” images. “The influencer is going to realize that, I’m sure," the mods said about how they expected popular IG users to react to being stuck at home during the lockdowns which are now being eased or ended all over the world.
#4
I Don't Even Know
#5
Half Person Half Cartoon?!
#6
Found One In The Wild. I Bet She’s Never Late With Those Legs
According to the Instagram Reality team, “insecurity, envy, and money” are the forces driving some people to photoshop their pictures so heavily before uploading them on social media. That and wanting to avoid embarrassment because of real or imagined imperfections.
What can start out as a few simple edits or adding some minor filters can eventually lead to major photoshopping. And that creates a huge difference between how the person looks in real life and how they present themselves online.
To be fair, most of us try to show the best sides of ourselves to people. But there’s a rather obvious line between that and turning yourself into a completely different individual online.
#7
The Baddest Indeed
#8
Such A Pretty Sunset :)
#9
This Is... A Lot To Take In
#10
I Have No Idea What This Is...
#11
Where's The Nose?
#12
Well That's Something New
Lynn Donovan 4 years ago
I used to admire this lifestyle. Beauty gurus in their big mansions, youtubers turned millionaires, "influencers" with their pretty hair and make-up always on point. And then I realized how tiresome their lives were. All the fakeness of it. I don't want to live a life where it takes me 20mn to post a photo so people I don't know and I don't care about click a button that magically makes me "worthy". The lack of self-esteem, the level of body dismorphia they suffer, the sadness they must feel every morning looking in the mirror and failing to see the true beauty in themselves. I'll pass, thanks. I left this world of consumerism and found myself a new dream: owning a piece of land to grow my own vegetable garden. It was truly a breath of fresh air.
#13
She Looks Better Without It Though....
#14
The Face Of A Ps3 Character
#15
The Queen Of Makeup
#16
Turns Out Those Organs Did Exist After All
#17
Something Out Of An Indie Horror Game
#18
She Could've Just Said The Truth..
#19
Post vs. Profile Picture.
RaroaRaroa 4 years ago
She looks so much better in reality. Do some people go for the extra large, square forehead look?
#20
Linkedin Now Too
#21
This Fake Influencer Likes To Pretend She’s Rich, Constantly Posting Pictures Like That With Captions Like „short Trip To Clear My Mind“.
#22
This Girl Has A Disney-Themed Account, For Her ‘Travels’... Most Of The Pics Are Like This
#23
A$$ So Phat Even The Car Had To Make Space
#24
Why Do Women Want To Look Like This??
#25
Who Needs Organs Anyway?
Tracey Hirt 4 years ago
Why do people do this? Do they think anyone finds a 12-inch waist attractive?
#26
I Think We've All Wondered What She Really Looks Like
Lauren Caswell 4 years ago
I have always wondered (I saw this person on another panda thread) she actually has really nice real life proportions it must be so hard for people with body dysmorphia and or low self esteem (I mean my self esteem isn't great as I'm a heavily scarred from various surgeries etc and im not exactly fit, but i can own it)
#27
Profile Pic On Twitter vs. Still From Interview
#28
This "Makeup Artist" Advertising Her Work...
#29
Such A Beautiful Home
#30
This Can't Be Just "Angles"
#31
Literally A Different Person Every Single Photo
#32
Armpit? I Don’t Know Her
#33
I’m Sorry But His Edited Nose On The Left Literally Looks Like It’s Going To Collapse
Add New Image
What do you think ?
chi-wei shen 4 years ago
Some of these pictures look like the result of a severe mental disorder. They need professional help in order to accept what they are.
chi-wei shen 4 years ago
Some of these pictures look like the result of a severe mental disorder. They need professional help in order to accept what they are.
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