When is a beautiful model in a publication not really a beautiful model? When someone has played funny with the image!

You read magazines. I read magazines. We all read magazines. We all think the same thing: My God, there are some beautiful people in the world. Or are there?

Of course, there are incredibly beautiful people in the world. The uber couple of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are just one example. Many of the photographs you see in magazines, however, are not exactly accurate. This is also true for the Internet.

The massive improvements in software over the last 10 years have led to some interesting developments. In this case, we are talking about digital editing software. Editing software is all about touching up photographs. Prior to the digital revolution, this meant images would get small changes to correct minor imperfections. In the digital age, it is fairly shocking models are actually employed any longer.

Using basic desktop programs such as Adobe Photoshop, one can mold a body into practically anything you want. Hair can be made longer, shorter or a different color. Noses can be made bigger, smaller, wider, darker or lighter. Prefer the model to look insanely thin? Just start pointing and clicking. The same goes for any part of the body. If a photograph does not have the correct lighting for a magazine cover, it can be corrected using software.

Is there anything wrong with this? Yes and no. On one hand, there is not law against touching up photographs to fit a marketing position nor should there be. There is, however, an indirect downside. Many people view these images as a goal for their personal appearance.

When considering plastic surgery, you must be objective about the potential results. It is highly unlikely you are going to look like the model in your favorite image. Heck, the model did not even look like that until undergoing a bit of editing! Plastic surgery has come a long way, but it has its limits.

Plastic surgery is designed to enhance your personal appearance. That being said, it is important that you have reasonable expectations. Forget the images in magazines. Sit down with your plastic surgeon and get an opinion from them regarding what you can expect in regard to results. If those results sound attractive, go ahead. If they don't sound like enough of an improvement, then surgery probably is not a good option.