Shocked parents discover that all their children’s class photos have been altered

We keep hearing that filters on photos shared on social networks are dangerous. Sometimes it’s even hard to recognize a real person after seeing them on their Instagram account in a photo. Filters distort reality, are supposed to erase imperfections but can go to a pretty advanced extreme. Many call for educating and protecting young people by teaching them that appearance is not everything, quite the opposite.

This is also the view of this mother, Jennifer Greene, whose daughter Madeline is 12 years old. The mother was stunned when she saw what the school’s photographer, from the company Lifetouch, was offering in the class photo pack on sale to parents

I’m going to need someone to explain to me why @Lifetouch offers PHOTO RETOUCH for KIDS school pics?! What the hell?! #parenting pic.twitter.com/x63hGFz4YS

— Jenn Greene (@traveljenn) September 29, 2021

Parents were encouraged to purchase a touch-up service for $12. This included teeth whitening, skin smoothing and blemish removal, according to the NY Post.

Jennifer told the tabloid she was shocked. “I don’t agree with it at all, because it teaches kids that they always have to be perfect and that they can change a [perceived ‘minus’] with the click of a mouse.”

In the U.S., this type of photo editing is not new, but now it seems to be used at younger and younger ages as well.

Last fall, another mom, Kristin Loe, 36, was shocked to see how her then 10-year-old son Kieran’s freckles had been removed from his school photo.

Spring on the left, fall on the right. @Lifetouch can I have his freckles back please? #editingfail

Don’t change things that are actually a part of a child’s face 😒 pic.twitter.com/qbHsf9oLEK

— Kristin Loe | LoeFamilyLoves (@LoeFamilyLoves) November 17, 2020

“I allowed a few simple edits, where removing the blemishes would be, and instead they removed all of his freckles,” the mother told The Post. After she complained, the company finally put her freckles back on.

It turns out that these types of surgeries aren’t limited to teeth whitening or pimple removal. Whitney Rose, a mother of two young children with hearing loss, explained that another company removed her three-year-old son’s hearing aid from the photos.

She posted a video on TikTok that has since been viewed millions of times, where she makes it clear that this is not acceptable.

@deaftimesthreeandme Reply to @wolfgang450 YES IT MATTERS!!!#Deaf #asl #hearingaids #thesedeafkidsrock #sahm #ableism ♬ original sound – Deaf kids and Hearing Mom

“This is my son’s hearing aid. It helps him hear, it’s part of who he is and he loves it,” Whitney said. “It sends the message that a part of him, his hearing loss, is something he should be ashamed of.”

On the other hand, there are school photographers who indicate that these types of services exist because parents request them.

What do you think? Would you ask for touch-ups on class photos too?