Parents outraged at school pic retouching

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OSTERSUND, Sweden, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Parents of children at a Swedish school said they were shocked and outraged when the school photography studio offered to retouch the pictures.

Monica Vial, a mother of two, said she was shocked to learn the photography studio in Ostersund was offering to retouch the pictures taken of young students at the local school, Swedish news agency TT and The Local.se reported Friday.

Vial said she is worried the practice of touching up the photos will run counter to campaigns aimed at improving the self-image of children and keeping them from being influenced by stereotypical beauty ideals.

"This is sick in my world because it involves young children," Vial told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

Anna Wilhelmsson, a photographer from the company, said the "storm of criticism" resulted from a misunderstanding of the service, which offers to remove blemishes such as cold sores and black eyes.

"Retouching is a loaded word, and we perhaps should rephrase it. The debate about retouching is important," she said.