
Being asked to feature in a ‘half their size’ issue of a weekly magazine isn’t something that happens, you know, ever. But while Shelly Horton was secretly hoping for some help from the Photoshop fairy, she never imagined this…
“Photoshop the shit out of me!”
Those were the exact words I said to Nicky Briger, my friend and editor of Who magazine.
“Sorry Darl, we don’t do that at Who,” she replied.
Over the past year-and-a-half I have lost 18 kilos (cue applause and the instant question ‘What’s your secret?’ Umm eat less, move more, stay consistent. Dull but it works.) Anyway I was posing for Who‘s annual “Half Their Size” edition.

Alex Perry made me a dress and I was so freaking excited to show off my new body.
But I also felt terrified about people cocking a disappointed eyebrow because, even with the weight-loss, you’d never describe me as skinny.
A woman’s face is photoshopped in 18 different countries.
I excitedly opened the magazine and was secretly disappointed that they didn’t Photoshop me to look thinner – at all. But I was happy that my 18 months of hard work had paid off and I was looking curvy but strong.
But on a second look, I saw they had Photoshopped something IN.
You see, I lost the tip of my middle finger on my left hand in a childhood accident. But in the magazine, it had magically reappeared.
I wasn’t upset. In fact I laughed out loud.
I rang Nicky, and she was shocked and strongly denied Photoshopping, “We just don’t do it. I don’t know what’s happened but we did not Photoshop you.”
Top Comments
My grandmother was born without most of her left hand in 1916. It never stopped her from learning to cook, type and sew.
As a young single mother, she bought a large house and turned it into a boarding house for young apprentices. She cooked and cleaned for up to ten young men as well as her son.
She eventually worked her way up to owning eight rental properties and travelling the world as she got older.
I still remember when I was eight and my friend asked what had happened to my nana's hand. I made up a story about her being in hospital because I had never noticed until then!
I worked full-time in a cafe for nearly a year before I noticed the boss was missing one of her hands. And that is a work place where your hands are pretty busy! The day I noticed, I almost fell over. It just goes to show how it doesn't need to limit you.