A fitness influencer has shared a series of before and after pictures on Instagram to showcase the reality of people on the social media site that may seem "perfect" - and has been praised for her honesty. Holly Cockerill, the Liverpool Echo reports, regularly posts untouched photos of herself alongside heavily edited snaps that completely transform her hair, complexion, and even her facial expression to show people what they see on social media isn't always what it seems.
One recent post made by the fitness coach, from Blackburn, shows her posing with her boyfriend. While they both look stunning in the unedited version of the snap, the edited image beside it is a total transformation - with Holly's hair going from straight to perfectly curled and her lips and cheekbones getting more definition.
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Another before and after shot, shows Holly - who posts under the username @holcockerill - pulling a funny face before the editing magic gives her a "perfect" smile, thicker eyelashes, and a more contoured look.
Alongside the series of side-by-side photos, Holly wrote: "Haven't done one of these posts in a while. I tend to hold back on posting these as some people get annoyed (and offended for some reason) but if you don't like it, lump it!
"This is for the gals that need a reminder that not everyone is as perfect and airbrushed as they seem, and that's okay! We are perfectly imperfect."
The post was quickly praised by Holly's followers, with many of them saying she's doing "fantastic" work by sharing exactly how far photo editing can go, and how easy it is to think that people online look perfect without knowing how much they've altered their appearance before posting.
One person said: "Girls need to see more of this and be able to spot the signs of clearly fake accounts/people. You hear too many stories of people having troubles when they compare themselves to 'models' - who basically don’t actually exist and are utterly fake as they're all filters.
"There needs to be more people sharing this and educating young girls on the bulls**t that seems to be becoming the norm on Instagram."
While another added: "Amazing! Needed this today, it teaches women to be comfortable in their own skin, we need to stop putting filters on and be proud of who we are naturally."
And a third posted: "This is actually wild! And so sad that people feel they have to do this."
"I much prefer you in the real", someone else stated, "it's sad how girls and women still feel the pressure to look like the 'perfect" image. I admit I find it hard too."
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