Billboard photographer swears that Bret Michaels scary six pack is real

A lot of us were like “yeah, right” when we saw Bret Michaels’ cartoonish heavily-bronzed semi-nude Billboard cover. His abs were standing out in high definition and it looked like an obvious case of heavy handed Photoshop. Michaels tried to address some of the suspicion by claiming that he didn’t eat for a day and did about 2,000 sit ups ahead of the shoot. Now the Billboard editorial team has offered evidence that say proves that Michaels has just as impressive a six pack as they show on the cover. They’re comparing supposedly unretouched, hightly-lit photos of Bret with the resulting cover and the dude is almost as buff as he’s shown! I think they still airbrushed some abs on him using contouring makeup ahead of the shoot, but there’s no faking that flat stomach. Here’s Billboard’s story:

porting well-toned biceps and a six-pack, Bret Michaels’ naked appearance on the cover of Billboard’s Oct. 2 “Maximum Exposure” issue has been followed by claims from New York Magazine, D-Listed and other publications that the picture was heavily retouched.
Photographer Blair Bunting, who shot Michaels’ cover, says he was not shocked by the accusations, but assures skeptics that the Poison singer’s chiseled abs are wholly authentic.

“When he took off his shirt, I was like, ‘This guy’s in shape for 47!'” says Bunting, who made his Billboard cover debut with the photo. “It’s always easy for someone to cry ‘Photoshop,’ so I wasn’t too surprised by that…but he takes his shape seriously.”

Michaels has said that working out while on tour last summer has kept him in great shape. Prior to the photo shoot, “I didn’t eat for a day and I did about 2,000 sit-ups,” the singer told E! Online.

According to Billboard photo editor Amelia Halverson, “a few versions of the cover” were initially made that Photoshopped Michaels’ body too heavily. “They looked too unreal, mostly because there was so much detail due to the photographer’s high-definition style of lighting,” says Halverson. “The final cover version shows Bret’s real muscles.” In addition to making his abs appear symmetrical, Bunting bronzed Michaels’ color and smoothed out his skin to eliminate a few of the singer’s wrinkles.

“It was a pretty standard retouching for him compared to anybody else,” says Bunting. “I just don’t know if he’s more controversial, or if it’s just more of a shocker that he took everything off and happens to have a nice body.”

[From Billboard via Radar Online]

I love how Billboard links D-Listed! Bret looks amazing at 47, especially considering that he had a massive brain hemorrhage and a stroke just this year! He still has to have an operation in January to repair a hole in his heart, which the doctors found while checking him out for his other medical issues. Bret admits he’s somewhat scared of that, and says “When they’re going through your body to operate on your heart, it’s going to hit you somewhere that they’re toying with the ticker. There’s definitely a little fear in there somewhere.” He’s trying to remain positive, though and says “I’m going in there [to surgery] thinking… that it’s going to be great and I’m going to feel a whole lot better.” He certainly looks to be in top shape and very good health.

All photos credit Blair Bunting and from Billboard.com

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