Students and parents at Daylesford Secondary College are outraged about the school’s decision to airbrush the annual photos. Freckles, acne, monobrows, facial hair and piercings have been removed, while in some cases of ethnic students, skin tones and hair colour have been digitally lightened. Some students have even reported their noses being changed and faces contoured to look significantly thinner. The incident was brought to national attention and has sparked several debates on-line.

“We paid for a photo to show how we looked in 2015, but this isn’t how we look,” said student Jacki Lipplegoes, who had her piercing removed in a photo.

“Our identities have been changed and it doesn’t make you feel too good at all.”

A mother of a student said her daughter and fellow Greek and Lebanese students were devastated when seeing their photos, as they felt the photographer and school thought they don’t look ‘beautiful or even Australian’ enough.

“As parents, we know that they’re proud of those differences and it means a lot to them,” she said.

“They’re just trying to find who they are but this has been stripped from them. It’s just not right.”

“We all opened up the photographs and got such a shock. It’s hard when what you see isn’t your son or daughter,” another mother said when she looked at her much thinner daughter, who seemed to have obtained a tiny nose.

A student’s father coming from a Greek background stressed that “it is outrageous to tamper with the sensitive self-image of teenagers who are struggling to discover their identity and embrace their cultural diversity.”

Graeme Holmes, the college’s principal, acknowledged the mistake but has denied airbrushing blemishes and altering characteristics. He highlighted students were allowed to have facial piercings, though only studs, and not rings, sleepers or hoops due to safety reasons.

“Next year, we will ensure that students have plenty of notice that they will only be able to participate in school photos if they meet our uniform policy,” he said, promising to offer original portrait photos at no cost to families.

Georgie Ferrari, on the other hand, chief executive of the Youth Council of Victoria, said photoshopping images of teenagers without consent “tells them they’re not OK as they are, and no-one has the right to decide how an image is portrayed”.

“It’s a dangerous trajectory and is reinforcement of all those messages already being sent to our youth that without photoshopping, you’re not good enough,” she added.