Controversies, petitions and experiments. Along with many questions and arguments imposed on the topics of photo manipulation, many controversies, petitions and debates have been raised. Many “Photoshop Fails” and overuse of photo-editing in photography competitions have created many controversies and the ethics of photo manipulation are widely questioned and discussed.
Sullivan (2014) writes that in one of the most recent controversies that happened in 2014, well-known company Target published a photo in which a young girl in a two-piece bathing suit is shown with a portion of her crotch removed to appear skinnier. According to Sullivan (2014), despite the fact that the Target spokesperson claimed the photo as a “photo editing error”, the
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In fact, an article from CTV News (2015) mentions that an experiment carried out by Fractyl requests “18 female graphic designers to Photoshop the image of a model to reflect what they felt would make the image more attractive to the citizens of their country.” (CTV News, 2015). The results vary from country to country: the graphic designer from the United States slimmed the model and added curves to the woman’s body while the British designer altered the model into a much slimmer body image. The most drastic alteration of body images is done by a graphic designer from China who submitted an image of the model who approximately weighs less than 100 pounds with an unhealthy BMI of 17 (CTV News, 2015). Sullivan (2014) states that in 2006, the Dove Company released the Evolution video which released the truth behind a model’s photoshoot along with the transformation and alteration she goes through with the use of photo manipulation. From the before and after picture of the model, viewers can notice how the flaws of the models are airbrushed into perfection. Sullivan (2014) writes that at the end of the video, the Dove Company leaves the message, “No wonder our image of beauty is distorted.” The video filmed in 2006 gained much support as well as “examination and scrutiny of the advertising industry and their use of digital imaging tools to alter photographs.” (Sullivan,
Unfortunately, a lot of females fall into those traps and do not consider themselves beautiful unless they’re a certain weight or have their skin a certain way. Nobody embraces their bodies and their looks besides those that society gives you a perception of something that doesn’t exist to be “perfection”. And in the Dove commercial which I used in my presentation to state the image society has given women shows the wonder of photoshop. It showed how an average woman was changed into someone with a skinnier neck, perfect hair, and flawless skin all with the magic of technology. And by using real life human models it given women the perception that if they look like that then I can
By definition, eating disorders qualify as 'any range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits’ (Mayo Clinic). Often times, the media, television, movies, and Hollywood, influence this pride of utter perfection through retouching. Photoshop can be used to completely change the appearance of a person though blurring, trimming, and color changing (Extropia.com). This allows the user to completely create a new picture and allow the photograph to look anyway they please. These false images often promote ‘skinny’ and ‘thin’. However this, standard photo editors set is often extremely unattainable. Supermodel Cindy Crawford stated “I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford.” (ABC News), and by this she means that even being described as perfect and one of the most flawless women in the world, she wasn’t. The editing on the photos made her appear that way. These impossible averages are often times what cause those with poor self esteem to turn to eating disorders;...
Photography has been around for nearly 200 years and has advanced dramatically with the new technology. In 1826, when the first photograph was taken photography was a very basic art form, but soon after photographers figured out how to manipulate their photos. In today’s society, it is almost unheard of to look at photographs that are raw and unedited, but has it always been this way? Dating back to the first photograph in 1826 by Joseph Nicephore Niepce, photography seemed to be raw, but only a few decades after those photographers discovered they could alter their photos to make them more appealing (“Harry Ransom Center”). Over the past 200 years photos of all different subjects have been manipulated through history and technology seems to be the culprit.
The photos seen in magazines of these models are also airbrushed and photo shopped before being printed. The body shapes of the models are unrealistic, unhealthy, and unobtainable for the average person. In addition to the models, magazines are also filled with advertisements. Most ads in magazines are directed towards beauty in some form. Again, these ads all show photographs of women with the unreachable “perfect body” that can cause multiple victims to feel insecure and unhappy about their body shape and weight.
The modern world is full of photographs. They are used for ads, political campaigns, and magazines. However it can be hard to tell whether or not a photograph is real. Many are ‘doctored’ or altered in some way. These doctored photographs can be seemingly harmless, such as advertisements, but they can misrepresent a product or person. There is a fine line between what is ethical and what isn’t for doctored images. Photographs should never be altered in order to deceive individuals, damage someone’s reputation, or when they have a strong negative impact on self-esteem. However if doctored photographs are used for art or for minor touch-ups for advertisements that don’t misrepresent a product then
The ideal image that the media has created is to be exceptionally thin and tall. This is what the media considers to be beautiful. This ideal image can be seen on a daily basis just about everywhere on advertisements, which promote this unattainable image constantly. Research has proven that women tend to feel more insecure about themselves when they look at a magazine or television, which makes them feel self conscious(Mackler 25). The irony in this is that not even the women in the advertisements are as flawless as they appear to be. In order for a woman to appear in the mass media her image must be enhanced in several ways. A women is often airbrushed to conceal their actual skin but it does not end there. Through various computerized programs a woman's actual features are distorted until a false unrealistic image is reached.
Kasey Serdar (2005) argues that only a small number of women can actually fulfill the characteristics of what media defines beautiful. Yet, women are constantly being exposed to the ideal women image. Serdar (2005) illustrates that “models shown on television, advertisement, and in other forms of popular media are approximately 20% below ideal body weight, thus meeting the dia...
[This] phase of the campaign was created to debunk the stereotype that only thin is beautiful” (“The Dove® campaign for real beauty”, n.d.). This part of the campaign was monumental because “all women in the ad are real.” (Fielding et al., 2008). Because the concept of real women was implemented, women were able to relate their own self-identity, flaws and overall body image to the women on the advertisements. The use of “real people” in Dove’s campaign helps people realize that average citizens can still be as beautiful as the people that are consistently portrayed in the usual advertisements. These real people offer a connection to an individual’s everyday body issue struggles and allows Dove’s audience to recognize the fact that beauty should not be limited to western societies view. Ultimately, this section of the campaign allows viewers to make personal connections to the models in the advertisements which furthers Dove’s intentions of the Real Beauty
Throughout the recent years, Photoshop has become a widespread phenomenon amongst the world. With the rapidly developing inventions of camera’s and devices with cameras on them; posting pictures on social media has become extremely popular. Along with that, the pressure to appear perfect in said pictures has increased dramatically. Society has become exceedingly focused on the idea of perfect, and what perfect looks like. Especially now, with growing photo sharing phone applications such as Instagram, photo editing is becoming even more popular. Photoshop has proven to have many beneficial uses; however, it also has very negative consequences such as false perceptions, and misleading people.
The truth is that no one actually looks like the photos we see in magazines: literally. In a TV commercial brought on by Dove beauty, the brand revealed the truth behind the camera. The commercial demonstrated how an editor can take an image of a person, completely alter/edit the photo, and turn the individual into someone else. By enhancing the eyes, plumping the lips, volumizing the hair, and thinning the neck, you wouldn’t even recognize the original model. In addition to photo shop, magazines also instill beauty expectations through their words. For example, there is no doubt in my mind that I cannot walk to the supermarket, go to the checkout registrars, and pick up a “How to loose 10lbs fast!” magazine. Needless to say, even the models in these advertisements are not that thin. With the flick of a finger an editor can take off a few inches on the waist or create the trending “thigh gap” adolescents strive for. These magazines, once again, ingrain the notion that you should not be content with your weight and probably need to hop on a
Photoshop was published and developed by Adobe Systems. It is an editing program that has led to much greater photographic ability for people. Photoshop was created in February 20, 1987 when PhD student Tom Knoll who was studying Engineering at the University of Michigan, realized that his Mac Plus failed to display gray-scale images on its 1-bit black and white display (Musngi). He immediately began coding a program that would once and for all solve his issue. John Knoll, Tom's brother, who was in charge of the special effects department for Industrial Light and Magic recommended that it be developed into a full image editing program after he saw and gained interest in what Tom was doing (Kmahesh). The software was used to display gray scale images on a monochrome display(Musngi). Knoll decided to called it ‘Display.’ We could now consider Display as the unofficial father of our beloved Photoshop (Musngi). The Knoll brothers renamed Display, Image-Pro. With Thomas' programming abilities and John's pragmatic design background, the brother's developed more processes and improved the initial application, taking Image-Pro even further. The process led to interruptions and delays in the thesis work Thomas had, but nonetheless, they released Image-Pro in 1988.
...o be unedited and showing "real" women; however, there have been comments made that these ads have in fact been photo shopped, at least somewhat, to smooth the women's skin, hide wrinkles and blemishes, fix stray hairs, etc. Photo retoucher for Box Studios in New York, Pascal Dangin, told The New Yorker that he made edits to the photos and asked, “Do you know how much retouching was on that?” He added, “But it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.” The women who are targeted by Dove® and by these ads have mixed receptions as well. Some women felt as if Dove was basically telling them they knew the insecurities they felt and what all women felt. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter became an outlet for women to express their praise, as well as their criticism of the campaign.
One example of this the spring 2014 Target "thigh gap ad" controversy in which graphic designers whittled down a swimsuit models arms and legs via photoshop and gave her a poorly constructed
The media is comprised of false depictions. Constructing thin, flawless and unblemished representatives in order to promote business is one of the most widely used tactics different industries have become practicing. The large variety of photo-editing applications available has enabled businesses to recreate their models to such an extent that these models appear so perfect they cannot even be considered physically human. In an interview with Tim Lynch, a professional photographer and retoucher of 26 years, he estimates that 99.9% of all photographs are retouched in advertisements today. Although consumers are becoming more aware of this practice, allowing them to assume the majority of images they see have been altered, there are still many unaware—many of which being adolescents. With the explosive amount of popularity social media has gained among adolescents, this type of media has become one of the most valuable platforms businesses have begun generating money on through advertisement. However, the constant exposure of these edited advertisements has developed major issues. In this paper I will discuss the faults associated with photo-editing and argue that it is one of the main causes of body image dissatisfaction present among young women. In addition I will discuss why social media networks, specifically Facebook, should either change their policy and refuse to promote any edited advertisements on their networks or simply reject the advertisements that don’t clearly state to the public that they have been edited.
The ability to alter images can open creative outlets for photographers and In turn, produce better quality work. Any photog...