Negative Effects Of Photo Manipulation

Photo Manipulation Negatively Distorts People’s Perception of Body Images and Beauty
According to McCue (2013), humans are visual creatures who often process information based on what they see. That being said, people receive and learn information through images and videos from various sources of media. As we all live in a world where technology is well advanced, we are able to gain access to new discoveries and things with convenience but unfortunately, we may also create false perceptions and misunderstandings with many manipulated photos seen on the street, on Internet sites, in commercials, magazines or newspapers.
“A psychological study found that three minutes spent looking at models in a fashion magazine caused 70% of women to feel

depressed, guilty and shameful” (Teaching Tolerance, n.d.). It is important to understand that what we see is not always true, to be aware of how photo manipulation works, and most importantly to not be affected by it. I feel that photo manipulation affects people’s perception of body images and physical appearance negatively, which lead to the desires of having the “ideal” body among men and women of all ages. Therefore, this project is created to show what photo manipulation does, how it works and to raise public awareness of the problems and impacts caused by photo manipulation to our perception of body images and physical appearance in order to help and comfort more people who feel unconfident about their body and those who constantly wish to have the “perfect” body.
Photo manipulation has become a bigger and bigger influence as we are more involved in the use of media and technology, where almost everything is shown in a visual form.

Advertisements and magazines portray similar body image and beauty standards. This is an interesting problem because everyone can get affected by this ideal image and even worse, influenced by these unnatural photos of models to the point where they desire to become like them. Many actions have been done against manipulated images: an anorexic survivor starts a petition against photo manipulation (Hodges, 2015), multiple surveys done regarding the impacts produced by photo manipulation and also an experiment asking graphic designers from different countries to use Photoshop in order to show their country’s definition of beauty (CTV News, 2015). I am motivated in producing this project because I was a victim of wanting a slim body as shown in magazines and advertisements. I feel that it is important for people to understand and overcome the influences that photo manipulation has toward our idea of an ideal body. I want to let others learn to appreciate and love themselves more and not just see themselves in the mirror and feel disgusted by their

looks.
In my secondary research, different aspects of photo manipulation will be introduced.

First of all, the origin of photo manipulation will be discussed in order to familiarize with the stated topic. Afterwards, the role and the use of photo manipulation in society will be identified to understand how present photo manipulation is in everyday life. Then, advertisements for physical improvement will be focused as examples of photo manipulation and analyzed to show their connections with photo manipulation. The society’s attitudes, both positive and negative, toward manipulating images will then be mentioned. Lastly, influences and impacts of photo manipulation will be emphasized in order to make aware of photo manipulation’s severity along with the risks and prevention of distorted perception of body images and

beauty.