Are Pictures Worth 1,000 Words? Or Just 999?

Claire Klodell
ck464915@ohio.edu

Everyone has heard of the cliché phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Before the era of Photoshop and retouching, this remained true. New photo editing applications make it possible for a photograph to transform into an optical illusion. 

Fashion magazines hold an infamous reputation for altering the bodies of models to fit unrealistic, conventional beauty standards. Photo editing possesses the power to dictate what society views as beautiful, but it also can rule how an audience perceives political people in power.

Poynter wrote how influential the background can be, especially when a political figure is speaking. The audience would have perceived a speech President Barack Obama gave differently if he were sitting behind the desk of the Oval Office, leaving a distinguished, serious tone. Instead, he delivered it in front of the Rose Garden, which set a far less gloomy mood.

Audiences are more perceptive to stories which convey a specific emotion. When violence breaks out, most journalists incorporate photographs to depict how serious the tone of the story is. NiemanReports discussed how newsrooms approach the ethical decision behind whether a photograph is too graphic to display. 

“We must force ourselves to look,” wrote Julian Reichelt, editor in chief of bild.de. “Without pictures, the world would be more ignorant, the needy even more invisible, more lost. … Photographs are the screams of the world.” Injustice and inequality are occurring every day, but Americans will remain immune to these atrocities if they are not introduced to them through photographers who have access. 

Representation

Photographers do not dictate what the public eye views and remains blind to. But, it does play a significant factor in drawing inspiration for representation. Girls grow up reading fashion and entertainment magazines, expecting to see familiar images of girls who represent them.

Photo editing expands beyond altering the bodies of teenage girls, editors have started changing landscapes, animals, men, and seemingly harmless details. The New York Times writes, “As long as magazines have retouched photos — as long as there have been magazines, basically — there has been a debate about the line between improving an image and outright manipulation, especially in women’s magazines where models are made to look younger and thinner and any blemishes are removed. The debate was revived earlier this month with Seventeen magazine’s announcement that it would “never change girls’ body or face shapes” in the magazine.

Other companies have taken advantage of publications manipulating images to show unrealistic beauty ideals. One beauty company, Dove, used Photoshop to create an advertising video. They wanted to show how simple it is to retouch an image and wanted to be honest with their audience and who how much work truly goes into this process.