lr826917@ohio.edu
Photo Manipulation
The idea of photo manipulation has been prevalent since photography began. With the advancement of technology in recent years, photo manipulation has become much more common in online media. I remember being a child and having a tendency to just believe everything that I saw on television and in the newspaper as fact. As I got a little older, I started to ask more questions and dig deeper into what I was viewing. This was around the time I started to consider journalism as a future career path. I began noticing photo manipulation before I even knew the exact definition. The manipulation of people and products tended to be the most common entity of the practice.
Source: gcfglobal
What is Photo Manipulation?
The definition of photo manipulation often tends to get misconstrued with any photo that is edited. But what separates photo manipulation from photo editing? According to this article, we find that photo editing is the enhancement of any photo using color saturation, exposure adjustments etc. While on the other hand, photo manipulation is altering the original contents of the photo, whether big or small. Despite the negative connotation, photo manipulation is not always necessarily a bad thing. Using photo manipulation opens up more opportunities for art interpretation, the likes of which would have never been possible prior. It becomes an issue when the photos are used to deceive the public. This deception could lead to harmful body images, misinformation or even violent acts when taken far enough. Passing off photo manipulation as real images is not something that should be taken lightly.
The Media Effect
Upon taking a careful look into this article on the impact of photo manipulation in media, one can see just how prevalent this manipulation is in the online world. This specific article focuses on how body image is affected as a result of photo manipulation. Many young men and women already struggle with body dysmorphia as it is, and these photo altering apps and websites only make the condition even worse. Many companies have admitted to retouching photos in an attempt to create their ideal person. Well, that perfect person they are trying to create does not exist and there is a reason for it. The exposure of these photos to younger, more impressionable audiences can be detrimental to their mental health and can give them misinformation on what they believe their body should look like. Some companies have started to advertise their clothing products on people of all different body types as a protest of this kind of practice. Acts like this give hope to future generations, however, eliminating the practice of altering our body image altogether will make for a better future.
Source: Media Smarts
Hey Lucas,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post especially on the burger pictures. By photo editing is enhancement of any photo this is a big problem because it shows the public a picture of an item or object that is not exactly true.