Photo Manipulation In Advertisments

What we see in advertisements is not what we get.

Madeleine Myer
Mm293318@ohio.edu

Photo Manipulation

    Manipulating photos is something that has been done for a very long time now, but with the advances in technology in recent years, it is becoming even more prevalent. Anyone is able to manipulate a photo, even "normal people." There are countless apps that are free to download that allow a person to manipulate photos in a multitude of ways. 

    As a child, I could not wrap my head around an image not being real. If I was seeing a picture didn't that mean that it was real in its entirety? Although as I grew up my mindset almost did a complete 180 and now I find myself questioning every photo I see. Pictures on my social media timeline presented to me by my peers are not even images I trust, so when I look at images that larger companies use in advertisements I find myself constantly questioning the extent of the manipulation it went through. 

Photo Manipulation V. Photo Editing

    Although they might sound similar editing a photo is not the same as manipulating a photo.  According to this article, photo editing is adjusting the color and/or the exposure of an image, while photo manipulation is altering the image by adding new elements, changing the look of objects in the image, and any other "manipulative" adjustments.    

Source: Brendan Williams Creative

    Photo editing helps amplify what already existed in the photo. As you can see this image has had nothing added to it and has not been manipulated but has been brightened by photo editing. 

Source: Bored Panda

    As you can see this image is manipulated because aspects have been added that did not exist in the image beforehand. Photo manipulation is often perceived as a negative thing, which it can be, but that does not mean that it is always bad. It allows for images to be something they could never be on their own. The true issue is when advertisers do not disclose that an image has been manipulated. 

    Using photo manipulation as an art form is completely different than a journalist or advertiser manipulating photos to misinform a consumer.  According to this article, manipulating images meant to portray reality is unethical because it will mislead viewers, especially if the manipulation is not disclosed.