Digital Photo Alteration: A Controversy Surrounding Photographic Enhancement

Photoshop has many uses. It is used to design posters and create art. However, it has negative uses too. For example, manipulating images. Manipulation using Photoshop to alter model’s bodies in the media negatively impacts society by creating an image that imposes an unrealistic body standard and is the root cause of recent adolescent eating disorders. Peoples of all genders are impacted by the modification of model’s bodies. Whether it be one is not skinny enough or one does not have enough muscle, it generates a frequent belief that one’s body is not good enough.

A very prominent and controversial issue related to media-idealized images is that of eating disorders and eating problems. Eating problems include binge eating, purging, and unhealthy eating problems. These disorders are seen in young adolescents who are at a very fragile stage of life. Teenagers experience bodily changes as well as peer pressure and new experiences of going into high school. According to Dakanalis et al. the media portrays individuals with an extremely thin build for females and a slim-muscular build (i.e., muscles along with minimal body fat) for males is considered to be the cause of body displeasure and eating pathology. There is no solid evidence to prove that the media is to blame for the degree of eating disorder symptoms and negative body-image feelings that many feel, hence the reason it continues to be a highly debated topic. There has although, been continuous research and theories comprised over objectification. This occurs when men and women are sexually objectified. A person is treated as a body, where beauty and attractiveness of a person are important and valued. This theory can be found nearly anywhere because of the amount and variety of social interaction. It is common because of the way media represents body images. The media has ideals of men and women’s body images and individuals are compared to how well

The article Never Just Pictures, written by Susan Bordo, is about how the media’s usage of images of beautiful people with no body fat or imperfections cause the youth to develop eating disorders, and feel insecure about their own image. Susan begins by telling us about how the media targeted the nineteen year old star of Clueless, Alicia Silverstone, when she attended an award show a little bit heavier then the public was used to. She says that we are led to believe that “fat is the devil” and that having any excess fat is bad. She claims commercials and ads staring people with ideal bodies embed the idea that being fat is bad in our minds. One way she proves this is she uses a study that asked ten and eleven

The media group that retouches images skews the “normal” body image of people through many of its outlets, including models in advertising and magazines, and actors in TV and movie productions. “The average model portrayed in the media is approximately 5’11” and 120 pounds. By contrast, the average American woman is 5’4” and 140 pounds” (Holmstrom, 2004). This statistic shows how the media manipulates consumers into believing that because they are not what the average model looks like, they are not living up to a certain standard which implies that they need to look like that to be beautiful. Another research fact that shows a similar concept is that, “In the United States, 94% of female characters in television programs are thinner than the average American woman, with whom the media frequently associate happiness, desirability, and success in life” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This association of female thinness and happiness, desirability and success makes consumers believe they must achieve this unrealistic thinness to achieve more ultimate goals and fulfillment in life. “The media also explicitly instruct how to attain thin bodies by dieting, exercising, and body-contouring surgery, encouraging female consumers to believe that they can and should be thin” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This idealization of thinness in the media is seen so much, and is extremely harmful to women’s self confidence and is often associated with body image dissatisfaction, which can be a precursor to social anxiety, depression, eating disturbances, and poor self-esteem (Yamamiya et al.,

This brings me to the controversy surrounding enhanced photos and image editing software that erases flaws and allows for skin whitening. Therefore, the audience is cultivated from a young age to an unrealistic view of society.

The article by Aviva Braun, “5 Ways to Prevent Body Image Issues” is straightforward to the point of what the author is trying to say on how to prevent body image issues. This article is more about to teach mothers to teach young girls to be comfortable and happy about themselves inside and out. These tips are good to teach these young girls that they should not put themselves down, because they aren’t skinny enough just because society portrays ultra-thin models on advertisements. The author has had practice as a psychotherapist specializing in eating and body image problems. Braun lets her readers in on how she has witnessed teens and young adult women with eating and body image problems that stem from growing up. Braun uses statistics in

Unrealistic imagery may serve as a contributor to health problems and people need to consider creating rules to prevent misleading visuals. In France, a Parliament member, Valerie Boyer suggested that all published images that are digitally enhanced — including advertisements, press photos, political campaigns, photography and product packaging — come with a warning label that reads, “Retouched photograph aimed at changing a person’s physical appearance.” (Diller

Between the use of film or digital photography, film is the more effective method when looking for originality and creativity. With the adoption of digital photography, the younger generations, as well as the older and more current photographers are becoming lazy. These groups must recognize that the art of the photograph is being jeopardized by the digital camera and the camera phone. For the current photographers as well as amateur photographers, this essay will serve as testimony to film as well as other chemical methods, and how they shouldn’t be ignored, but preferred. The digital era has had a massive impact on the art world and all of its mediums, but for photography this impact has resulted in the removal of the human from the photograph making process. This intimate process is what makes it an art form. All of films imperfections and unique qualities, as well as its monetary value and scarcity are just a few factors that have made it so precious. To replace this entire process with a microchip is offensive and undermines the importance of the process that is needed to make a photograph. Anyone can take a picture but you must make a photograph, and this skill is being simplified to a digital camera. The impact of the digital era on photography has hindered the process of making a photograph; painting the art form obsolete in today’s society.

Today the exposure of photoshop has influenced more women to spend millions of dollars on plastic surgery than ever before in history. The number of surgical procedures performed through America has revealed that plastic surgery rates have increased 457% from 1997- 2007. This proves, to the world that many are wasting millions everyday altering their bodies to attempt to fit humanity’s standards. Photoshopping an image itself costs typically about $100 which means that as more people use photoshop the more money is wasted creating bogus pictures. Many companies worldwide have used photoshop to advertise to consumers that certain products work more than they really do. This causes many consumers to buy products that actually don’t work as well as advertised in real life. Photoshop has generated many people to misuse money on products that don’t work and to try to create themselves into an image they aren’t by spending

A flourishing issue that causes major health risks between all ages, genders, and races worldwide goes unnoticed in many cases and shows little sign of ceasing. This “silent killer” comes not in the form of a new drug or game between reckless friends, but in the form of media’s most malicious secret: photoshop. For years, the media has cropped and slimmed its spokespeople and covermodels, and still commits this practically unnoticed yet incredibly dangerous act today. Although at times it may seem harmless, photoshopping in the media actually causes its viewers to strive to achieve complete perfection—perfection that cannot possibly exist. Even with the terrible accusations against photoshop, some contend that these images

Therefore, the commendation of such look and shape commercializes unhealthy body image and procreates eating disorders. Unfortunately, at present the commercialism of a perfect body is encountered by almost everyone on everyday basis. The public is bombarded daily with images of glamorously thin women in commercials, on billboards, in movies in magazines and etc?According to Melanie Katzman, a consultant psychologist from New York, the media has actively defined the thin ideal as success and treats the body as a commodity. (Rhona MacDonald, 2001) It is evident that the persistent advocating of the media and the society produced a constant pursuit of thinness, which became a new religion. A study conducted by Harvard researchers has revealed the effect of media and magazines on adolescent girls in high schools. The children were exposed to fashion magazines and television commercials, and a while after were given self-rating surveys. The study found that sixty-nine percent of the girls said that magazine pictures

“To be happy and successful, you must be thin,” is a message women are given at a very young age (Society and Eating Disorders). In fact, eating disorders are still continuously growing because of the value society places on being thin. There are many influences in society that pressures females to strive for the “ideal” figure. According to Sheldon’s research on, “Pressure to be Perfect: Influences on College Students’ Body Esteem,” the ideal figure of an average female portrayed in the media is 5’11” and 120 pounds. In reality, the average American woman weighs 140 pounds at 5’4”. The societal pressures come from television shows, diet commercials, social media, peers, magazines and models. However, most females do not take into account of the beauty photo-shop and airbrushing. This ongoing issue is to always be a concern because of the increase in eating disorders.

Photoshop is the process of altering images with Photoshop software. Photoshop can be seen on countless print ads, whether we know it or not. The uncertainty of knowing whether or not an image has been altered has made for countless issues that have plagued the community. Congress should require The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate the use of Photoshop in advertisements to help promote healthy body image and realistic expectations. The FTC is responsible for regulations that affect a large number of consumers. They have regulations for deceptive advertising; one might say that Photoshop is a form of deceptive advertising. This could be said because Photoshop also deceives consumers into believing what they see in ads have not been altered.

Photographs nowadays are mostly lying and affecting us negatively. They are able to lie right in front of our face, deceiving us from reality. For example, images in business advertising which is not foreseeable, but affects us mentally, psychologically, physically, and socially. One of top lying and negative images are models. Images of women in advertising lies to us completely, eliminating the truth and reality. Models are portrayed in images as absolute flawlessness, not a single line or pore to be seen, which cannot possibly be achieved. Images of women in advertising manipulates by telling them who they are and who they should be by showing ideal women, portraying them as objects revolving around sex. Even male models in advertising images lie and deceive but not as severe as women. A model, Cindy Crawford said, “I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford”. She knows she can’t possibly look like herself in the photo. These manipulating and deceiving images of models are affecting girls’ self-esteem by expecting them to be thin, hot, and flawless. The massive objectification of women in photographs rises violence against women and is also one of the main causes of anorexia. The way images/photographs are able to control and manipulate us is not foreseeable. Many would say it doesn’t affect them at all but overtime, it conquers your mind, more of a subconscious. Images don’t always lie in certain cases but are very powerful in achieving the desired goal, like they say, “ads sell more than products”. It’s not the product/object that attracts people, it’s the

In the last decade computer technology has been introduced to photography yet again challenging the meaning