Since I was a little kid, my mom always said that I trusted everyone too much. My older brother and cousins used to tell me all kinds of bad things like “the world is going to end this Friday,” and I would believe it. For that reason my mom always said “you cannot believe in what you see, hear, touch, smell or taste; you can only believe in what you see, hear, touch, smell and taste at the same time.” It has been a little difficult for me, because I tend to trust everything too much, but I have come to understand that phrase. Photo retouching is a very good example to realize that not even when you see something with your own eyes, is always the truth. When I typed “photo retouching” in the Google search box, I got a lot of results, most of them were websites of different people who make a living out of retouching photos. I guess that if there is so many people doing it, it’s because photo retouching is all over, and it is debated whether it´s good or bad.
When I brainstormed about photo retouching, I immediately thought about it in entertainment, magazines and models´ pictures, but then, after researching, I realized that it goes beyond that. Photo retouching is also us
ed in news, documentaries and other informational sources. Sometimes, they want the news to seem a lot more interesting than what they really are. A good example of this is when Martha Stewart was released from prison. She appeared on the cover of Newsweek and her face was placed on a thinner woman's body to suggest that she had lost weight while being in jail. There have been other cases of altered information to make it more interesting (National Geographic case or O.J Simpson case). Definitely photo retouching is very harmful when used in real and very important information, because the audience is deceived by it, and information is not being truthful or fair. Now, let’s see what happens with photo retouching in entertainment.
A very big issue in our society these days is the importance that both men and women give to external beauty. Mostly in women, it has developed a lot of low self esteem, insecurity and even depression. It is impressive to see how many girls struggle their entire lives to achieve perfection, something that is not even achievable. People ask themselves why is this happening, and it´s true that great part has to do with skinny models and artists that impose what is beautiful or ugly. But I think that photo retouching has a major part in this too. Sometimes models do have a good face or body, but it can never be perfect. What photo retouching does is making those imperfections disappear, so that now, those nice bodies look totally perfect. Girls try every possible way to be like them, but they don’t realize that almost in every case, it is a lie, and even though people know that photo retouching exists, they don’t realize it is everywhere.
I was amazed by the videos that I found about photo retouching, especially the ones made by Dove, to support their campaign about promoting real beauty in girls. I think that this campaign is really good and it has to be supported, because that is what we need. Someone who can let the audience realize the magnitude and power of photo retouching. I am including two excellent videos that depict the real effect of manipulating photos.
When I brainstormed about photo retouching, I immediately thought about it in entertainment, magazines and models´ pictures, but then, after researching, I realized that it goes beyond that. Photo retouching is also us
ed in news, documentaries and other informational sources. Sometimes, they want the news to seem a lot more interesting than what they really are. A good example of this is when Martha Stewart was released from prison. She appeared on the cover of Newsweek and her face was placed on a thinner woman's body to suggest that she had lost weight while being in jail. There have been other cases of altered information to make it more interesting (National Geographic case or O.J Simpson case). Definitely photo retouching is very harmful when used in real and very important information, because the audience is deceived by it, and information is not being truthful or fair. Now, let’s see what happens with photo retouching in entertainment.A very big issue in our society these days is the importance that both men and women give to external beauty. Mostly in women, it has developed a lot of low self esteem, insecurity and even depression. It is impressive to see how many girls struggle their entire lives to achieve perfection, something that is not even achievable. People ask themselves why is this happening, and it´s true that great part has to do with skinny models and artists that impose what is beautiful or ugly. But I think that photo retouching has a major part in this too. Sometimes models do have a good face or body, but it can never be perfect. What photo retouching does is making those imperfections disappear, so that now, those nice bodies look totally perfect. Girls try every possible way to be like them, but they don’t realize that almost in every case, it is a lie, and even though people know that photo retouching exists, they don’t realize it is everywhere.
I was amazed by the videos that I found about photo retouching, especially the ones made by Dove, to support their campaign about promoting real beauty in girls. I think that this campaign is really good and it has to be supported, because that is what we need. Someone who can let the audience realize the magnitude and power of photo retouching. I am including two excellent videos that depict the real effect of manipulating photos.
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