Photo Manipulation

How does Photo Manipulation affect the Public?

Alexis Zimmerman
Mrs. Lindinger
Senior Project
April ! "#$
Abstract
%his paper shows wa&s photo manipulation affects the public. 't explores the histor& of
photo manipulation! pointing out the differences of editing photos now! and before there was
internet. %his paper lists the causes for wh& people use photo manipulation! such as ad(ertising
and wanting to enhance a photo! pro(ides the impact and effect it has on people )more
specificall& women* such as poor bod& image due to glamori+ation! and the gi(ing examples of
people who are with digital alteration and against it. Pointing out that for the most part! photo
manipulation has a negati(e effect on the public.
%he public is strongl& affected b& photo manipulation. Se(eral articles based on the ethics of
photo manipulation pro(ide examples of people being influenced. %he public is affected b&
photo manipulation through deception! self,worth! and the corruption of moralit&. -irstl&! with
photo manipulation being able to enhance a photo be&ond recognition! people aren.t seeing the
original of whom or whate(er. %he& get fed a lie! the& thin/ that the edited (ersion of what the&
are seeing is reall& how it is. Secondl&! people.s self,esteem are lowered due to glamori+ation in
photos e(er&where0 billboards! maga+ines! posters. %he& feel inade1uate! because the& don.t
loo/ as great as the edited person. Lastl&! people.s morals get ta/en into 1uestion. Some
industries ma& ma/e photo manipulation a standard! because it.s what brings in the mone&. 't
gets people to bu& their products. %he& belie(e it.s what should be done! that it.s the right thing
to do. %hese three things are examples of how the public is affected b& photo manipulation.
'n the "## post titled Photoshopping: Altering images and our minds! 't tal/s about how
man& pictures of women are 2perfected2 through photo manipulation! and gi(es examples of
celebrities of ha(e been slimmed down or extremel& retouched in pictures. Also in the "## post
titled Beauty Whitewashed: How white ideals exclude women of color, 3eaut& 4edefined informs
that one of the most oppressi(e ideals of beaut& is the one who excludes an&one who isn5t white.
%he post pro(ides before and after pictures of celebrities of color who ha(e been whitewashed.
According to 3eaut& 4edefined5s post Beauty Whitewashed... )"##* 6ompanies li/e L.7real and
6lairol ha(e come under fire for digitall& lightening both the s/in color and hair of blac/ women
featured in their ad(ertising! including 3e&onc8 and 9ueen Latifah. Lastl& from 3eaut&
4edefined! the "#$ article titled Mind the !high" #ap discusses how the obsession with
wanting to ha(e a thigh gap! is being ta/en ad(antage of b& industries who will use Photoshop to
add a thigh gap to models.
%he document titled $thical %onsiderations of Photo Manipulation &y Mass Media, written
b& 4ori Paul in "#:! discusses photo manipulation! the moti(ation behind it! and its ethics. Paul
1uestions if it.s acceptable! and if photo manipulation is creating a false beaut& expectation. 't
also pro(ides information about photo manipulation.s histor&! such as the famous editing of
Abraham Lincoln.s photo! and the erasing wor/ of ;oseph Stalin< remo(ing friends who became
enemies from his photos.
%he "## article titled 's Photoshop (estroying America)s Body 'mage* =ritten b&
ps&chologist >i(ian ?iller! is reporting that the American Medical Association is ta/ing action
into the photo manipulation phenomenon! warning about its effects it has on people such as
depression and eating disorders! while proposing that retouched photos in maga+ines and
billboards come with warning labels that it has been altered. %his article also pro(ides rebuttals
from eating disorder specialists and photo editors sa&ing that the& disagree with the AMA! the&
don.t thin/ Photoshop is causing an& harm.
%he "# document titled Media+Bodies and Photoshop written b& Meredith ;ones explains
the difference between photograph&! Photoshop! and the real. 't shows discussions! one for each
Photoshop topic! and pro(ides info such as the 4alph Lauren catastrophe in ""@ in where a
model was made ridiculousl& thin< as it 1uotes in the document! A?ude! her head.s bigger than
her pel(is.B =hich demonstrated extreme editing of bodies through Photoshop. Also! this gi(es
info on ?o(e.s 6ampaign for 4eal 3eaut&! which features a (ideo demonstrating how a women
can be digitall& altered and the great difference it ma/es.
Photo manipulation is used to edit and alter images! in order to create an illusion or deception.
3ecause of that! people ma& thin/ what.s in the image is true! and the image the& (iew! could
change what the& thin/ about it! or how the& feel. 'nfluence from an edited image has a long
histor&. 3efore internet! photo retouching would be done through in/ and airbrushing.
Photographers would paint o(er and scratch Polaroid pictures in a dar/room )Michael! ""C*. A
great example of earl& photo manipulation would be the censorship of images in the So(iet
Dnion. ;oseph Stalin! leader of the So(iet Dnion! was /nown for editing people whom he became
enemies with out of photos which dates circa #@:". %he So(iet Dnion go(ernment edited a lot of
photos to change their histor&. %here is photo manipulation that dates bac/ e(en further than the
censorship of the So(iet Dnion and that is of Abraham Lincoln.s photo. A Photo of Lincoln in
#EF" was edited. 't was ;ohn 6alhoun.s bod&! with Lincoln.s head pasted on top. %oda&.s photo
editing is now done with the li/es of Photoshop! and editing software similar to it. %he hard wor/
of painting to soften s/in on a picture can now be done with a few clic/s. Li/e that of Lincoln.s
photo! in #@E@ %> Guide put out a photo of 7prah =infre&. 3ut it wasn.t her! it was just her head
pasted on top of an actress. bod&! through digital editing.

Photo manipulation is used to create an illusion! or deception. 'n September! ""@ Hell&
6lar/son was put on the front co(er of Self maga+ine! slimmed to a great degree. =ith words on
the front co(er sa&ing ASlim down &our wa&B and A%otal bod& confidenceB it would ma/e sense
that 6lar/son got slim through exercising or dieting but no! Self maga+ine digitall& slimmed her
bod&! gi(ing (iewers the impression that it was all natural when in truth she loo/ed nothing li/e
how she did in the photo. Proof that her photo was altered! is that just after a few da&s of her
shoot with Self maga+ine! 6lar/son made an appearance on Good Morning America! and loo/ed
nothing li/e she did on the front co(er of the maga+ine. Luc& ?an+iger! editor of self maga+ine
e(en admitted to altering )Hite! "##*.
3esides slimming and thinning! another tric/ that.s done in photo manipulation is white
washing. As &ou loo/ through a maga+ine! or at a clothing store window! a %> show! or a mo(ie
the majorit& of people who are featured! are white. 4arel& are people of color shown as much as
the white population are! and sometimes the& aren.t shown at all. 3ut when the& are! it ma& be
noticeable that the& don.t loo/ the same as the& ma& loo/ in person. 'ndustries will whitewash<
lightening a P76.s s/in and hair to more fit the Iuropean beaut& standard! through photo
manipulation. %here are se(eral examples to pro(ide proof of this. 6ompanies li/e L.7real and
6lairol ha(e come under fire for digitall& altering both the s/in color and hair color of blac/
women featured in their ad(ertising! including 3e&onc8 and 9ueen Latifah )Hite! "##*. Also in
September of "#! Gaboure& Sidibe was featured on the front co(er of Ille maga+ine and there
was a great difference in shade of her s/in.
%here are so much more instances of popular figures in where the photos are manipulated.
Some people might argue that there.s no relation of altering the photo and l&ing but if that was
the case! if there was nothing to hide or lie about! then the photo wouldn.t ha(e been edited.
'mages are clearl& edited for a reason and these reasons are to con(ince and decei(e.
I(en terrorist groups ha(e learned to manipulate the public< the %aliban often
rearrange corpses and displa& them in an effort to illustrate the destruction caused b& coalition
forces! when often it is the %aliban themsel(es that are responsible for the bloodshed )Paul!
"#:*. So &es while some alterations are just adding a few enhancements! some go be&ond that.
%he extreme editing changes the stor& or ma/es a whole new one.
Jot onl& are people decei(ed when loo/ing at an altered photo! but people.s self,esteem can
be affected as well. Maga+ines put up celebrities on the co(er as the embodiment of perfect! as
an example of how &ou should loo/. %he&.ll ha(e whate(er person up there loo/ great because
the consumer will loo/ at it! and with AGet abs li/e theseKB and AGet a smooth face li/e this with
new 33 creamB next to the retouched person! the consumer will reali+e the& don.t loo/ that wa&.
%he& don.t ha(e a nice bod&! or smooth face and the& feel bad about it now. =ith e(er&one
loo/ing great in a maga+ine! the& are now reminded of their porous s/in! or wrin/les or bod& fat<
the inade1uac& /ic/s in. %he& now want to loo/ as great as the people up on the billboard! or
maga+ine.
7ne thing that is reall& affecting people! and more so the female self,esteem is the thigh gap.
%he thigh gap! is the gap between a woman.s thighs. %he rule of it is that the gap has to be
(isible! when a person.s feet are touching which would signif& slimness. 'f &ou ha(e a thigh gap!
&ou are thin. %his has become an obsession. Jow although! there are people who naturall& ha(e
thigh gaps! due to genetics and pel(ic structure! there aren.t man&. =ith the wor/ of photo
manipulation! industries are now adding thigh gaps to just about e(er& model! ma/ing it seem as
though it is the norm! when it isn.t. According to a director at the 6hildren.s Jational Medical
6enter in ?.6.! most girls and women do not ha(e a natural gap.
>ictoria.s Secret constantl& uses digital enhancement to add the thigh gap on their models.
Also in March of "#$! %arget released a line of swimsuits for juniors. 3ut the bodies of the
models were hac/ed awa&! showing an unbelie(able space between their thighs. A space so great
that it seemed as though the& were missing a (agina. Millions of thigh gap pictures are floating
around online to ser(e as inspiration for girls and women fixated on the gap and willing to resort
to an& extreme to get there )plastic surger&! eating disorders! exercise obsession! etc.* )Hite!
"##*.
't ma& seem as though the use of photo manipulation! with self,esteem and bod& image aren.t
lin/ed! but if that was the case there wouldn.t be articles written 1uestioning if it was. Health
organi+ations and ps&chologists are e(en ta/ing this problem into action and to add! there are
celebrities themsel(es who belie(e that the use of photo manipulation! more specificall&
Photoshop! has gone too far. >arious groups such as go(ernment regulators and researchers has
called for warning labels to be on an& retouched photos! and %he American Medical Association
also warns that constant (iewing of digitall& altered photos creates a false and unattainable bod&
expectation and leads to depression! and eating disorders.
Self,esteem isn.t the onl& thing that gets affected through photo manipulation! the moral
behind alteration changes. -ashion and beaut& industries will alwa&s edit a photo. 3e it extreme
slimming or whitewashing! most times the& see nothing wrong and rarel& is there an apolog&.
Going bac/ to Hell& 6lar/son being slimmed on the front co(er of Self maga+ine! the editor of
Self! Luc& ?an+iger! would be the prime example of seeing no harm in photo manipulation. She
defended the maga+ine.s wor/ sa&ing ALes! of course we do post,production corrections on our
images. Photoshopping is an industr& standard.B Also A?id we alter her appearance? 7nl& to
ma/e her loo/ her personal bestM3ut in the sense that Hell& is the picture of confidence! and she
trul& is! then ' thin/ this photo is the truest we ha(e e(er put out there on the newsstandB )Hite!
"##*. Along with Luc& ?an+iger! the editors at Ille claimed the& had not done an&thing wrong
to Sidibe.s photo! e(en though her s/in loo/ed se(eral shades lighter.
After showing what the AMA has said about the use of Photoshop! ?iller.s "## article titled
's Photoshop (estroying America,s Body 'mage* then shows what others ha(e said about the use
of Photoshop! and gi(es their rebuttal to what the AMA said. ?r. McAnen& of the AMA states!
A=e must stop exposing impressionable children and teenagers to ad(ertisements portra&ing
models with bod& t&pes onl& attainable with the help of photo editing software.B According to
?iller! 7ne eating disorder specialist! 6arrie Arnold! reacted with Ashow me the e(idence.B 'n her
piece! A=hat5s Photoshop Got to ?o =ith 't!B she 1uotes the AMA as sa&ing Aa large bod& of
literatureB exists lin/ing media exposure to eating disorders! but after Arnold did her research!
she found little scientific e(idence to support the statement )"##*. Also! ?iller adds that editor
Ili+abeth Perle wrote in her article APhotoshop isn.t I(ilB! that her 2/nee jer/ reaction to hearing
this news was a long! exaggerated e&e roll.2 %he AMA5s statement against Photoshop! she
belie(es is 2too little too late!2 adding it 2fran/l& might ma/e it worse for models! actresses!
singers and other performers! for whom the pressures to alter their bodies will onl& be
heightened.2
Howe(er! some actresses and singers disagree. Hate =inslet too/ action against G9 maga+ine
for digitall& altering her bod& in its photographs! ma/ing her unrealisticall& thin )?iller! "##*. 'n
""@! 3rad Pitt demanded that his photo for = maga+ine went without retouching. Also! 3ritne&
Spears released her unretouched photo for her 6andie.s ad in "#". 3esides the standing out of
celebrities! ps&chologists are suggesting that parents should tell their /ids that picture perfect
celebrities aren.t real. 26hildren and teens are particularl& (ulnerable to 5perfect5 models of adults
and children their age in the media!2 said 6arol&n Landis! a clinical ps&chologist at 4ainbow
3abies and 6hildren5s Hospital in 6le(eland )Gann! "##*. Pro(ing all the more that photo
manipulation isn.t ethical and that it changes a person.s perception. Also adding the Photoshop
warning labels that ha(e come from Iurope.

3ibliograph&
?iller! >. )n.d.*. 4etrie(ed from http0NNwww.huffingtonpost.comN(i(ian,diller,phdNphotoshop,
bod&,imageObOE@#"@P.html on March Fth! "#$.
;ones! M. )n.d.*. 4etrie(ed from http0NNwww.academia.eduNC$#E@@NMedia,
3odiesOandOPhotoshop on ;anuar& Cth! "#$.
Gann! 6. )n.d.*. 4etrie(ed from http0NNabcnews.go.comNHealthNphotoshopped,images,carr&,
warning,labelsNstor&?idQ#P"F"##: on March Fth! "#$.