Photo Fakery



"Visual images unconsciously shape our students thinking and their perception of the world."

I discovered an article that addressed how our perceptions can be distorted due to false, altered images in the media.  The media alters photographs for advertising purposes.  For instance the seventh graders studied in the article were given a Toys R' Us flyer to evaluate.  They were asked to estimate the age range targeted, how many children in the advertisement were African American, White, Hispanic, Asian, and Indian, and the price of the toy associated with a particular kid.  To their surprise they found that the higher priced toys were associated with the white child and the less expensive items were always paired with some other race.  "Whether deliberate or unconscious, marketers made associations based on ethnicity."

Sometimes the media manipulates photos to promote a certain body ideal.  On this magazine cover, Faith Hill is featured, but take a look at just a few of the alterations that were made.  "For young teens, such 'picture perfect' images raise questions of whether their normal bodies are acceptable at a time when their bodies are changing and they are vulnerable to self-doubt."

Celebrities and politicians are extremely targeted in digitally altered images.  Image distortion promotes accepted ideals, conveys false information, and deceives consumers.  It is alarming to see how the world around us can be manipulated in photographs, and it should be a concern that "real historic record will be indistinguishable from digitally-fabricated fantasis." 

"Indeed, history might be rewritten through pixels."

De Abreu, Belinha. "Seventh Grade Students and the Visual Messages They Love." Knowledge Quest 36.3 (2008): 34-39. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Nov. 2010.

Here is the photo I altered using Photoshop:



I used two different photos for this postcard.  I used the magnetic lasso tool to cut Reese Witherspoon out of photo set in France and move her to Switzerland.  I also flipped her horizontally so she could lean against the brick.  I used the blur tool to blend her into the background more and changed her overall tone so she wasn't so contrasting.  I also adjusted the brightness of the Switzerland photograph because it was very hazy.  The last thing I did was add two layers of text to complete my creation.

Both of the photographs came from MSN.  Reese was already leaning on something, so all I had to do was find another backdrop for her to be in.  Since she looked like a welcoming host, I decided to use my manipulation as a postcard or possibly for a traveler's brochure.  Unlike the images altered in the article I found that deceive consumers or promote stereotypical figures, my manipulation is positive because it simply welcomes visitors to a new location.  Who wouldn't want to go to Switzerland?