Effects Of Photo Manipulation

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Photo manipulation dates back to some of the earliest photographs that were captured on glass and tin plates. The practice of manipulation began not long after the creation of the first camera by Joseph Niépce, a French man who developed the heliograph which darkened paper coated with silver chloride when exposed to light. Back then, traditional photographic prints would be altered using various techniques that involved manipulation directly to the film. These manipulations included retouching with ink, bleaching, airbrushing, or even scratching the film during developing. Back then, these manipulations were used to deceive and persuade viewers to improve the effects of storytelling and self-expression.
So, what is photo manipulation? Photo
The retouched photos give magazines a provocative visual boost that can generate higher sales. This is why it's so tempting for companies to alter photographs to maximize their ability to grab consumer attention. Photo manipulation uses such capabilities to improve marketing strategies. In the article “Photoshopped Images: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” by Jeannine Stein, she states: “One theory about retouching in advertisements is that it's done to create an aspirational concept of beauty that inspires women to buy more products. The goal of showing perfect images is to make women feel bad about themselves -- also making them buy more beauty products.” (Stein 7). This is when Capitalism comes into play. Capitalism is defined as “free market economy in which most of the means of production are privately owned and production is guided and income distributed largely through the operation of markets” (Britannica 1). Economic giants and corporations put great importance on a digital artist’s ability to manipulate photos to render the desired message to potential in order to target audiences. Their use of photo manipulation allows them to one-up other competitors that deem to be marketing the same product; i.e.
This trend is becoming even more widespread by the growth of personal retouching apps such as “Facetune”. Facetune takes an interesting stance on its ethics and claims that its app is empowering the beauty of people: “Every photo could use a touch-up. Now you can be sure that all your portraits show only the best version of you - whether you’ll be using them for your professional profile or simply sharing online with friends.” This kind of technology enables people to want quick and easy ways to “improve” their photos like they see in magazines. Photo manipulation crosses the line with modern-day photographs. They aren’t improving people’s looks, but rather changing them into completely different unattainable human beings which is ultimately ruining our idea of