Ethics of Photoshop

Before

After

Within 5 minutes, a perfectly good picture is transformed into unattainable looks pursued and obsessed over by an unhealthy amount of the world's population. A practise that causes mental health issues, disorders, bullying                      and sales.                                 

A Brief Look at Retouch Ethics

          Photoshop is one of the most widely known and used tools for photo editing and has built a strong reputation for having the means to create images that are indistinguishable from real life. A modicum of experience and a few spare minutes enables someone to transform natural beauty into the makings of a cover girl. The above images were achieved within the aforementioned criteria, however to make the images as flawless as those we see advertised takes time, dedication as well as a great knowledge and understanding of the tools on offer. These artists have a great amount of skill to blur the lines between reality and perfection without causing the image to look doctored, all the while meeting the requirements set by the client and the view of the general public.

         It would be wrong of me to condemn the maestros of image editing without looking at the bigger picture. Whenever you buy a product, how often do you actually receive the result seen on the box or poster? Not very often. The food that looks so appetising on the box looks nothing like the actual product (This blog has some great examples), the piece of furniture doesn't have the same look as the one in the catalogue. Showing the truth doesn't make a profit, if companies showed the product you were actually receiving, they wouldn't make as much money.
        Jo Swinson made a complaint regarding images of Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington published by L'Oreal claiming that they were excessively retouched. The Advertising Standards Authority decided to investigate as the images on show were not the effects of their latest skin care range but the result of relentless editing. When the ASA demanded to see the original images, L'Oreal instead removed all occurrences of the images from the UK. 
        Is Photoshop to blame? Of course not. The art of editing pictures goes back to ancient times. Portraits of royals and dignitaries were doctored, some artists changing entire sections of them. 1940s images were often drawn instead of photographed so they could make the people within the advert blemish free and up to the late 70s people were using thin paint brushes and patience to make changes to photographs. Society is the issue it seems, but why would people contest something they helped, or allowed to come about? Because it has come too far. Editing is very useful for adjusting the lights and effects of an image in case the conditions were not perfect at the time of shooting, a minor tweak here and there is fine but it quickly became a slippery slope to the point where there is hardly anything left of the natural photograph. 
          It's common knowledge that the models on adverts are edited with pinpoint precision, people know this but still strive towards the perfect clear skin and miniscule waist. James Duigan's personal trainer said in "The Better Body Special": “Stop perpetuating the myth that tells us a perfect body is synonymous with a perfect life". People have a warped sense of what is normal, The World Health Organisation claim that social attitudes relating to perfection and advertising are leading to mental depression which within a few years will be a major cause of death. A study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information saw that 50% of woman are unhappy with their body, this contributes to low self esteem and eating disorders reaffirming the claim by the WHO. 
          People who are opposed to the over editing of images aren't opposed to the act, but the lack of transparency. Numerous celebrities including Brad Pitt and Keira Knightley defy hollywood's obsession with photoshop as does the Australian, British and French governments who call for it being clearly marked, preferably with a symbol, when retouching has been implemented. Many people are self concious about their image, and who can blame them when there are so many "perfect" people surrounding them, pressuring them to look better than how they do currently. 

"If the manipulation of photographs is accepted for any image, the public will naturally doubt all photographs and text within all publications"

- http://nymag.com/thecut/2010/08/photoshop_retouching.html

- http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/faking.html#bthirteen

- http://sublim.ca/en/category/retouchethics/

- http://www.dosomething.org/news/5-celebrities-rejecting-hollywoods-photoshop-fever

- http://petapixel.com/2011/07/27/julia-roberts-makeup-ads-banned-in-uk-for-too-much-photoshop/

- http://foodirl.com/page/2