Image Manipulation: How Far Is Too Far?

Click here to see how this was accomplished.



How can we believe anything we see anymore?  With the digital technology available to us, we can do almost anything we want with the photographs we take.  With just a few clicks of a mouse and a little bit of time, we can instantly transform a portrait into the ideal person everyone wants to be.

The three people
on the left in this photograph
 appear to be floating in mid air.

With the invention of photography, society learned early on to accept photographs as “real” or “the truth” because the main purpose was to record events more realistically.  But digital manipulation of photography has been around just as long as photography itself, being used largely for bringing family members together in a photograph when the family was not together at the same time in reality.  Early photographers would cut and paste people in photographs together, making them look realistic, a process much different than we use today.

Over the years, the digital manipulation of photographs, mostly used to persuade viewers, tell a story, or enhance and create impact, has taken off.  With the development of the computer and software like Adobe Photoshop, the entire media climate is full of digital manipulation and people are finally beginning to accept that most photographs they see are in some way “fake” or “photoshopped.”

As digital manipulation software grows in its complexity, changes go far beyond color correction, removing red-eye, and whitening teeth.  With the technology we use today, we can make bodies slimmer or taller.  We can also change skin color or swap body parts from different photographs. Nothing is impossible of illegal with these manipulation technologies.

Another great thing that digital manipulation technology allows us to do, like earlier versions, is to add people into photos who were unable to join the photoshoot or take those out who should not be in the photograph, such as those who have broken up or gotten divorced.  We can add those who have passed away into a photograph as well.

This concept of photo manipulation technology may sound great, but it may also cause trouble.



This is the manipulated photograph
 Brian Walski was fired over.



In 2003, Brian Walski, an international-award-winning staff photographer of the Los Angeles Times, was caught combining two photographs of a British soldier, taken just moments apart.  By creating this manipulation of the photograph, he was attempting to improve its impact.  This action cost him his job and several other photojournalists have been fired for the same reason.

Digital manipulation technology has taken the editing of photographs to an extreme.  With the ability to enhance an image by adjusting a person’s body, you can create a perfect, flawless image.  By taking this action, however, there has been an impact on how society views the “perfect person,” leading to problems with anxiety, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and depression.  Society has embedded the photo of the ”perfect person” into our minds and many people are trying to achieve it.

Because of the change in digital technology, photo manipulation has taken on a whole new form.  Many people take these words and compare them to beauty.  Other people may compare them to fakeness.  But many people agree on one thing, almost all of the photographs we see today are altered in some way.

To see the 52 Worst Photoshop Mistakes in Magazines, click here. 

Camera vs. Camera

Cell phones.  iPods.  And soon iPads.  These are some of the newest technologies available today containing a built in digital camera.  This allows you to cut from several devices down to just one.  But are these devices beginning to take the place of regular point and shoot or professional cameras? 

The Canon 5D Mark II camera that I own is very large, heavy, and high-tech.  There seems to be way too many mechanics to fit into just the small space that these technologies consume.  It would be nice to just have to carry around one thing for every technology that exists.  Will this someday be the case?       

As Chris Corrandino of the New York Institute of Photography points out…

“Rather than carrying a phone, a camera, and an MP3 player, many of today's consumers are looking for one electronic device that does it all. Manufacturers are taking notice, and adding more capable cameras to their phones. For example, the new Motorola Droid features 5 megapixels of resolution, autofocus, and a flash. And the affordable Sony Ericsson C905A has a built in Sony Cybershot camera. Besides 8 megapixels of resolution, you can adjust the white balance, use image stabilization, and red eye reduction. It even has specific modes for a variety of subjects like sports, macro, night, and portraits.” 

Another great camera phone, winning the 2010 smartphone competition, is the iPhone 4.  This phone has a 5 megapixel camera and a flash that allows it to shoot great in low light situations.  It also has a 3.85mm optical zoom lens and an ISO that can range from 80 to 1000. My camera’s ISO ranges from 100 to 6400, so this is great for a camera phone. 

All these camera phone specs may sound incredible, however, they still do not have the capability that point and shoot or professional cameras have.  They do not have the speed or necessary functions available to users and do not have the usual 12-22 megapixel capabilities that many digital cameras have.  My point and shoot camera has 10.3 megapixels and my professional camera has 21.1 megapixels, which is nowhere near the iPhone 4. 

But there are certain situations in which using a camera phone is easier to use.  Professional cameras are oftentimes prohibited at large events.  This lets camera phones to step up and take their place, allowing people to capture their memories at the event.

In addition to camera phones, iPods contain built in cameras.  The iPod Touch 4 has a built in camera, but hardly compares to that of a digital point and shoot camera found on store shelves.  It only has about 1 megapixel, a 40mm fixed lens, and no flash for low light situations.  The iPad 2, not yet released, is rumored to contain a similar camera.  

iPod Touch 4 (left) vs. iPhone 4 (right)
Click here for more comparisons.

I carry my cell phone and camera with me at all times.  It can get to be a lot to carry around.  If I could purchase a something that has the potential of both of these devices in one, it would make things a lot easier.  However, I do not think that this will happen in the near future if ever.  These devices are small and unable to hold the same amount of parts that normal cameras can hold.  But maybe one day they will find a way.