For years now, the world has been touched by the advent of the computer graphics editing tool Adobe PhotoShop. The impact of photo manipulation with PhotoShop on society and culture is undeniable, and as the number of resources for PhotoShop education and training increases, it is likely that this impact will increase as well.
Image manipulation in photography is most visible in advertising and is used to enhance the appearance of people, places, and things. Open any magazine and it’s likely that every photo inside has been retouched or manipulated with PhotoShop. Consider an advertisement for a car; During the actual shooting, the photographer relies on a team of professionals to create the perfect scene. Lighting experts manipulate shadows to accentuate the lines of the cars and enhance their curves. The entire scene is staged to provide the final visualization of the vehicle. But once you’ve finished shooting and producing the photos, the work isn’t done yet. This is where computer graphics professionals come in…and their tool of choice is usually Adobe PhotoShop.
Even with their team of professional assistants, it is very difficult to create a perfect image in one photo session. It certainly can be done, but it takes time, and time to an advertiser equals money. What an entire team can accomplish while taking pictures in a day or two of preparation and trial and error, a single graphic artist can accomplish in less than an hour. Not only has this, of course, lowered the costs associated with creating an ad campaign, but it has also increased efficiency, allowing advertisers to produce more content.
From a business perspective, this had a knock-on effect on the number of products available for purchase. Lower advertising costs create more opportunities to offer more products at a cheaper price. All of these inexpensive products have led to a change in the buying mindset of the average consumer and have helped boost the economy during times that may have been less economically vibrant.
Of course there are countless other factors, but it can definitely be said that Adobe PhotoShop has had an impact, albeit indirectly, on the world economy.
The immediate impact that PhotoShop photo manipulation had on society was the simplicity in altering the image of the human body. The vast majority of all ads showing people have been altered in one way or another. With PhotoShop, being able to remove unsightly handlebars from the waist, or cellulite from the thighs is as simple as a slight rub with the eraser tool or a swipe with the copy and stamp tool.
The result over time has been a total transformation of what society considers to be good body image. While some magazines buck this trend, most magazine ads portray women as unrealistically perfect. This portrayal, when viewed by both men and women, can have a significant impact on how people see themselves when compared to what society clearly considers ideal appearance. Personal anxiety, low self-worth, eating disorders, and depression are just some of the end results.
A powerful tool, no doubt… The manipulation of images with Adobe PhotoShop has had many impacts on society, both from an economic perspective and from the perspective of how we see ourselves.
