This article, which I also linked to on Diigo, discusses CNN's decision to edit a photo that other news organizations released unaltered. CNN blurred the faces of a group of men behind a news correspondent that was assaulted soon after the photo was taken. Many people criticized CNN for altering the photo, saying that they had "unethically tampered with a historic photographic record." CNN defended its decision, explaining that they blurred the crowd's faces because they had no way of knowing whether the people in the photograph were the same people who assaulted the correspondent.
The situation described is only one of the many ways in which changing reality can be subjective; some decisions are viewed positively (astrophotography; smaller edits like editing the hair out of someone's face) and some are seen negatively (making models extremely thin; altering a politically important photo).
Photo editors allow us to create our own reality, for better or worse.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Draft Abstract
I like that my project is something current and controversial. It has a lot of different perspectives that are equally valid, so it should be interesting to research. My biggest issue with the essay so far is deciding whether I want to take a side about whether photo manipulation is generally a good or bad thing.
Abstract
Photo-editing software, such as Photoshop or GIMP, has achieved popularity and notoriety in recent years. But photo manipulation is not a new phenomenon--pictures have been altered since the 1800s, when photographs were invented. Depending on the way in which it is used, photo editing can be a positive tool that merely creates enhanced photos, or a negative tool that attempts to alter reality either intentionally or unintentionally, leading to the public's distrust of photography as a source of truth.
My essay will include a brief background of photo editing and will explore its various uses throughout history. I'll explain some of the ways in which photos can be 'enhanced' or altered with photo editing software. I will also explore the positive and negatives ways in which it can be used, including examples of each type for analysis and comparison.
Photo editing has received a bad reputation, and with good reasons. I will talk about not only the ways in which the technology can be abused, but also the ways it can be used to present a more accurate, useful picture.
(My annotations are on a separate page titled "Annotations" in the right sidebar.)
Abstract
Photo-editing software, such as Photoshop or GIMP, has achieved popularity and notoriety in recent years. But photo manipulation is not a new phenomenon--pictures have been altered since the 1800s, when photographs were invented. Depending on the way in which it is used, photo editing can be a positive tool that merely creates enhanced photos, or a negative tool that attempts to alter reality either intentionally or unintentionally, leading to the public's distrust of photography as a source of truth.
My essay will include a brief background of photo editing and will explore its various uses throughout history. I'll explain some of the ways in which photos can be 'enhanced' or altered with photo editing software. I will also explore the positive and negatives ways in which it can be used, including examples of each type for analysis and comparison.
Photo editing has received a bad reputation, and with good reasons. I will talk about not only the ways in which the technology can be abused, but also the ways it can be used to present a more accurate, useful picture.
(My annotations are on a separate page titled "Annotations" in the right sidebar.)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Photo Editors and Expectations
My main question about my essay is how broad or specific I'm going to be with it. I'd rather not go into the minute details of how Photoshop or other photo-editing software works, but I would like to go into the implications of Photoshop and how editing images can be a positive or negative cultural phenomenon. Astrophotography as a positive aspect vs. professional modeling as a negative aspect.
"Think about a hotel room: at high-quality hotels, there is now fierce
competition to provide extremely high-quality televisions. Why is beyond me."
Lessig is commenting on how digital technology changes consumers' expectations about how often or in how many places they can access information. But from my project's perspective, I'm thinking about why the televisions are so high quality. HD television is expected in almost every location now, whether it's at home or, as Lessig says, in a hotel room. Consumers demand more and more perfection out of images, whether in the form of video or still photographs. Even pictures that accurately represent a person or scene are unsatisfactory--they must be edited to 'perfection,' whether it's accurate or not. Photoshop and other photo editors can be useful when a picture has been damaged, but most people use the software to edit out tiny imperfections, creating a flawless portrayal of themselves meant to match up to airbrushed photos of celebrities.
"There’s a part of culture that we simply consume. We listen to music. We watch a movie. We read a book. With each, we’re not expected to do much more than simply consume."
Here, Lessig reiterates the current way that most people think about culture. With new technologies like Photoshop, however, anyone can take an image found on the Internet and manipulate it until it is almost (or completely) unrecognizable. While this can allow artists to create works of art that would have otherwise been impossible, advertisers can use photo editors to create idyllic representations of both females and males that our society is then compelled to match in beauty. Even though it's now common knowledge that "no one really looks like that," countless people try to live up to society's expectations of 'perfection.'
"Think about a hotel room: at high-quality hotels, there is now fierce
competition to provide extremely high-quality televisions. Why is beyond me."
Lessig is commenting on how digital technology changes consumers' expectations about how often or in how many places they can access information. But from my project's perspective, I'm thinking about why the televisions are so high quality. HD television is expected in almost every location now, whether it's at home or, as Lessig says, in a hotel room. Consumers demand more and more perfection out of images, whether in the form of video or still photographs. Even pictures that accurately represent a person or scene are unsatisfactory--they must be edited to 'perfection,' whether it's accurate or not. Photoshop and other photo editors can be useful when a picture has been damaged, but most people use the software to edit out tiny imperfections, creating a flawless portrayal of themselves meant to match up to airbrushed photos of celebrities.
"There’s a part of culture that we simply consume. We listen to music. We watch a movie. We read a book. With each, we’re not expected to do much more than simply consume."
Here, Lessig reiterates the current way that most people think about culture. With new technologies like Photoshop, however, anyone can take an image found on the Internet and manipulate it until it is almost (or completely) unrecognizable. While this can allow artists to create works of art that would have otherwise been impossible, advertisers can use photo editors to create idyllic representations of both females and males that our society is then compelled to match in beauty. Even though it's now common knowledge that "no one really looks like that," countless people try to live up to society's expectations of 'perfection.'
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
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