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.)
