For years now, the world has been shocked by the arrival of the Adobe PhotoShop computer graphics editing tool. The effect that PhotoShop photo manipulation has had on society and culture is undeniable, and as the number of resources for PhotoShop learning and training increases, this impact is likely to increase as well.
Photo manipulation in photography is most evident in advertising and is used to enhance the appearance of people, places, and objects. Open any magazine and chances are all the images in it have been photoshopped or manipulated with Photoshop. Consider an advertisement for a car; During the actual photo shoot, the photographer relies on a team of professionals to create the perfect scene. Experts in lighting, they manipulate shadows to accentuate the lines of cars and enhance their curves. The entire scene is orchestrated to provide the maximum perception of the vehicle. But, once the photo shoot is done and the images are produced, the job is far from over. This is where computer graphics professionals come in…and their tool of choice is usually Adobe PhotoShop.
Even with his team of professional assistants, it is very difficult to create the perfect image in a single photo shoot. It certainly can be done, but it takes time, and time for the advertiser equals money. What an entire team can accomplish during a photo shoot in 1-2 days of setup and trial and error, a single graphic artist can accomplish in less than an hour. Of course, this has not only reduced the costs associated with creating an ad campaign, it has also increased efficiency, allowing advertisers to produce more content.
From a business perspective, this has had an indirect 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 resulted in a change in the buying mindset of your average consumer and have helped fuel the economy in times that might otherwise be less economically vibrant.
Of course, there are myriad other factors, but it can certainly be argued that Adobe PhotoShop has had an effect, if only indirectly, on the world’s economy.
A more direct impact that Photoshop manipulation of photographs has had on society has been the simplicity of altering the image of the human body. The vast majority of all ads featuring people have been altered in one way or another. With PhotoShop, the ability to remove unsightly waistlines or cellulite from your thighs is as simple as a light swipe with the eraser tool or a quick swipe with the clone and stamp tool.
The result over time has been a total transformation of what society considers a good body image. While some magazines buck the trend, most magazine ads portray women as unrealistically perfect. This portrayal, when viewed by both men and women, can have a drastic effect on how people view themselves compared to what society obviously considers to be the ideal look. Personal anxiety, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and depression are just a few of the end results.
A powerful tool indeed… photo manipulation with Adobe PhotoShop has had many effects on society, both from an economic perspective and from the perspective of how we see ourselves.
