by Katie Berohn and Mia Mulvahill
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n today’s technology-adept world, almost anyone can achieve society’s idea of “perfection”, at least through clever photo editing. The use of Photoshop in the media for celebrity images is becoming more and more of an issue--some might even say it is getting out of hand. There are apps available now like Perfect365 that allow anyone to alter their appearance in a photograph from their very own smartphones, from something as simple as whitening their teeth to something as drastic as slimming their face or enlarging their eyes. Almost everyone is familiar with the filters available on Instagram, which can make nearly any picture look good. With these various resources to change appearances, it’s pretty easy for anyone to look airbrushed, flawless, and fresh out of a magazine. The question is whether or not our society has gone too far with the various tools offered to change the way people look. Celebrities in magazines, particularly women, are often photoshopped to look the way the general public thinks the ideal person should, no matter how unachievable that standard of beauty is. In most photos of celebrities, their waists are cinched, their skin is smoothed over, their curves are enlarged, and their facial features are resculpted. In short, the celebrities many people idolize for having perfect bodies and features do not actually have these features themselves. This poses a problem for impressionable
members of our culture such as young girls and people with low self esteem. Junior Alyssa Martin thinks that looking at photoshopped images of celebrities can create unrealistic ideas about how people should look. “It gives false images of what people look like and what we think we should look like,” said Martin. Junior Amanda Zale and senior Lauren Willis agree. “People have these unrealistic expectations of what celebrities look like and they feel like that’s what they’re supposed to look like when in reality those celebrities don’t even look like that,” said Willis. When it comes reaching these standards, Zale said, “[People] want to look like [celebrities in magazines] but [celebrities] don’t even look like [celebrities in magazines] so they can never reach that.” Senior Chay Weaver thinks that Photoshop and related tools alter reality for many people. “It makes you a little less aware of what’s real,” said Weaver. “[Photoshop] pulls kids into thinking that to be successful, you have to look perfect, so it sends a poor message.” When asked, Monarch students interviewed insisted that they would never use Photoshop or an app like Perfect365 to make themselves look better. Martin said, “It’s better to let people see how you really look and not make yourself look different.” Zale also believes that editing yourself sends a negative message. “I think it’s important to look how you look and you shouldn’t
make people think you look one way [when you really don’t],” said Zale. Lately, digital manipulation has become a hot topic of conversation. Many people are starting to realize the reality of many altered celebrity photos. Photosets have been posted on the Internet that show how a model or celebrity looks before alteration as opposed to after alteration. “You see a lot of things now that show people as they truly are and I think once you’re aware of [alterations] it’s easier to feel less threatened by [the images],” said Willis. “As long as people can understand the difference between a photoshopped person and a non-photoshopped person then I don’t think it should really matter,” said sophomore Ben Hogan. There has been a push lately to show people how extensive alterations in magazines and on websites really are. This illumination helps members of our society understand how truly unattainable their idea of perfection really is. Many people strive to obtain an image of “perfection” that isn’t necessarily real. It’s hard to look the way Beyonce looks on the cover of a magazine when she herself doesn’t even look like that. With new knowledge behind the use of digital manipulation, hopefully people will start to accept that every person has flaws. Flaws are what make us human, and they are still there underneath the filters we use.
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arget came under a firestorm of criticism in March following the release of some shoddily altered photos on their website. This photo, shown left features a model sporting the recent phenomenon, the “thigh gap” in addition to unhealthily skinny arms. This unrealistic body expectation emphasizing the space between girls’ thighs has become so popular recently that women are going to extreme measure to achieve the coveted gap, despite the fact that they are primarily a product of how an individuals hips are set, not the amount of weight on their bodies. The thigh gap is frequently criticised for promoting an unhealthy body image. The Target models in these photos have an unnatural looking space between their legs, almost as if their crotches had been cut out. Multiple news sources including E! News retaliated immediately, chastising the company for their unrealistic representations of women. Target took the images off their website quickly and issued an apology. “It was an unfortunate error on our part and we apologize,” Target spokesman Evan Miller said to ABC News. This mistake draws attention to the unrealistic body expectations of the media. Why does a model missing most of her reproductive organs qualify as beautiful? Unfortunately in today’s society, you don’t have to look too far to find a plethora of other images featuring body modifications that are just as scary. Target’s swimsuit advertisement. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Freeman)
The Howler sat down with junior Marlo Vernon who is a working model to ask about her personal experiences with and feelings about Photoshop in her profession.
Marlo Vernon: I think the media really shows the most extreme cases of Photoshop errors because obviously it’s bad when they take inches off of your body using photoshop. But really Photoshop is used all the time, on every picture, for touch ups for your skin or flyaway hairs and lighting. For me, it’s not used to alter someone’s body.
MV: No. I did one shoot where I was supposed to be this fairy and they photoshopped my eyebrows out. It looked funny, but that is what it was supposed to look like and just a few other things like skin. Obviously it’s hard because if you were to go to a photo shoot and just brokeout or something, that’s easy to fix up in Photoshop. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything I didn’t like.
Vernon strikes a pose during a shoot. (Photo courtesy of Marlo Vernon)
mhshowler.com
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MV: Definitely. I don’t know many male models, but I’m pretty sure that’s standard. I know clients want your untouched photos to see how nice your skin really is because uaing Photoshop costs extra money. It’s just more time and effort. So if you have nice skin and your untouched photos look really good, they might hire you over someone else who doesn’t.
MV: Yeah.
MV: Yes, definitely.
Photos by: Katie Berohn
Katie Berohn, Editor in Chief of The Howler tried her hand at photo enhancements on these photos of seniors Kendall Saunders and Alex Mautz. Despite the fact that she had never tried this type of alteration, it was fairly easy for her to whiten their smiles, trim their waists, and clear away their blemishes. If an inexperienced high school student can do this much with Photoshop, imagine what the experts can do.
MV: I don’t know. I think it’s something that everyone should know about. I don’t know how much they use Photoshop for big magazines, but for the most part, I’m pretty sure the models are already skinny and they don’t need that much alteration. When I go to casting calls, tons of the models are really thin, thinner than me, and I feel like that makes me uncomfortable because you’ll go to agencies and they’ll tell you to lose a few inches off of your hips. They don’t hold back. They are really strict about measurements. So sometimes when I go, I go, “Oh, I wish I was as thin as them” because those are the girls that they want, but then I have to remember that that’s not attractive except in pictures. I feel like someone who is more healthy looks just as good in pictures as [someone who is] super thin. mhshowler.com 9