The Illusion of Photoshop

With it being the 21st century and all, our generation is well aware of photo manipulation, and it doesn’t take a genius to edit or change photos. These tools can be as simple and easy to use like the Instagram and Snapchat filters, or they can more complex such as Adobe Photoshop. It tends to be larger professional companies like international magazines that use Photoshop, while the rest of us that can’t be bothered to spend the time or the money on Photoshop use filters instead. There is no denying it, everyone who has an Instagram or Snapchat account has used the filters before, whether it was just for fun to send to a friend, or if you actually wanted to make yourself look better in the photos, everyone has tried/used them. The question I’m asking is – Does the manipulation of photos on social media and the internet have negative effects on the way we see ourselves and see others?

In my opinion, photos that have been manipulated can only have negative effects on us. This is because the media sets extremely high and unrealistic expectations of the ‘perfect’ image which we should have, and make us feel insecure about the body we do have as it isn’t the same, but considering that these photos aren’t real, it is hard to understand why we still beat ourselves up over not looking the way celebrities do in these manipulated photos. And with software like Photoshop, it makes it almost impossible to know what someone looked like before they started airbrushing. From the examples that some celebrities set for us online and on social media, we see it as acceptable to also use Photoshop to make ourselves look just as ‘perfect’ as them.

However, there are some celebrities that have spoken out against their own experiences being photoshopped for magazines, advertisements and brands, and it seems that they dislike photoshop just as much as I do. And while criticising manipulated images of themselves, they also try and promote a healthy body image. But more than this, celebrities such as Zendaya, The Kardashians, Katy Perry, Emma Stone, Lea Michele, Kate Hudson, Adele, Jennifer Lawrence and so many more have shared their frustrations with the world over social media or in interviews.

The post below shows a post on Zendaya’s Instagram account where she openly and honestly exposed herself, and showed the world that she was photoshopped and that it wasn’t right because her body is beautiful just the way it is. Hear, Hear! Talk about telling it as it is! (Click here to find out what some of these celebrities have said about being Photoshopped).

Had a new shoot come out today and was shocked when I found my 19 year old hips and torso quite manipulated. These are the things that make women self conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have. Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self love. So I took it upon myself to release the real pic (right side) and I love it?? Thank you @modelistemagazine for pulling down the images and fixing this retouch issue.

A post shared by Zendaya (@zendaya) on Oct 20, 2015 at 7:49pm PDT

Currently, a brand called ‘Aerie‘ is famous for photographing models and celebs and then leaving the photos completely untouched. The brands chief officer of merchandising was at a Photoshoppping talk and said this about Aerie – “Let me be clear—we do not retouch any aspect of our girl. Nothing. If her hair is a mess, we leave it. Pimple or stretch mark? It stays. Scars and tattoos? All real. All curves and belly rolls are welcome at Aerie.” Iskra Lawrence is a plus size model and a role model/advocate for Aerie, and speaks out about Photoshop and imperfections in her Instagram video below. It only features 30 seconds of the video, but if you wanted to listen to more go to her YouTube channel.

✨ I'm so honoured to be part of the @bbc @bbc100women this year as a self-care advocate, @nedastaff ambassador, @selfmagazine contributor & the @aerie real role model. This year has blown my mind and it's in huge part to my support from all of you! I am so grateful and indebted to you all – thank you. And to my family bf bff agents & the whole team wouldn't be here without you or your belief in me? and please let me know what you think when you've watched the whole clip it's about 3/4mins long so would love your opinion. To move forward I need your help and I value all your feedback?❤️ #iskralawrence #everyBODYisbeautiful #AerieReal #bbc100women

A post shared by i s k r a (@iskra) on Dec 9, 2016 at 4:13am PST

The answer to my question I previously asked, it ultimately depends on who you follow, and what posts you are subjected to. Therefore it is because of web and mobile communication, such as social media platforms, that we see ourselves and others in a negative light. Some people you follow may give you inspiration and encouragement to embrace your flaws and imperfections like they do, while others can bring you down or make you feel worthless by making you feel guilty about the way you live and what you eat. But everyone deserves to live the way they want without having to face scrutiny or judgement. And if everyone were to have role models such as Zendaya, Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence, people would have a much higher opinion of themselves and others around them.

Before I finish this blog post, I thought I would end it with some reassuring and motivating quotes from those who some of us may, should look up to:

I’m not perfect. I have cellulite, so what.
-Kim Kardashian

We are always too skinny or too fat, or too tall or too small. We are shaming each other and we are shaming ourselves. And it sucks.
-Emma Stone

I’m imperfect. The imperfections are there. People are going to see them, but I take the view that you only live once.
-Kate Hudson

You don’t need to look like everybody else. Love who you are.
-Lea Michele

Young women, don’t worry so much about your weight. What makes you different or weird – that’s your strength!
-Meryl Streep

(If you liked these quotes there are 25 more just like it all from different celebs).

Once again, I hope you found this post interesting and worth your read, so let me know if you have any comments about it and I will be happy to answer you all 🙂