Analyzing Media Photos
To fully understand the lengths that some sneaky editors go to in order to enhance ones physical appearance in a picture so that they look "perfect," we researched some before and after pictures of models from when the photo was taken to when the photo appeared in the media. The differences between the two are so drastic, the two models could be completely different women all together! Stomaches are sucked in, legs are made longer, wrinkles are simply wiped away, pores are shrunken down, makeup is enhanced, hair is made more voluminous, and blemishes disappear with just a computer program. Photoshop is used in everyday ads to make all of the above mentioned things happen, or in other words, to create this so called "ideal figure." Why do people want these fake and unachievable figures to represent their product? The answer is simple. Having one of these photoshopped models in your ad will target women's self esteem. They think, "If I buy this product, I can look just like her," when the reality is, you cannot. Editors go to extremes to change the looks of a model, and this is especially apparent when you are looking at the before and after pictures, side by side.