blog 8

In this photography class, we discussed many topics that relate to photography and its effects on the society. We don’t realize that photography can affect us in certain ways. The way we perceive photographs can change the way we see certain perspectives. Not everyone sees a photograph the same way. Just by looking at a certain photograph, one can interpret it in a way where another may interpret it someway else.
We learned different ways where photography can change the way on distinguishes a photograph. One way photography changes the way we interpret photographs is through manipulation of the photo. Photographers can manipulate their photographs by using some sort of digital enhancement, photoshop, or just by cropping. Because of this method, these photographs that were changed were made to appeal to the audience. In a way, it is sort of like a lie. Examples of these manipulated photographs are presented in media and advertisements. Photography plays a huge role in media and especially in advertisement. The media and advertisement want to sell their products to the consumers so they “fix” them in order to show more appeal, like those makeup ads. The models in those ads do not actually look that good just because they use the certain makeup. The photo was digitally enhanced on the computer making her look good.
Most cameras today are digital. With digital, there are ways to change the photograph with options on the camera. With digital photography, the photographer can manipulate the photograph. One question that I have on my mind is, who can really tell now a day if photography is believable? Photographs are so manipulated today that you cannot tell what is real and what is false. People can now change their eye color with the click of the mouse! Also, with photographs being real or not, is there a way where photographs can actually be real? When photographs take pictures of people especially, in order to show the person’s true identity, is it really their true identity because in some photos, these people seem so posed. I see it as another way of manipulation where the photographer wants you to believe what he/she sees this person’s identity to be as.