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Assignment Option #2: Magazines

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So what happens when you find out that the picture you’ve been looking at is really a dishonest representation of the subject?

Magazines know the power that images carry, and, therefore, they have become increasingly adept at digitally enhancing or changing an image in order to portray something in a different light. For example, a family photo of the Royal Family of England was altered so that Prince William was smiling rather than looking glum as he really had in the original. A photographer in Iraq digitally combined two photos to make a different photo. Many celebrities reportedly routinely hire Photoshop experts to retouch all photos that are for publication.

Advertising agencies frequently “shave” pounds off a model or airbrush a blemish from a face. (Keep in mind the differences in altering photos for paid advertising as opposed to altering photos that are not part of ads.) Submit 200-300 words in which you consider the following questions:

How do you feel about publications' practices of altering photos to enhance or change an image?
Do you feel the publication has a right to make such alterations?
Are such alterations acceptable at any time? If yes, give an example. If no, explain why not.
See if you can find an example of a photo from a magazine (perhaps right on the cover) that you think was probably altered. Why do you think the photo was altered? What is your clue? Assuming you are correct in your assessment, is this an acceptable use of alteration or not? Why?