Pictures That Lie

Using Adobe Photoshop Elements and some of the techniques we have learned in class I manipulated the picture above. I chose the picture of a mother with her three children riding bikes and a NO CARS sign to show the message that "Parents should teach their children to GO GREEN." The reason why I chose to convey this message through a picture is because I think that photo fakery should be used in a positive way rather than negative. The picture originated from a photographer's website who did a photoshoot of this family. I manipulated the picture by adding the NO CARS symbol to the bicycle's wheels. I think that this maniuplation was not harmful because it is carrying a positive message across.

The article I read was titled Computer as Accessory to Photo Fakery. It basically talked about how the computer software that is available today has allowed for a lot of people to be able to manipulate photographs. I agree with the article that photo fakery is often used in harmful ways by the media, but overall it is a positive thing to be able to use this technology during our daily lives. It was stated in the article, "The advent of the computer has taken much of the hard work out of convincing fakery." Yes, it is true that some people might take advantage of this to do negative things and carry negative messages, but it has also allowed many people to come up with creative ways to show positive messages to others. This is why I chose to maniuplate my picture so that it would carry a message about "Going Green" and showing the younger generations the importance of taking care of our environment.

Citation

BROWNE, MALCOLM W.. "Computer as Accessory to Photo Fakery." New York Times, The (NY) 24 Jul. 1991, Late Edition - Final, National Desk: 6. NewsBank. Web. 4 Apr. 2011.