Thanks to photo-editing apps, anyone can become a master photographer and have a face like a movie star in every picture. Apps and software give any Joe Schmoe the tools to change the way the subject of the photo looks.
Photo editing for social media has become a trend according to recent app stores. Perfect 365 is an app that allows people to erase their facial flaws, add makeup and even change facial features. Other photo-editing apps include Adobe software like Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.
“I use Photo Editor on my phone and InDesign on the computer,” said Emily Conrad, sophomore from St. Louis, Mo. “I use them for class assignments and to make myself look better.”
Conrad also said that she uses photo-editing apps and software to change the contrast and tone of the background. Other people use color filters like the ones on Instagram to make the overall photo look brighter or make the colors more vivid.
Average people are moving toward using photo-editing apps and software to enhance their appearance while celebrities are fighting against it. Last week, Lorde made a statement saying that “flaws are OK,” according to the New York Daily News. She tweeted two pictures: one was Photoshopped, the other was her face without retouching. She also tweeted a picture of herself sitting in bed, no makeup and acne cream on her face to emphasize her belief that flaws are real and they should not be concealed.
“I find this curious – two photos from today, one edited so my skin is perfect and one real. Remember flaws are OK,” she said in a tweet.
Lorde is not the only celebrity speaking out against photo editing. “Pretty Little Liars” star Troian Bellisario posted an inspiring quote on Instagram about inner beauty.
“I could care less about being ‘pretty’ or ‘perfect’ and we should all ask ourselves why in our society that is the ‘highest’ and most common compliment we are paying to our female friends,” Bellisario wrote.
In today’s society, being “beautiful” is important to almost everyone. Editing photos makes the average person feel more attractive because it is so easy to digitally put makeup on the subject and make his/her eyes bigger and brighter. Photoshop gives anyone in a photo the ability to look like a model.
Photo editing can hide almost every flaw whether it is a pimple or a double chin.
Occasionally, editing photos ruins the integrity of the photo once edited, according to Erin McCallon, sophomore from Kirksey, Ky. Some facial features like freckles cannot be edited out of photos, and getting rid of those features would completely change the look of the subject.
“I don’t use photo-editing apps because I don’t feel like altering reality and altering a photo,” McCallon said. “If you over-edit a photo, it takes away from what the photo is actually trying to portray.”
Editing photos can make people look better and make the background look more visually appealing, but sometimes photo editing can make photos look worse, according to Shelby Ray, freshman from Cape Girardeau, Mo. “I don’t think photo editing is necessary to use on every picture because some people use them to make themselves look like a completely different person,” Ray said. “Some things you can’t edit out. It makes people look different than they are.”
Other students at Murray State, such as Sydney Verrier, sophomore from Anchorage, Al, avoid photo-editing apps because they are confident with how they look and are too lazy to make an effort to change the photo.
Regardless of how models look in magazines or on television, many students do not want to put effort into editing their face.
“I don’t see the need to edit photos because I’m lazy,” Verrier said. “Some people will not post something unless it’s been edited. They’ll blur things in the background and change the colors.”
Although some people do not edit photos because of laziness or lack of resources, a large chunk of people on social media still edit their face before posting pictures.
Story by Madison Wepfer, Staff writer