Upon seeing the headline, I thought, “Ridiculous!” But the article makes sense.
France Considers Warning Labels on Airbrushed Photos
The article tells how the constant barrage of perfect images we see in advertising leaves us feeling imperfect, and drives us to try to achieve impossible goals of perfection. I, myself, am not so much paranoid about not being as perfect as the people in the commercials, as I am appalled at how many people judge us based on these airbrushed images of impossibility. Here is one quote for the article:
Boyer asks. "Rules on food labeling let consumers know the origins of the contents and the presence of things like additives and preservatives. What's wrong with ... informing them when photographs have also been modified from their original form?"
Certainly, it should be made more well known that the images we see are often altered for the sake of the appearance of perfection. I understand the need for the appearance of perfection in advertising and such, but any insinuation that we all must be perfect is what I don’t understand. What, are we supposed to be the master race or something?
Her proposed legislation would require doctored photos meant for public distribution to carry the warning "Photograph retouched to modify the physical appearance of a person." Anyone violating the rule could be fined about $55,000.
One thing I hate about these types of laws is that big businesses can easily shrug off a fine such as this, while small businesses might be put out of business by such a fine. I would rather see a fine system based on the size of the company.
In a country where beauty is revered, it's hard to say how people will feel about defacing it with a large black and white warning label.
Who says it has to be in large black letters? Putting it in readable letters in the bottom corner of the ad is fine with me.
Of course, I think for certain “artistic only” photos, a warning is not needed. Do we need to say that a photo that already looks unreal has been altered?
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Comments: 27
That's the one I want to see!
Now it isn't airbrush work but Photoshopping the photo and with PS you can do way more than what airbrushing can do. I know. I use PS to change lots of my photos, to remove unwanted obstructions etc. I just posted 32 photos I altered for a contest at the end of the month that a friend is having. All were "Photoshopped". I combined more than one photo in some and used plugins to do stuff that I could only dream about doing when I worked on a photo in my darkroom or was airbrushing it.
So I have no problem with labeling it either "Airbrushed" or "Photoshopped"...
:O)
Having someone state a photo is altered or else pay a fine, I think is ridiculous.
Why don't we worry about crime? Or something else more important.
Of course, that's just my opinion.
If you can't tell my icon is not me, then you're not looking carefully.
Te he!
Besides, everyone knows those photos are airbrushed.