ABSTRACT
TO MANIPULATE OR NOT TO MANIPULATE We start to move into more questionable territory when images we take to be from real life, perhaps of real people, are altered without our knowledge. The top fashion models we see on the covers of magazines like Vogue and Vanity Fair for instance, we believe to be real people, especially when they have been taken out of the advertising context. We expect models to have near perfect features and complexions, but it would come as a shock to many sections of the public to realise that these images are frequently altered as they are not quite perfect enough for the picture editors of the magazines. The editors do not distinguish between the images that appear on the cover of the magazine and the images that are sent to them in the form of advertisements. Minor blemishes to the model’s near perfect skin are removed, the colour of their lipstick or even their eyes can be changed to suit the lettering or the colour of their clothes. Many women aspire to these models and their looks, and yet these people don’t exist. It is important to remember that a publication is a product, whether it is a fashion magazine or a daily newspaper, and as such editors may be more interested in sales than in truth. Most editors are at present using their own moral codes as to when, where and to what extent they will allow manipulation of the photographic image. Most editors see no harm in stretching pictures slightly so they can include text over the image or removing unsightly inclusions. What each editor will and will not allow can vary enormously. Occasionally the desire for an image to complete or complement a story is very strong and the editor is tempted to overstep their self-imposed limits. A fabricated image can change the meaning of a story entirely or greatly alter the information it contains. It is possible to construct a visual communication where none may otherwise have existed.
