Photoshop has invaded our cultural mindset as much as the magic button that makes things better, more beautiful. But it’s more dangerous than you think, both because of the myth of what it can do and because of the subconscious damage it causes.
Now please don’t get me wrong, I love my Photoshop. It has opened up entirely new creative avenues that would have been impossible 20 years ago.
And really, it’s not so much Photoshop that’s dangerous as the person wielding the mouse, or more often the tablet pen.
First, the danger of the Photoshop myth: it’s seen as the universal ‘upgrade button’. The phrase, ‘I can fix that in Photoshop’ almost goes without saying now. Photoshop, or rather the operator because they have somehow become the same, will improve reality. Create in each image the essence of beauty.
So the myth is that Photoshop makes things better. That suggests two things: that things aren’t as good as they are, plus that if a little Photoshop is good, then more must be better.
That premise has spawned plug-ins for Photoshop. One in particular has become hugely popular with photographers. They’ve refined it so much that the software analyzes the subject’s face and reshapes it to better fit their researched vision of beauty.
Faces become slimmer, eyes wider and better placed, lips fuller with enriched color, teeth and whites of eyes brighter, along with skin that changes color. In the end, you often don’t look like yourself, though enough to look like you.
Photoshop users often go too far. Skin becomes plastic, poreless, glowing white eyes along with cut-out body parts that are simply anatomically impossible. You can find loads of websites called Epic Photoshop Fails.
The damage it does. It subtly tells us that we are not good enough as we are. The subconscious reads it this way, undermining our self-image, as if we need to fix some way of presenting ourselves to the world, to those we love. Just like advertising doctors, our image is being managed.
Watch for signs that Photoshop is transforming from a friend to a dangerous criminal.
However, if done carefully, it can represent you like a good dress does. You don’t go out on a hot date in your chubby clothes.
Correct things caused by the camera. For example, some lenses and angles used will shorten your legs and Photoshop can bring them back to the correct perspective. Dark spots and sunburns that come and go can disappear. We can gently correct an errant flow of fabric or a strand of hair. We can creatively match the color of the outfit with the background or with your lipstick.
So beware of images that feel like Photoshop was used to save them. Often what is saved is a photographer’s weak foundation skill set. Most Photoshop fixes can be fixed in-camera and posing. Just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be done.
With all the corrections, corrections and adjustments, it is very easy to absorb the delicate life, the character of a woman, from the image. It may look charming, but on a kind of mannequin.
Photoshop can be a girl’s best friend, in the same way that a sexy pair of heels, or a naughty tight dress adorned with makeup that highlights your eyes, accentuates your lips.
Just like your makeup and your style, it’s always best to never overdo it.