Maybe It's Her, Maybe It's Photoshop

With programs like Photoshop at the fingertips of most of America and the modern world, it's easy to be lured in by the promises of more appealing pictures. The media is especially prone to being tempted by the added flair or intrigue or whatever it is that they is attempting to portray. It's gotten to the point where many times, it's questionable as to whether or not a picture is real, or if it's been touched up in some way or another. This picture of Katie Couric is a classic example of media "Photoshopping." Honestly, the reason I chose this picture is that it was one of the few in the group where I could actually see where there was editing without reading the textbox that went along with the picture. I don't have any personal experience with Photoshop, though I'm no stranger to the things it can do for a picture. I just don't have the eye for detail required to be able to pick out what might not be real, but hopefully once we learn more about Photoshop and I do my own work with the program, I will be able to see differences I currently can't. Anyway, the "before" and "after" pictures here show that someone edited this picture to make Ms. Couric look slimmer, changed the color of her dress to be more classy, changed the coloration of her face to make it more even, and toned down the brightness of the background so there isn't so much of a glare. All of this was done in order to make her look more appealing to the public, because in today's society, the media is all about looks (hence the need for Photoshop). So, despite the fact that it's not quite honest, the editing done here isn't actually detrimental to anyone. It might help her ratings a bit (she's prettier, so more people will want to look at her), but other than making her look better, no one is trying to convince anyone else of something that isn't true. And let's face it, in the long run, just how slim Katie Couric is isn't going to have a huge effect on people's daily lives. If she had been edited into a setting with a group of homeless children, it would be a different story. She would be making herself look like the kind of person who takes an interest in that (not that she doesn't, I have no idea!), which could actually have a significant effect on people's opinions of her. This would be unfair, and taking advantage of people's trust, so it would actually be a harmful manipulation.