The Good and the Bad with Photoshop

I hate ID pictures. Whenever I pose in front of the camera I like to tilt my head a little to the side and angle my neck a little bit because for me this is my comfortable pose. But whenever I go to the studio for a required ID picture the photographer would always direct my head to be upright, which makes me uncomfortable, thus rendering me unable to strike a really natural pose. And so when I finally get to view my pictures I see a face that is somewhat tense and a smile that looks as though it was plastered onto the face just for the sake of putting on a smile in the picture.

But I think what really gets me down with ID pictures, more than the required unnatural posing would be the very unnatural raising up of my cheeks. When I smile my cheeks form a round shape at the sides of my face. The last time I had my ID picture taken my cheeks were raised up a tad bit too much up to my eyes as though an attempt were made at liposuction on my cheeks. I hated it. It irked me that the photographer had the nerve to use Photoshop to “improve” my natural facial expression. Fine, I will endure the unnatural way of posing for an ID picture (head stiffly upright and all), but, honestly, is there really a need for my expression to be … edited? I mean it’s not like it’s going to be on the cover of a magazine or anything glamorous as that. It’s an ID picture, for crying out loud!

I suppose Photoshop isn’t all that bad. I’m sure people have found countless ways to use it to improve pictures in the right way. Take for example the services provided by some studios that offer to restore old pictures that have been damaged by water, dust, and other elements or have just simply faded with time. The owners have sentimental value over such pictures so they let the photographers/editors fix these pictures, somehow restoring them to their original beauty. The faded black and white is given a more sleek and elegant shine to it. One discovers new details that one never thought were in the picture, treating him to a new perspective on the contents of the picture. The faces of the people inside the picture become clearer and their expressions are made more vivid. However, the only thing that bothers me is the “need” to take off the mole from Uncle’s cheek, or that pimple from the older sister’s forehead, or somehow slim up Aunt’s nose down a bit to make it look more pointed rather than round, or erase those wrinkles under Grandma’s eyes to make her look “younger.”

Much of Photoshop’s use for good or bad depends a lot on the user himself and the purposes for which the picture/s being edited are being used. If the user’s only concern in editing a picture is merely for the sake of improving the physical appearance then much of the natural appeal of the picture is sure to be lost. The product will come out looking like a wannabe-poster trying too hard to mimic the feature poster for a blockbuster movie. People in the pictures will (more often than not) look as though they had plastic surgery. Personally, I feel that the natural features of the person/people in the picture (moles, wrinkles, pimples, birthmarks, etc.) are an integral part of who they are and should not be tampered with. The only time one goes about editing their physical looks is when they are posing in such a way that they want to portray a certain character or image.

But if the user is highly skilled in the use of Photoshop’s sophisticated features, possesses good taste and a very keen artistic/creative sense, chances are he will produce really good work. With much skill and with great respect for the essence of the picture being edited he would do his best to enhance those features of the person, place, animal, thing, or idea that is being magnified. He wants to create an impression on the person viewing the picture that is positively thought provoking and will elicit a response that is insightful and meaningful.

Making use of Photoshop should be more than just about appearances and stereotypical images that border on tacky. It should be about reinforcing the true image.

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