Whether it's ideal skin or flawless hair, everyday we're inundated with images of perfection. It's no wonder that advertisers spend so much money showing us their products. As we know, these images can result in increased dollars for advertisers as we seek to attain or obtain that which we see in those images.
But can these images do any damages to our psyches? According to French officials, yes. And this is why France is considering requiring advertisements, art photos, press photos, or any product that's been digitally altered to carry a disclaimer "Photograph retouched to modify the physical appearance of a person." Failures to include this disclaimer could result in $50,000 or more or up to half the cost of the ad campaign. Yes, you read that correctly!
Now, if you've used Photoshop, you know it's a very powerful application. From simple and subtle changes and smoothing out the rough edges to deleting or adding objects/people into an image to editing video images and more, anyone who uses this software has some pretty amazing power over the creation process. And it's this amazing power that some would prefer to disclose as being Photoshop.
So what do you think about Photoshop disclaimers? Would that work in the U.S.? I'm sure there would be some backlash. But then again, some might prefer to show us that life isn't, well, perfect. Who knows, maybe 'au naturel' might become vogue.
