Digital editing in advertising photography and its impact on female population

The following bachelor’s thesis describes different meanings of advertising photography; I connected this notion with the way digital editing of photos affects a woman’s self-image. The thesis describes the techniques of digital photo editing; colour adjustment; the process of digital photo editing; colours and colour correction.

Photography and digital editing of woman’s photos for advertising purposes are changing, however, they are becoming more frequent.  There are many cases where editing reached extreme (for example wrinkle-free skin, large lips, etc.), while women often cannot overlook the images of »perfect« beauties with flawless skin when reading magazines. It is almost impossible to match all beauty ideals. Lately, there have been reports about the negative impact of advertisements on women, because perfect cover photos lower their self-esteem. Consequently, they worry about their “imperfect” body. The bachelor’s thesis also presents the negative impact of advertising photography on woman’s self-image.

In the first part of the thesis I briefly described the meaning of advertising photography and portrait photography. With portrait photography, I focused on its technique. I described a woman’s body through history; how it changed and how the media affects a woman’s image.

I dedicated the second part of the thesis to digital photography. I described the process of digital editing; colour adjustment in photography; colours and colour corrections and the way digital editing is present in portrait photography. Finally, I described the limits of photo editing and how the published photos impact women. In the empirical part, I got an insight into the female perception of digital photography in magazines, on social media, etc. through surveying the female population. Furthermore, the survey helped me with my diploma thesis.

»Ask yourself, “Why am I seeing and feeling this? How am I growing? What am I learning?” Remember: Every coincidence is potentially meaningful. How high your awareness level determines how much meaning you get from your world. Photography can teach you to improve your awareness level« (Ansel Adams)