A new verb for the Oxford English Dictionary? To “photoshop something is to change a picture or photograph using computer software.” It carries with it often negative connotations. The altering of images, particularly of young women, to create some terrible “gold standard” of body image for other young women to aspire to is particularly heinous. So much so that in 2017 France began to require that “. . . any commercial image that has been digitally altered to make a model look thinner will have a cigarette-packet style warning on it. ‘Photographie retouchée’, it will say, which translates to ‘edited photograph’. It’s hoped the change will help tackle extreme thinness among models, and body image problems among those who aspire to shapes they cannot hope to live up to because they were faked on a computer programme.” (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41443027 , 30 September 2017)
But before we rush to condemn the practice of “photoshopping,” let’s first consider its use as an artistic medium of expression, even whimsy. John Wilhelm, Photoshop Jedi Master, combines his love of photography with his talents as a Photoshop Jedi to place his kids in all sorts of imaginative situations. (https://www.johnwilhelm.ch/)
Let’s have John explain:
Pretty cool, huh? Now, let’s have a look at video album housing some of John’s work: