Standard: 5.D.5.1 - Explain the concepts of digital etiquette, access, and literacy and the personal and societal responsibilities attached to each.
Time Pair Share: What would make this photo “real”?
What would make this photo “fake”?
Vote: Real: Fake:
alter: to change the way something looks
Whole Group Conversation: (1) Even though the lemon in this photo isn’t real, what do you like about the image?
(2)What do you think about the message under the photo, now that you know a computer program made the lemon look colorful?
(3)What if the photo didn't have anything written underneath it? Do you think it would still trick people?
Technology allows us to change photos in all sorts of ways. Altering a photo can be a fun and artistic activity. But it can also fool, or trick, people into believing things that aren't true. Images of people in magazines, on billboards, and in commercials are usually altered. They make people look different than they do in real life. This is because editors and advertisers want the images to look perfect.
Whole Group Conversation: Share something that you remember seeing in the video – Something that stood out to you.
Do you think that the picture on the billboard could fool, or trick, people into believing something that’s not true?
Compare the photo of the lemon and the photo of the woman. Both images were changed on the computer. Neither the lemon nor the woman actually look like that in real life. The picture on the billboard could trick people into thinking that the woman really looks this way.
It’s natural for people to compare themselves to others. Sometimes when we see another person – in real life or in a photo – we may think: “Do I look like that? Does that person look better than me? Do I want to look like that?” But photos in ads are often altered to look perfect. We might compare ourselves to people who look perfect in photos, but they may not look that way in real life.
product: something that a company advertises and sells
How might making someone look “perfect” in an advertisement help sell a product? What is the connection between admiring someone’s “perfect” appearance in a photo and being encouraged to buy products for self-improvement? People who feel unsure about their appearance might think they need to buy a certain product – makeup or hair products or clothes, for example – to look better.
Julia believes altered photos can make girls feel bad about the way they look. She also believes they give boys the wrong idea about how girls are supposed to look. So Julia started an online petition called “Seventeen Magazine: Give Girls Images of Real Girls!” for people to sign. In it, she asks Seventeen Magazine to promise to always include some real photos – ones that are not altered.
Open Word. Tell me whether or not you would sign Julia’s petition, and explain the reasons for your decision.
Closure: What does it mean to alter a photo?
Why do you think so many photos in magazines and advertisements are altered? How might altering a photo help sell a product?
What are some upsides and downsides of photo altering?