Adobe Photoshop is a wonderful retouching tool for professional graphic artists, but as most of us have access to a digital camera, either through a smart phone or by using an actual camera, we should all know how to upload photos to a computer and use them in different applications. We should also know how to correct an image, change its size, or adjust the color. With Photoshop, my fourth grade students will learn how to do all of that, as well as discover how to change a digital image into a creative and original work of art.
With new advances in technology there is always a moment we have to step back and review what impact this new technology will make in our lives. Before the new digital technology, cameras took a picture by exposing an image onto film. Unless you were very skilled at darkroom techniques, the image was printed just as it was captured by the camera lens. The best we could do at the time was use a pair of scissors to crop the photo. Now with software such as Adobe Photoshop, photos can be altered and you would never realize a change was made.
Here is a link to a video created by Dove Beauty that I shared with my classes. This really highlights the significance of Photoshop and how photo retouching software impacts our perception of reality. Growing up, I always assumed that if it was a photograph, and not a painting or a drawing, the image had to be real. This assumption can no longer be made. More than ever before, photography is a creative art form and not just a recording of life.
Here is the link for the video...
Such an inportant message to send to not just our young girls but to young men. Your message, as an artist, a teacher, a mother and a wowan, is a powerful one. Please keep speaking out. I’m so proud of you!
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