11/52 - The [Altered] Photo Heard Round the World

If "photo editing" has been going on for years, why is there a tsunami of interest in “The Mother’s Day Photo?”

One reason is that the lines between photo “enhancement” and photo “manipulation” become increasingly blurred as AI technologies explode and become consumerized. Phone-based tools like Google Magic Eraser and Google Best Take further blur these lines. Precisely, what is an "enhanced" image, and what is one that has been "manipulated?" It's hard to know.

The “Kate” photo was initially considered innocuous, featuring Kate Middleton sitting outdoors with her three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. However, closer inspection revealed that the image had been manipulated. Notable discrepancies included Princess Charlotte’s hand not aligning with her sweater sleeve and misaligned details on Middleton’s clothing. The Associated Press (AP) then issued an advisory acknowledging the manipulation and decided not to replace the photo.

ANYTHING issued for, by, or about the Royal Family attracts a degree of attention that is often mystifying to those in the US. The current "controversy" was fueled by the fact that Kate has not been seen in public since Christmas Day. In January, Kensington Palace announced her planned abdominal surgery, but the statement was vague, and speculation about her health escalated when the Prince of Wales also withdrew from a memorial service for his late godfather.

At that point, the “controversy” entered the realm of social media insanity.

Editing photos before sharing them is highly prevalent, especially on social media platforms. Edits often involve basic enhancements like adjusting lighting, contrast, and color. Edits can also target specific features like smoothing skin tone, slimming body shape, or altering facial features. Phone-based photo-editing apps are exploding in popularity and have dramatically increased the general public's use of photo-editing tools.

Studies suggest a high percentage of users engage in editing; research shows that around 81-90% of people edit their photos before posting them online, particularly on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

Photo editing software relies on a combination of core technologies to achieve its remarkable transformations:

• Raster graphics editing is the foundation of most photo editing programs. It manipulates individual pixels in an image, allowing adjustments like brightness, color correction, and selective editing.

• Layers are essentially transparent sheets stacked on top of each other. Layers function similarly, enabling you to edit specific parts of an image without affecting the underlying ones. This is crucial for complex edits and creating composite images.

• Filters are pre-defined effects that can be applied to an entire image or specific areas. Filters can simulate lighting conditions, add artistic styles, or create vintage effects.

• AI is rapidly transforming photo editing. It powers features like automatic object recognition, background removal, and intelligent noise reduction. AI can also analyze an image and suggest edits for optimal results.

• Content-aware editing lets you remove unwanted objects from a photo and seamlessly fill the gap with surrounding content. It's like having a virtual magician clean up your pictures.

• High dynamic range (HDR) editing combines multiple exposures of the same scene to create an image with a broader range of light and dark tones, resulting in a more lifelike representation.

In modeling and photography, photo enhancement is crucial in refining and perfecting images.

“Although there’s no formal statistic, it’s safe to say that 99.9% of the photos you see online are Photoshopped in some way. Whether the model’s skin was enhanced, their body touched up, or unwanted objects removed from the background, nearly every image on social media has these types of adjustments.

When you think of Photoshopped models, you might think of trimmer waistlines or a bigger bust, but the adjustments can be more subtle than that. Things like enlarging eyes, plumping lips, or even enhancing makeup are all quickly done by a skilled photo editor. From mega-famous celebrities to that teenager who lives down the street, everyone is guilty of these enhancements.”

(source: What Are The Effects Of Photoshop On Society? -- https://www.bwillcreative.com/what-are-the-effects-of-photoshop-on-society/)

Here are some examples of how photo enhancement techniques are applied:

• Brightness and Contrast Adjustment: By fine-tuning the brightness and contrast levels, models' features can be highlighted, making the overall image more visually appealing.

• Skin Retouching: Skin retouching is standard in fashion and beauty photography. It involves smoothing imperfections, evening skin tones, and enhancing features like eyes and lips.

• Color Correction: Correcting color balance ensures that the skin tones, clothing, and background appear accurate and pleasing.

• Sharpening Details: Enhancing sharpness and clarity reveals intricate details in the model's face, hair, and clothing. This step ensures that the image looks crisp and professional.

• Background Removal or Replacement: Photo enhancement techniques allow for seamless background removal or replacement, emphasizing the subject and creating a clean composition.

• Eye and Teeth Whitening: Brightening eyes and teeth enhances the model’s appearance.

• Body Contouring: Subtle adjustments to body proportions can be made during photo enhancement. For instance, slight waist shaping or elongating legs can create a more flattering silhouette.

• Noise Reduction: Noise (graininess) can occur due to low light conditions or high ISO settings.

• Dynamic Range Enhancement: Balancing highlights and shadows ensures that details are preserved in extreme lighting conditions, which is beneficial for outdoor shoots.

• Facial Feature Enhancement: Highlighting cheekbones, defining jawlines, and emphasizing expressive features contribute to a striking portrait.

Lastly, this is nothing new; photo manipulation has been around since the birth of photography. Here are three examples of famous doctored photographs from 12 Historic Photographs That Were Manipulated (https://restorapic.com/12-historic-photographs-that-were-manipulated/):

“Abraham Lincoln's Head on John Calhoun's Body, circa 1860: This portrait of U.S President Abraham Lincoln is actually a composite of Lincoln's head and the Southern politician John Calhoun's body.”

“General Ulysses. S. Grant on a Horse in front of Troops, circa 1864: The image appears to show General Ulysses S. Grant in front of his troops at City Point, Virginia during the American Civil War. Investigation now shows the image to be made of three separate prints: (1) the head is taken from a portrait of Grant; (2) the horse and body are those of Major General Alexander M. Cook; and (3) the background is of Confederate prisoners captured at the battle of Fisher's Hill, Virginia.”

"Mao Tse-tung Removes Po Ku, 1936: Mao Tse-tung, (Just like Joseph Stalin) was known for removing people after they fell out of favor. In this image we see Po Ku removed for just that."

Of course, this is more than just a fun exercise in the context of a Mother's Day photo.

The conversation urges all of us who care about the authenticity of information to consider the implications of the world we are creating. George Orwell raised this question almost one hundred years ago in 1984 -- before cell phones, laptops, the internet, and AI:

Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped.

What is authentic and what is not, and how do we know the difference?

That is a good question.

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This question of information authenticity is one of the issues I’ll be addressing in my keynote at the Document Strategy Forum in Boston on May 20. The theme of the conference is a timely one, “Join the Revolution!” As companies continue to embark on their digital transformation journeys, the strategic importance of document management is becoming clear, from facilitating seamless digital transformation to enriching customer experiences and fostering a competitive edge. I will explore the current landscape of digital transformation, key technologies (like AI, machine learning, predictive analytics and immersive experiences), and the necessity to re-imagine document management to drive innovation, efficiency and a customer-centric approach.

• Hope to see you there. Registration information is HERE -- https://www.documentstrategyforum.com/event/513cf79c-e825-4017-8d64-c29990d939f9/summary

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This post was written by a live [most of the time] human kibitzing with Microsoft CoPilot and Google Bard Gemini. The draft product was reviewed and edited by a human, and then submitted to Grammerly.com to make it sound more human (haha, yes, so ironic) and also for a plagiarism review.