The Ethics of Photo Editing & Manipulation

Today we will be discussing how "the media" uses programs like Photoshop to alter images for advertising or even news.  We will also discuss the ethics of such manipulation, and prepare for some basic image alterations for a mock client.

Below is a video (from Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty) which demonstrates how much the print media (magazines, billboards, etc.) rely on PhotoShop.  It also does a great job of demonstrating why young people today have difficulty living up to the images they see in magazines and advertising.  Even supermodels get Photoshopped before they are "good enough".

And this one:
And one for the guys: And how about a real-time video editing selection:

Here are some examples of Photo Manipulation in the media:

So when did "photo manipulation" begin?  Many people think it's a new invention which arrived with the invention of programs like Photoshop, but although technology has made photo manipulation easier it has been around almost since photography was invented.  Look at the following examples:

This well-known portrait of Abraham Lincoln was done around 1860.  It is actually a combination of Abraham Lincoln's head and Southern politician John Calhoun's body.

This well-known picture of General U.S. Grant atop his horse at a Civil War camp is actually a composite of three separate pictures.  (Click to view larger picture)

The big question is to decide when it is appropriate to manipulate a photo and how much manipulation should be done.  Are you removing a pimple from the tip of someones nose or doctoring a photo to make someone appear more guilty?  Are you removing a power line or a distracting road sign to improve the image, or are you removing wrinkles from someones' face for an anti-wrinkle cream?  Here are some more examples:

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.


Another big question is should the news be able to create images to illustrate their stories?  Sometimes they are altered, sometimes cropped, and sometimes created outright.  So when is something "news" and when does it cross the line to become entertainment?

These two magazine covers used the same photo and sat on news stands the same week:

The same two magazines had these covers depicting the McCaughey septuplets.  One magazine (in this case, Newsweek) decided that they needed to replace Mrs. McCaughey's mouth with another that was more attractive.

Sometimes the same company can release the same picture -- and decide to "fix" it.

Here are some examples of when the news takes things out of [or put things into] the picture:

Iranian Missile Launch Test

Brad & Angelina were "caught together", although the photo's shown  were taken at different times and in different places -- Brad Pitt was in the Caribbean in 2005 and Angelina Jolie was in Virginia in 2004.

The $2 Bill was changed to reflect ethnic diversity in 2009.

When an actor is known for his facial expressions (including wrinkles) it seems silly to Photoshop them out.

Here's an example of the same student from the same picture using 3 different laptops from 3 different advertisements.

In this example, National Geographic gained some dubious recognition when they "created" the cover of the magazine by Photoshopping together pyramids into a more aesthetically pleasing photo.

These photos of deceased soldiers (released by the Army in 2008) were later retracted when it was discovered that they were identical -- with the exception of the name and face, obviously.

Israeli newspaper Yated Neeman removed two female cabinet members from a photo of Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres -- and replaced them with male cabinet members.

Malaysian President Jeffrey Wong Su En produced this doctored photo as evidence that he had been knighted by the Queen of England.

Egypts newspaper Al-Ahram published this photo in which Egyptian President Mubarak was moved to the leadership position appearing to lead the group of world leaders.

This picture claiming to be Sarah Palin was printed in many newspapers during the last election.  I saw it in a San Francisco newspaper as recently as last Summer.  It was later revealed to be doctored.

Claiming a Rabbinical modesty code, Orthodox newspaper Der Tzitung removed pictures of women from this photo of President Obama's situation room during the take-down of Osama Bin Laden.

Here are a few pictures showing some editing/manipulation (click to view animation):

Sometimes they simply piece together parts of the same celebrity to create the shot they are looking for.

There's a quickly growing collection of "Photoshop Fails" which display examples bad Photoshop work -- typically unfinished or unnoticed problems.  Usually just the result of lazy designers.

Spreadsheet: Carl's Surf Shop

Today we are going to be building a spreadsheet for Carl.  He owns a surf shop in Jellico [I know, right?] and would like to figure out how much he should pay his employee's every month.  He has trouble figuring out their commission, their taxes, and their net pay.

This is as far as Carl got when he gave up:

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Carl's Surf Shop
2	Commission Worksheet
3
4	Sales Rep	Sales	Commission	Taxes	Net Pay
5	James Thomas	$ 45,000.00
6	Jerrod Sanchez	$ 60,000.00
7	Steve Harrison	$ 56,000.00
8	Leah Larkin	$ 34,000.00
9	Casey Perkins	$ 29,500.00
10	Bert Dillon	$ 27,500.00
11	Miranda Parkinson	$ 43,250.00

1. Highlight the information in cells A1+A2 and change the font style and size.
2. Highlight the column titles:  Bold & center them.
3. Use a formula to calculate each sales reps commission.  Commission is 14.5% of their individual sales.
4. Use a formula to calculate the taxes for each sales rep.  Taxes are 22% of their individual commission.
5. Key the word Total in cell A12 and right-align it.
6. Use a formula to calculate the total of this month's payroll in cell E12.
7. Use a formula to calculate the net pay for each sales rep.
8. Use a formula to calculate the total of this month's payroll in cell E12.
9. Format "money columns" to currency style with two decimals.
10. Highlight the cell that has the highest commission amount for the month and fill in with light grey.  Highlight the sales reps name (with the highest commission): Italicize & Bold it.
11. Highlight row 12 and Bold it.
12. Highlight the information in cell A5:A11 and across through E5:E11.  Sort A-Z.
13. Make sure columns are wide enough to show all information.
14. Add your name to cell E1: Bold and right-align it.
15. Select the entire work area (cells A1:E12) and go to Page Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area.
16. Add formatting to make the document more personalized/attractive.
17. Do a Print Preview to make sure it fits on one page.
18. Print and turn in your spreadsheet.

Spreadsheet #1: Basic Budget

Today we will be working through the creation of a personal budget spreadsheet.  We will use it to keep track of income and spending, and use it to plan purchases, investing, etc.

Do this as realistically as possible as if you were moving out on your own [if you aren't already living on your own] and assume you have a real job and are living in a real house or apartment:

INCOME:

• Income 1
• Income 2
• TOTAL INCOME:

EXPENSES:

• Housing/Rent
• Food/Groceries
• Car Payment
• Car Insurance
• Travel (Gas, Bridge Tolls, Bus, Auto Maintenance, etc.)
• Utilities (Gas, Electric, Propane, Kerosene, etc.)
• Phone (Home, Cell, Internet)
• Cable / Satellite TV / Netflix
• Health Care / Medicine
• Clothing / Uniform / Shoes
• Entertainment
• Pets (Food, Medicine, Vet Bills)
• Sundries (Toilet Paper, Soap, Laundry Detergent, etc.)
• Furnishings / Kitchenware / Appliances
• School Expenses
• Credit Card Payments
• Child Care/Babysitting
• Savings
• Laundry/Dry Cleaning
• Cigarettes/Dip/Tobacco
• Snacks (Energy Drinks, Candy, Soda, Coffee, etc.)
• TOTAL EXPENSES:

Obviously you [hopefully] won't have all of these expenses, but for now go ahead and set the spreadsheet up with them in.  When we are finished we will take out items that we KNOW we will never use.  I will never need a "tobacco budget", for example.

After laying out the income and expenses in the first column (A), create columns for each month of the year (B) through (M).  Next, create a "TOTALS" column (N).

Work on formatting your document by bolding and centering the headers, adjusting font styles, right-aligning the incomes and expenses, adding color, etc.

Finally, begin entering your first months data.

Beginning Spreadsheets

If you're having trouble understanding the coordinates in spreadsheets, try to think of them like a Battleship game:

 In this example, the boat that has been hit is at cell E7.  The boat in the bottom-right corner is at cell J10.

Rows are horizontal... like the rows of a theater.  And they are numbered -- row 3, row 4, etc.

Columns are vertical... like columns in a building.  They are lettered -- column A, B, C, etc.

Next we will open and explore this spreadsheet:  Spreadsheets

• When you open it, go to FILE > MAKE A COPY and save it to your folder to work on.

Questions to Ask in an Interview

"Wait... I have to ask THEM questions when they are interviewing ME?!"

Yes.  An interview should be a two-way conversation.  You shouldn't monopolize the conversation, but you shouldn't sit there seemingly disinterested either.

Imagine for a moment that you are introduced to someone new at a party.  You spend a while asking them questions about who they are, what interests them, what experiences they have had, and where they see themselves in the future.  You ask them, “Do you want to know anything about me?”  They reply, “Nope.”  What would you take from that meeting?  You would probably assume that they were not interested in you.

If an interviewer asks, "Do you have any questions for us?" and you reply, "No... I can't think of any."  They will get the impression that you are not serious about your application to their company.

Today we will discuss some of the questions you *might* ask during an interview -- obviously you won't ask ALL of them and you won't ask questions that aren't applicable.  We will also explain what benefits you get from asking these questions.

I am including the PowerPoint here: PowerPoint Presentation: Asking Questions During an Interview

25 Most Common Interview Questions

A job interview involves a lot of questions because the interviewer is trying to find out as much information [about the interviewee] as they possibly can in a limited amount of time.  While you may get asked some very specific questions (i.e. "Have you ever worked a cash register before?"), it is likely that you will also be asked a lot of standard interview questions (i.e. "Tell me about yourself.").  Today we will be discussing the 25 most common interview questions (according to the Human Resources departments of several corporations).  I am including the PowerPoint slide show titled, "25 Most Common Interview Questions" here if you would like to review this in the future.

5 Best Things to Say in an Interview

5 Best Things to Say in an Interview

By Catherine Conlan
Monster Contributing Writer

The best things you can say in an interview won’t necessarily get you the job on their own, but they can certainly pave the way. Keep these five things in mind as you go through the interviewing process to give yourself the best chance at landing the job.

Ask Good Questions

According to Howard Pines, founder and CEO of BeamPines, “the best thing a candidate can do at an interview is ask good questions.”

Doing so shows that you are thoughtful and interested in understanding the company. There’s usually a chance to ask questions at the end of your interview, so be ready with questions that show you’re engaged in the process.

Pines suggests several questions, including:

• What are the biggest short- and long-term issues I would need to focus on in this position?
• What would I need to focus on differently than the previous person in this position?
• What organizational issues should I be aware of?

“I’m flexible.”

Whether it’s about possible job duties, a potential start date or simply timing for the second interview, stressing your flexibility makes you easy to get along with.

Hiring managers don’t like complications, and having to coordinate complicated schedules or haggle over a job description eventually just makes you look difficult. While you certainly don’t want to be a pushover -- and “flexible” shouldn’t define your salary negotiation -- show your potential employer that you’re interested in results that work for everyone.

The Company’s Own Words

Before your interview, become familiar with the company’s website and literature. Pay attention to the words used -- what’s important to the organization?

“In your interview, hit key words that appeared on the company website or brochure,” says Olivia Ford ofAdeptio. “These key words might include team, leadership, simplistic, culture or growth.”

Mixing these keywords into your answers can provide a subtle hint that you are plugged in to what the organization is looking for.

“That’s a Good Question.”

Use this phrase instead of blurting out “I don’t know” if the interviewer stumps you with a surprise question. It can give you a few moments to come up with an answer and, in the meantime, strokes the interviewer's ego a little bit too.

Avoid the “I don’t know” answer when possible, but of course don’t lie about your experience or training.

Reasons You Want the Job.

Knowing a job prospect’s motivations is important for managers who are hiring.

During your interview, talk about how this position fits into your future plans and the ideas you have about your career, how it fits with your values, and what you would like to learn from it. Talk about how you see yourself in relation to the company and what you believe you can bring to the position.

These kinds of thoughts show who you are as a person, and go a long way toward giving the hiring manager an idea about how you might fit in the company’s culture and values.