With editing apps and photoshopping software widely available, everyone can have an athletic body, a perfect vacation, or be youthful forever with just a touch of a finger. But how much can you alter a photo before it becomes a blatant giveaway that what you’re posting is far from reality?
Luckily we have the meticulous eyes and noggins of the netizens from the subreddit “Instagram Reality” who gladly expose people’s shams online and let us know how far is too far. Below you will find a collection of the best photoshopping fails that prove that not everything that glitters is gold.
While you’re scrolling through, don’t forget to check out a conversation with photographer Svenja Christina, who kindly agreed to expose the secrets of editing.
More info: Instagram
That Cloud Won’t Leave Her Alone
So Hot, The Car Melted
Don’t You Hate It When Your Pecs Grow Over Your Pendant?
Data shows that 71% of people edit their selfies. When it comes to it, more than half of respondents change imperfections on their skin, while 47% say they create a sharper jawline and higher cheekbones.
A similar number of people touch up their arms, whereas 42% are unhappy with their eyes. In addition, a third confessed to altering their bums and lips before posting pictures online.
Concerning gender differences, men are almost as likely to add a filter to their pictures as women, busting the myth that females use more of them than males. Almost half of male respondents have edited their photos to remove wrinkles, brighten their smile, and remove red glare from the eyes.
A Strong One
Saw This On Instagram
Maybe Just One More Filter
To learn more about the magic of editing, Bored Panda reached out to a professional photographer Svenja Christina whose photographic style is dreamy, light-infused, and magical – with a strong focus on genuine emotion and connection.
She strives to blur the line where reality meets dreams. That’s why she’s the perfect person to let us in on the secret of when people on social media use Photoshop to fake images that are far from reality.
She told us that there isn’t one trick that could be applicable in all situations and that people should first use their common sense.
“Things that cannot happen in real life are a giveaway that the image has been digitally manipulated. For example, a shark flying through a city. A less obvious example – except to the trained eye – could be a scene with a milky-blurred body of water and a crisp cloudy sky. The blurred body of water is a result of long-exposure photography. Having a detailed cloudy sky in the same image would not work because clouds are moving and the long exposure would likely blur them as well.”
It seems that clouds (don’t really know what we did to them) are some of the objects that are widely altered in photos. Just take a look at the people who are carrying around their perfectly shaped and ever-the-same cloud everywhere they go.
I Cannot Believe She Seriously Posted This
It Gets Worse The More You Look
Found On A Thinspo Account. Send Help
Christina also agreed to reveal the signs that could indicate that a photo is edited. Therefore, she encourages people to look for incoherent lighting.
Something that can expose an altered picture is objects in the scene that are lit in a way that mismatches the light sources in the image. Shadows falling in separate directions can also be a big giveaway.
Looking at a picture people should ask themselves do the colours match? Do the sizes of different objects match? Things that are further away should look smaller than objects in the foreground.
