Lesson 14 — Activity 1: Can We Believe Our Eyes?
Completion requirements
Lesson 14 — Activity 1: Can We Believe Our Eyes?
One thing we need to be aware of when we are looking at ads is that a great deal of skill goes into creating the "look" of an ad.
Juicy burgers and crispy fries; perfectly roasted turkey surrounded by fluffy mounds of mashed potatoes, crisp green beans, and rich gravy; hot fudge sundaes topped with whipping cream and shiny, red cherries.
Ads with pictures like these are as fake as the ads using blemish-free models with perfect hair, perfect teeth, and perfect skin! The food in the pictures is usually plastic, sometimes covered with various substances that look better than the real thing! And the models use astounding amounts of makeup to look like plastic people! Also, the photographer has a bundle of techniques to make the products look better than the real thing.
Photographers, artists, and stylists do many things to touch up images and photographs of models to make them appear flawless in advertisements. Models that appear to be perfect are important to ads that appeal to our desire to be attractive, glamorous, or successful. But do not be fooled into thinking real people look like that!
Similar techniques are at work when food stylists are preparing meals for advertisements. Paint, glue, food colouring, dish soap, blowtorches, and other tools are used to make food look good enough to eat.
Juicy burgers and crispy fries; perfectly roasted turkey surrounded by fluffy mounds of mashed potatoes, crisp green beans, and rich gravy; hot fudge sundaes topped with whipping cream and shiny, red cherries.
Ads with pictures like these are as fake as the ads using blemish-free models with perfect hair, perfect teeth, and perfect skin! The food in the pictures is usually plastic, sometimes covered with various substances that look better than the real thing! And the models use astounding amounts of makeup to look like plastic people! Also, the photographer has a bundle of techniques to make the products look better than the real thing.
Photographers, artists, and stylists do many things to touch up images and photographs of models to make them appear flawless in advertisements. Models that appear to be perfect are important to ads that appeal to our desire to be attractive, glamorous, or successful. But do not be fooled into thinking real people look like that!
Similar techniques are at work when food stylists are preparing meals for advertisements. Paint, glue, food colouring, dish soap, blowtorches, and other tools are used to make food look good enough to eat.
Watch this video to see how a model for an ad is transformed using makeup and photo shop techniques.
The next time you are at a fast food restaurant, compare the pictures on the menu with the food that is on your tray. How do the two compare?