Instant Photoshop is one step closer to reality, but hold off on the celebration.
A Panasonic camera instantly can erase blemishes from a photo or even add digital makeup to a person’s face with the click of a button. It sounds like interesting technology because it requires the accurate detection of the human face, but we’re a little concerned about the underlying concept.
We can’t blame the company for developing the camera. After all, it’s just giving us what we want. If magazine models get airbrushed, why can’t we? Sure, we could make the same changes in software on our computers, but that takes time and effort, making us more likely to post and share raw pictures with friends and family. With instantaneous changes, supposedly for the better, we’re expecting to be even more surprised when we compare people’s real faces to those we see in pictures. Looking tanner or thinner or younger in photos can make real life that much more jarring.
It’s lying, not just to others but to ourselves, to edit our appearances so much. And this camera would allow these “improvements” to become a regular step in capturing someone’s likeness. It just seems to be another step on our collective road to showing others less of who we truly are. Besides, holding off on the photo altering will ensure fewer awkward conversations about whether you’ve lost weight or recently went on vacation.
