ALISE KING

We live in a country that is drawn to the idea of having a perfect body, which has been heavily influenced by our society and media. Adults and teenagers are feeling pressured to look the way that society claims is “perfect” which can lead to things like dieting, depression, and eating disorders. We are always surrounded by people who have the “ideal body” on social media, movies, magazines, and advertisements, which makes body image a repeating thought in our heads, multiple times a day. But those expectations are not reality. 

I photographed four different individuals and asked them what they think body standards are in today’s society. They responded with things like: toned/fit, skinny waist, big butt, big boobs for women, and for men, tall, lean, athletic and muscly. Society has shaped us into thinking this is what we need to look like in order to fit in with society today. I had my subjects pose in front of a mirror, looking at themselves, posing in a way that enhanced their figure to be what they think body standards are, and then I used digital imaging techniques to manipulate their body into that ideal body type. 

I used frequency separation, local dodging and burning, and the liquify tool in photoshop to manipulate their bodies into societies ideal expectations. I kept their actual body from the mirror unedited, to imply that we do not need to be what society is telling us to look like, and that we are perfect the way we are.