Nip, tuck, cheat

Forget obesity or teenage pregnancy as social ills; vanity is more of a problem. And corporations know this. Take a look at the two sets of photos below and see how just the lighting and a little hair cut has altered the perception of the photos.

They use opposing effects to make the two women appear to have lost wrinkles using some “miracle” drug/ointment that makes you younger, but the end result is the same. The first shot has lighting from above / to one side giving the appearance of shadows; then a direct, harsh light to remove the shadows in the ‘after’ pic. The second photo set simply removes the main light source to soften the tone of the image and has moved the subject in front of a more uniform background.

Regardless that — at least in the first pair of photos — the lady looks more attractive in the softer, more natural light of the before picture, I’m not sure which is sadder: that the pharmaceutical / beauty industry stoop this low or that people believe it enough to make such adverts worthwhile.