These Photos Aren't Photoshopped—And That's The Problem

A fence perfectly dividing a landscape into four seasons. A dog covered in Holi powder that looks like it's on fire. A highway that seems to ascend directly into the heavens. When you see an image this surreal, your first thought is almost certainly, "This has to be photoshopped."

In an age where cameras and editing software are ubiquitous, our default setting has become skepticism. Yet, sometimes reality is more inventive than any digital manipulation. A recent feature by Bored Panda, including an interview with a professional photographer, explores this phenomenon of 'unreal but real' photos and what it says about truth in the digital age.

The Pro's Take: "It's About Adding Magic, Not Faking Reality"

Professional photographer Anna Chii told Bored Panda that the word "Photoshop" is often misunderstood. People immediately think of heavily altered Instagram selfies, but she clarifies that's more akin to apps like Facetune. Professional Photoshop, she explains, is a powerful suite for design, video, and nuanced photo enhancement.

"From personal experience, shooting takes the least amount of time in comparison to planning and retouching," Chii revealed. Her goal isn't to make people look unlike themselves. "It’s about the small details, which make the photo stand out without making it look unrealistic. It’s about colors and lighting. About mood."

According to Chii, achieving a 'perfect' all-natural photo often requires a large on-set team: makeup artists, stylists, and lighting assistants. For a solo photographer, post-production in Photoshop can achieve a similar polished result—it's a different method to reach the same high-quality end. She stresses that it's a skill that can't salvage a poorly taken shot; it only enhances a good one.

A Crisis of Credibility: Photo 'Doping'

While editing tools unlock creative potential, they've also triggered a crisis of credibility. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the rise of editing tools has been compared to doping in sports, with some photo contests marred by accusations of digital manipulation. The paradox is that this skepticism now works in reverse: completely genuine, unaltered photos are sometimes accused of being fake simply because they're so extraordinary.

PRISM Insight: The phenomenon of 'looks-fake-but-is-real' images is more than just internet eye candy; it signals the urgent need for widespread visual literacy. We're moving past a simple real/fake binary. The new challenge is to critically assess intent and degree of manipulation in everything we see. As technology continues to blur the line between reality and enhancement, our ability to question and interpret visual information has become an essential survival skill.