Why do parents need to spend time with their children?

Parents and their children need to spend time together in order to enhance family relationship and close family ties. This is the most compelling reason on why should parents spend time with their children. Also, parents are the most immediate individuals to whom the children learn the essential values and perspectives towards growing and life as a whole.

The contemporary family life can be deemed to be very much different some decades ago. During those times, traditional family practices are seen to be unmistakable in every aspect of development – from personality to values as well as overall human development. Today, there are numerous external factors that affect every child such as the environment, other people, media and technology, educational and social institutions, and the likes. With the influences of these external factors and the conditions that go hand in hand with them, there is a strong need for parents to spend time with their children. The time in which parents and children spend together serves as the strongest foundation for holistic human development.

Parents know best. Cliché as it may seem but it remains true over the years. As parents spend time with their children, the intimate bond of familial relation intensifies. For this very reason, parents and children when gathered together in a specified moment are able to talk about things, topics, and other issues or concerns. The communication of the parents and the children is effectively takes place when they have time for each other. For time is very important element in building human relationship, families can use this as the main ingredient in establishing and maintaining connection between each other.

Time is also an indicator in which the parents can identify the needs of their children. By spending time with them, the parents are able to ask their children what they need or the children are able to tell their parent things that bother them. In some special cases, spending time with children allows parents to discover things or attributes that are inherent to their children which are not known to them. Though sometimes, time is no longer enough for contemporary families, the greatest challenge is to see to it that even in the most difficult circumstance, the parents are able to find significant amount of time to spend for their children. A simple ‘how are you?’ or pat on the back, and daily greetings will indicate a feeling of affection to one another.

All in all, parents indeed need time to spend with their children because it is a vital moment in nourishing human relationship; it enhances family bonding and closer ties; it serves as a foundation for values, personality, holistic human development; and most importantly, it is a necessity to keep family together. As various factors and challenges are affecting the family as the most basic institution in the society, the availability of time to spend together seems to be the most imperative reason to keep the family united and bonded. With sufficient and quality time spent together, both parents and children are not just mere members of the family but it goes deeper to the real essence of the word. With the presence of time, human virtues like love, care, trust, appreciation, and others are cultivated. Thus, these create a better foundation for an ideal family.

Tourism and Tourism Policy Development in Japan

The latter half of the twentieth century has been marked with amazing changes in technology, transportation, and communication and, in varying degrees, a spread of geo-political stability that has accompanied economic affluence for many citizens in industrialized and developing countries throughout the world. These changes have triggered the development of a number of new industries and the substantial evolution of existing industries to address the needs of increasingly prosperous, educated, and sophisticated post-industrial societies. One of these industries, tourism, has quietly emerged to become an important force in many societies and economies in various parts of the world. Though not usually thought of as a single cohesive industry, the growth of tourism since World War II has nonetheless been dramatic. Higher discretionary incomes, smaller family size, changing demographics, lower transportation costs, improved public health standards, infrastructure development, and hospitable environments for tourists in many destinations have made tourism, especially long-distance tourism, an activity within the reach and desires of many members of many nations.

Furthermore, developments in marketing, management, vertical and horizontal integration, pricing, and tour packaging, as well as capital investments in physical facilities -- "bricks and mortar" -- and public infrastructure, have provided tourism with the necessary framework to allow the tremendous growth it has experienced over the past half century. Thus, tourism has indeed emerged as an "industry" which, according to the World Tourism Organization, in 1989 generated approximately 74 million jobs in its direct and service-related industries, such as airlines, hotels, travel services, and publications.

Impact and Relationship of Government and Commercial Planning Initiatives

With the evolution of tourism industry, comes the commercialization of tourism (Urry, 1990). Evidence shows that over the last four decades, the dominant model of tourism production has been shifting from Fordist mass tourism to post-Fordism model of tourism production (Urry, 1990). Basically, Fordism is a stage in the development of 20th century capitalism. It is marked by intense relationships between governments, unions, and international capital (Urry, 1990). Moreover, Urry (1990), states that distinct divisions associated with the Fordist model are being broken down because the era of mass communication has transformed the taste of tourists. The mass consumption of a standardized product is a guide to new ways of competing and co-operating (Williams & Montanari, 1995). Increasingly, changing cultural values, business and national competition for tourism, and improvements in Information and Communication technology (ICT) are all facilitating greater emphasis on more individualistic or specialized forms of holidays (Williams & Montanari, 1995).

Tourism has continued to be an essential component of development planning in developing nations. In some instances tourism has been perceived as a redeemer to sluggish industries and conventional agriculture, generating new connections and demands. Specifically, the diverse subdivisions of the tourism industry, such as hospitality, catering, food and beverages, tours, recreational activities and the entertainment industry, transport, souvenir manufacturing and sale are accounted to unlock enormous outlooks for employment and profits to varied populations. Governments, connected business clusters and international financing organizations are inclined to look upon tourism as an uncontaminated industry (Ghimire, 2001).

Developing nations believed they had a comparative advantage in comparison with their industrialized counterparts as they have incomparable tourist resources and appeals, like temperate and sunlit climate, gorgeous beaches, exceptional flora and fauna and tropical forests, and exotic or authentic civilization. Undeniably, in the 1950s and 1960s, newly-self-governing nations in Asia and Africa recurrently surmised tourism development to be a way of resource conveyance from the North to the South. (Ghimire, 2001) In isolation, developing nations wanted to endorse tourism by means of recognition and improvement of new locations, endorsement and advertising of expanded tourism merchandise, ratification of complimentary labor laws, granting of financially supported credits and tax immunities to foreign investors. Local and global tourism business organizations willingly joined forces with governments when they make out potentials for profit.

There are specific motives why governments all over the world sustain the development of tourism. Initially, the prospective for tourism to produce foreign currency is vital, even more so in countries which have artificial or controlled exchange rates, or which are, frequently accordingly, caused to undergo balance of payments difficulties. Second is the truth that tourism is labor exhaustive, and generates employment throughout the economy. Similarly, tourists pay out money on lodges, transportation, and meals, but also on an extensive assortment of goods and services. Third is the actuality that the tourism industry does not, in general, have need of costly or intricate technology or an extremely skilled labor force. With the exemption of a handful of multifaceted projects like airline operations, investment in tourism is not relatively costly, and will frequently give back a profit practically speedily. Furthermore, a lot of nations previously have prepared the basic and most imperative prerequisites for the improvement of the tourism segment; an agreeable climate, striking surroundings, historical locations, and welcoming population. In other words, governments frequently sense that their nation possesses an unexploited economic resource, and come to a decision to take advantage of it. (Gray, 1997)

More and more, in more than a few developing nations, national tourism has turned out to be more significant in the context of the overall amount of tourists and its contribution to national economy than international tourism (Ghimire 2001). Generally, it can be stated that national tourism is less responsive to international political unsteadiness and economic stagnation, less harmful to the nation's balance of payments and is supposed to generate considerable income and employment. But regardless of this potential, a handful of developing nations have a steady policy on national tourism. When a noteworthy amount of tourists start on to acquire holidays, they demand amenities and services. Governments have a propensity to deal with this development in an unplanned way, with tourism policies being created in a totally unintentional manner. Another feature of tourism is the speedy growth of regional tourism within developing nations, with specific up-and-coming prospects for economic growth in the South, but similarly a lot of imminent troubles akin to those connected with international tourism. This feature is up to now completely abandoned in tourism literature, but a small number of policy measures are being taken on at the ranks of regional institutions.

In fact, tourism seems to have become political in nature considering international organizations are formed in order to forge links that will intertwine their industries together. To illustrate, the issue of South-South partnership has been particularly restated throughout regional organizations such as Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). These organizations have intended to strengthen regional economic and political collaboration. In proportion to this underlying principle for regional support, tourism is frequently perceived as an outstanding means of invigorating and branching out the regional economic base, creating new employment and income potentials for communities and fortifying interpersonal contacts. And a handful of particular policy schemes have been in progress along these lines in different regions. (Ghimire, 2001, p. 99)

On another case, it is also utilized as a tool to resolve or even avert conflict. The term 'conflict' is bound with negative insinuations. It is repeatedly regarded as the converse of collaboration and peace, and is most frequently connected with hostility or the danger of violence. This perspective of conflict is not constantly supportive. In a lot of situations it is supposed to be perceived as a possible force for constructive social reform, its existence an observable manifestation of society becoming accustomed to a new political, economic or physical atmosphere (Warner and Jones, 1998). A possible peaceful method to resolve these conflicts at the least social, economic, and environmental costs may possibly be by means of developing alternative tourism policies.

In the middle of increasing anxiety and worries all over the place getting away from it all is reasonably popular. With so many fantastic locations in the world, costs of international tours declining, and the pressures and tensions of everyday life growing, more individuals are traveling. And as the populace increases and incomes mount in a lot of societies, the development is precipitously positive. On the economic side of it, tourism has been an advantage as it makes a vital contribution to economic growth of a certain nation. It could be that a certain country in which tourism development is very low would suffer from economic instability. Taking a deeper look of it, tourism, first and foremost provides employment; it gives additional livelihood; it affects the balance of payments. Subsequently, there would be economic boom. However, tourism would also need to use facilities such as roads, airports, railways which are government concerns. It uses resources of land and water which government must manage for the nation.

The scale and distribution of responsibilities in the development vary from several factors such as economic status, culture, and the current state of the country’s tourism as a whole. In Japan, the government with its stakeholders has a specific action and developmental plans for the tourism of both countries. However, the participation of the people and the hospitality industry is also recognized. Initially, development starts in the community in which the attractions are located. Then, the process goes on. With some limitations in geographic locations and time constraints, developmental scale and distribution is subject for legislation and policy decision-making.

The Rise and Fall of Baan Company---A Case Study

Q1. What are the main strategic issues in this case study?

In this case study, among the main strategic issues are:

Failure of Strategic Management/Planning and Corporate Governance

Planning is commonly known as the process of formulating in advance as organized behaviour action. While it is true that people do not always plan their actions, it is inherent for any organizations to plan. However, whether dealing with the context by which planning is occurring, whether on the individual or organizational level, the process takes shape according to the prevailing attitudes, beliefs and goals that are involved. The term strategic management is also used synonymously with strategic planning (David 2001).

In Baan Company, the management’s ambitious strategy neglected some important aspects of the company’s operation. The aggressive action to abruptly expand and grow contributed to fall of the productive and increasing market share. Strategic management as well as corporate governance is guiding an organization relative to challenges and opportunities appearing in the contingent environment. This environment is composed of those external elements that most directly affect organizational goal achievement and new goal development. Thus, organization system design and management should complement strategic actions taken for productive subsystems, as well as those providing output delivery and other support functions for the organization. To the extent possible, the organization bases its actions on strategic planning that, rather than a one-time effort, is an ongoing process of adaptation of original conceptions of mission, goals, structure, roles, and so forth relative to environmental dynamics (Siegel 1992). The failure in corporate governance is a real threat to the future of every corporation. To make matters worse, standards of corporate governance are changing rapidly in response to random events which capture public imagination. These are the simplest prime reasons why the company failed.

Change Management

Change management is basically defined as the formulation and assimilation of change in a methodical process. The major objective of change management is the introduction of innovative means and systems in the work organization. Businesses, like Baan Company must normally undergo change in order to evolve to a higher level of for instance, stability, management or production. Appointing a new head officer, for example, can greatly enhance his subordinates based on his management principles and personality.

Due to the proposed ambitious strategy, organizational change is part of and a result of struggles between contradictory forces. Also, change management practice is related with endeavoring to manage their competing demands. To understand why and how to change organizations, it is first necessary to understand their structures, management and behaviour.These systems of ideas, or organizational theories are crucial to change management in two respects. First, they provide models of how organization should be structured and managed. Second, they provide guidelines for judging and prescribing the behaviour and effectiveness of individuals and groups in an organization. It is clear that in many organizations there is no clear understanding if the theories. Change cannot hope to be fully successful under circumstances (Burnes 1996). Again, this simple principle with the ideas embodied on it were overlooked by the Baan Company management.

Weakened Leadership

Leadership comprises the aptitude and ability to inspire and influence the thinking, attitudes, and behavior of other people (Adler, 1991; Bass, 1985; Bass and Stogdill, 1989; Bennis and Nanus, 1985; Kotter, 1988). Leadership is a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of other individuals in the achievement of a common task (Chemers, 1997). With the Baan Company case, the sudden resignation of Jan Baan can be attributed to the decline of the company’s performance. He is an effective leader as shown in the rapid growth of revenues of the company. However, the fall of the organization is not dependent on his resignation.

Technology and Competition

The technological upheaval and intense international competition tender significant challenges to an organization’s capability to keep up their competitiveness (Bettis & Hitt 1995; Hitt, Keats, & DeMarie 1998). In a micro economic sense, competitiveness is defined as sustainable development in productivity motivated by the quality of business strategy and operations, the quality of business and environment and the prevalent macro economic environment (Yener 2001). In a macro economic point of view, competitiveness is the degree to which a country can under free and fair market conditions, produce goods and services which meet the test of international market, while simultaneously maintaining and expending the real incomes of its people over a long term (Garelli 2002). This is evidently projected in the case of Baan Company. The challenges of global competition and technological advancement triggered or contributed to its eventual economic tragedy.

Q2. What should the Baan Company's leadership do?

At the business level strategy, knowing what the market demands and the latest trends could help Baan Company to fully exploit its research and development capabilities and come out with new practical and applicable strategies or plans which are cost-effective but high in quality and performance. The strategic option can even be used as marketing tool where the focus is on staying close to your customers and listening to their feedbacks. On the flip side of the coin, there will be huge mobilization of resources involved, and the associated risks bestowed on the corporation.

At the corporate level strategy, understanding the strategic importance of its subsidiaries is something Baan Company has to be familiar with. This allows information dissemination to be retained at the corporate headquarters of the whole company (Tweedale 2002).

At the network level strategy, there are various strategic options available for Baan Company. These are enumerated as follows:

• Tie up with more related companies

• Collaboration with its major competitors

• Alliances with leading suppliers in software technologies

A tie-up or merger with various related companies offers tremendous benefits in terms of access to Baan Company subscribers, infrastructure and even its resources. However, the firm must not lose sight of its core competencies while pursuing these tie-ups. Otherwise, its image might be put in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the collaboration with its major competitors can be seen as a ridiculous move at first. However, upon close examination, this move could pave the way to increase even more its market shares and revenues. The bottom line is both sides would be able significantly gain financially in such an alliance. One possible setback, however, is the differences in the cultures of the companies involved. Another possible setback could be whether any of competitors has the need to form alliances. The third option also focuses on alliances, but this time with either one of the suppliers specializing in manufacturing of software technologies. The benefits of these alliances should outweigh the costs in the long run.

In terms of appropriateness, all three options are able to directly address the current issues mentioned. However, the question remains whether Baan Company could be able to implement any of these options, and whether these options can be acceptable to the key stakeholders. Any merger or alliances may also involve the sharing of expertise. Baan Company has traditionally relied on the inside-out approach. It is important to note that any merger transactions would have many implications on the firm’s values and culture as well as the resources. The key stakeholders definitely would be concerned with such options and need to be convinced of the positive aspects. Somehow, it will be able to overcome this barrier in managing strategic changes in the process of implementing any of the above mentioned strategic options.

Q3. What does the case say about the 'Corporate Governance' and 'Corporate Social Responsibilities? Discuss what you believe Baan's corporate social responsibilities might have been in the circumstances of the case?

According to Stapledon (1996), corporate governance can be defined as a system that is used in order to direct and control companies. Corporate governance on this case can be judged as profit-oriented. The managers are greedy at some instances. Due to the aggressive desire to expand and grow in its line of operation, the management forgot to take a closer look and give a significant amount of attention to the various sectors of the organization. Planning and making up practical and applicable plans were taken for granted. The authorities are concentrated in profit making thus neglecting its financial capability, human resources, and management strategy.

The Baan Company corporate social responsibility on this case was also not fully implemented. The company served as a venue for economic growth for the management, state, and work force. With its failure, the corporate social responsibility to provide economic growth opportunity to every party concerned vanished. However, there are also areas of social responsibility that the company excels. Among these are focused on the product like responses to customer complaints, product warranties, and processes for exchanging purchases. The corporate social responsibility to its workers was not fully manifested. Data included on this case study says that the company tends to ignore the substantial contribution of the human resources in the continuous growth and development of the company and its operations. Instead, the company technically laid-off some of the useful employee during its momentous decline.

References

Adler, NJ 1991, International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, Kent, Boston, MA.

Bass, BM 1985, Leadership and Performance beyond Expectations, the Free Press, New York.

Bass, BM & Stogdill, RM 1989, the Handbook of Leadership. the Free Press, New York.

Bennis, W & Nanus, B 1985, Leaders, Harper and Row, New York.

Bettis, RA, & Hitt, MA 1995, ‘The new competitive landscape,’ Strategic Management Journal, 16 (special issue), pp. 7-19.

Burnes, B 1996, Managing change: A strategic approach to organizational dynamics, 2nd ed, Division, London.

Chemers, MM 1997, An Integrative Theory of Leadership, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New York.

David, FR 2001, Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, 8th ed, Prentice Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Garelli, S 2002, World Competitiveness Yearbook 2002: Competitiveness of Nations Fundamentals, IMD.

Hitt, MA, Keats, BW, & DeMarie, SM 1998, ‘Navigating in the new competitive landscape: Building strategic flexibility and competitive advantage in the 21st century,’ Academy of Management Executive, vol.12, no. 4, pp. 22-42.

Kotter, JP1988, The Leadership Factor, the Free Press, New York.

Siegel, GB 1992, Public Employee Compensation and its Role in Public Sector Strategic Management, Quorum Books, London.

Stapledon, G 1996, Institutional Shareholders and Corporate Governance, Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Tweedale, G 2002, ‘Review of the European Corporation,’ Business History, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 118-119.

Yener, D 2001, ‘Disclosure, Corporate Governance, Competitiveness and SME Access to Finance,’ for Discussion at the USAID and OECD Meeting, Southeast European Partnership on Accountability Development, December 12-14, 2001.

Fashion Photography: the Stimulation of Desire by the Image Projected

The fashion photograph is not just any photograph, it bears little relation to the news photograph or to the snapshot, for example; it has its own units and rules; within photographic communication, it forms a specific language which no doubt has its own lexicon and syntax, its own banned or approved ‘turns of phrase’.

- Roland Barthes, 1990 The Fashion System,

Berkeley: University of California Press, p. 8.

It is by the nature of people to be fascinated with the beauty they see around – may it be natural or inanimate. Though many people believe in the cliché “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, the universality of expression when it comes to beauty as a whole is uncontested. People will always rely on their personal judgment when it comes to defining and appreciating real beauty on its sense. This paper aims to discuss the extent of attractive presentation used in fashion photography to stimulate desire among individuals who see it. It will justify desire stimulation as an aim of fashion photography by presenting examples. Further, several examples are presented to support the claim.

Fashion photography is a specialty aspect of photography that caters to the artistic exposition of clothing and other fashion pieces. It is believed that fashion photography mastered its individual aesthetic characteristics in which the clothes and other fashions are taken into considerable angle and out of the extraordinary locations. According to Rosetta Brookes (cited in Jobling 1999, p.1), “Fashion photography is traditionally regarded as the lightweight end of photographic practice. Its close relationship to the economic imperatives of turnover makes the fashion photograph the transitory image par excellence.” As a primarily recognized fact, fashion photography is directed not only to artistic representation of clothes and fashion materials but also to the aim of persuading people and spectators to try, buy or purchase such products being endorsed and even the personality present as a subject in the photo itself.

Further, Eamonn Mc Cabe (1991, p.33), picture editor of The Guardian, affirmed in such related description that “fashion photography is like its models, nobody wants it for very long.” Cabe believes that fashion photography is dynamic. The feeling of likeness the photograph brings in the eyes pf people who sees it changes. Thus, the relativity and duration of its effect is temporary. However, this belief was challenged by the fact presented by Roland Barthes (1990, p.8) that there are significant differences between how actual garments and representations of them are both produced and consumed. Since people originally wear clothing or fashion on our bodies, the description provided by Cabe is said to be “reductive” (Jobling 1999, p.1) or oversimplifying. The aspect of personal differences and individual characteristics in terms of physical traits and the appropriateness of such fashion items to people are overlooked.

Fashion photography is always a dynamic area of camera work since it caters to a specified and more business-oriented side. The art presented by most ordinary photographers and visual artists is a bit diverse when compared to such kind of photography. However, the main aim in capturing the subject in the best and most artistic manner is the common denominator of every photographer who held their camera and focused their lenses. But the question is, why is desire stimulated by using attractive representations in fashion photography?

The Aim of Fashion Photography

'...desire was stimulated by attractive presentation; for example, by using colours, exotic themes, lighting effects and phantasmagoria of abundance.'

- Buckley & Gundle 2000, p.334

Photographers, in general, aim to project the “art” out of the subject. Pierre Bourdieu suggests that the invention of photography, far from setting its own standards for realism, merely fell into line with the dominant ideology laid down by painting. He added that photographs themselves try to depict an ape in a painterly style (Evans & Hall 1999). In fashion photography, the look of the subject as well as the fashion being endorsed is the main concern of the artist. In the process up to the publication of the material, the main goal is to attract people by using the taken photos. The most often media where the art of fashion photography is showcased is advertising and print (such as magazines and newspapers). Today, it is too evident in the daily encounters of people in various publications to see photographs adorn with strong color presentation, extraordinary themes, effects and bizarre images. Almost all glossy magazines distributed to the market are full of images that bear a specific message. On this case, fashion photography as presented in fashion oriented magazines and other publications will serve its own purpose: to persuade, stimulate and elicit desire among the readers and lookers.

Indeed, fashion photography persuades people by the visual beauty being presented but at the same time separate them to the reality of the ordinary purpose of clothing (Jobling 1999, p.1). With such representations, people no longer stick to the idea of clothes as a basic need for practical considerations such as protection, modesty, and adornment. Instead, it gives them the opportunity to ponder on the symbolism of fashion. Thus, the magazine as the principal outlet for photographic exposition as well as a prime motivator in helping individuals to assess the meaning of clothing, determining what is “in” and what is “out”, must serve its real objective. But more often than not, with the superficiality of images, use of strong visual elements, and surreal characters, people are subjected into fashion dilemma.

For example, photographer Ruth Harriet Louise takes her lenses to Hollywood glamour. Louise understood the critical importance of fashion and its display, and worked with designers and subjects to the best advantage of both (Dance & Robertson 2002, p.107). Most of her works were focused in the glamour portraits of Hollywood celebrities especially to the movies they starred in. However, there are significant examples applicable in the stimulation of desire in relation to fashion photography. A certain instance was when some stars seemed almost entirely identified with their wardrobes. “Carmel Myers was in Italy filming Ben-Hur, so far as the newspapers and fan magazines were concerned, she spent most of her time looking at the latest European fashions. The blonde wig Myers wears in her first scenes in the movie, for example, was said to be the result of a shopping expedition to Vienna. Upon her return to the United States, press photographers captured her in Paris gowns designed by leading couturiers such as Callot” (Dance & Robertson 2002, p.108). After the publication of such photo, wigs became more popular. Thus, the presentation and the model herself persuaded people to imitate what she wore.

In reality, models for fashion photography are stars and celebrities. Because they are considered as such, the tendency is that their fans will be greatly influenced by the acts, ways, and looks they portray. Evidence that will support this observation is the fact that fans do not only collect and display the photos but were encouraged to imaginatively reinterpret and manipulate the images published in the magazines. It is deemed that the process of looking at stars' photographs, for the most devoted followers, was highly interactive and creative (Dance & Robertson 2002, p.102).

Further, today’s fashion industry is multifaceted. If before, fashion industry is largely concentrated to women, today, men are also engage to the trend. Because the studios sold primarily to women, the products that came to be associated with the female were largely domestic ranging from intimate cosmetics or lingerie, for example, to functional household objects, to more subtle aspects of style and taste (Dance & Robertson 2002, 108). For men, perfume, sports items and designer’s clothes like jeans is the inclination. Some of the most popular brands endorsed by men and women are Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Versace and the likes. The presentations of photos for such instances are depicted to be highly attractive that it will serve its persuasive function. Traditionally, women models are photographed wearing their particular dress in a specified setting. For example, ball gowns (like wedding gown) are depicted in an environment of elegance, nobility and high taste of quality like fabulous party scenes. Men endorsing clothes, aside from being handsome, the overall appearance of the suit and tie they wear correspond to the superficiality of the venue. With these instances, it could be said that the main aim of fashion photography in stimulating desire by using attractive presentation is valid and true.

Moreover, it is a common notion by many historians and critics that the fashion magazine and the fashion photograph is an ephemeral and exiguous form of cultural production (Jobling 1999, p.1). It is a potential medium of transferring cultural characteristics of people with diverse origins. For example, in the anthology Beyond Desire (Pirotte, et al. 2005), several portraits in fashion were showcased including the works of Christian Dior and John Galliano, fashion photos, African studio photography, art, and documentary stills that holds the relativity of people when it comes to fashion sense. The collection of essay about the “idea” of Africa and Europe fashion is used as a useful medium to establish social relationships, local institutions, and transnational connection”. In here, “fashion creates fantasy onto which qualities such as seduction, eroticism, exuberance – and desire – are projected” (The D.A.P. Catalog @ artbook.com). The book provides a comparative analysis of “the random mixing of ethnic and contemporary elements” that makes the fundamental result both “strange and beautiful”.

Fashion photography is not as simple as having a catalogue in which people can see what is new in the fashion industry. It is not also necessary that it should be a way for people such as the fashion shoppers in big commercial trading, to know what and how clothes may or really look like (Jobling 1999, p.2). In reality, the photographic presentation of fashion has something to do with the process or the act of capturing the moment and the subject. For fashion, there are several considerations to be taken into account. Aside from the items and the models to be used, among these considerations are “the catwalk, designer's studio and changing room perform this function, affording the opportunity for scrutinising garments on bodies in movement, or for trying them on, while simultaneously enhancing their appeal with atmospheric music and lighting” (Jobling 1999, p.2).

Certainly, photos about fashion create an image of blissful and “beautiful” in the ordinary eyes of the viewer. It increases or even enhances the actual look of the item. Fashion photography offers an illustration of clothing that does not offer exactly the equivalent point of identification as it was demonstrated on the stage, or displayed on a mannequin or model in the studio (Jobling 1999, p.2). Relatively, almost all images in fashion photography designate people into a world of unconcealed illusions and fantasies. It places fashion and the body in any number of rational contexts. More often, the sessions in fashion photography is far from the reality of imagery. It has either little or nothing to do with clothing. Or even clothing itself seems to become an alibi for the representation of other contemporaneous issues and ideas (Jobling 1999, p.2).

The Issue of Digital Photography: Visual Truth in Fashion

With the advent of high technology in all segments of living, the process of fashion photography nowadays is also sophisticated. The presence of digital photography is another consideration to be taken into its revolutionary course of change. Researches find that digital photography has become immensely popular among recreational photographers and professionals alike while the benefits are multitudinous. The most pronounced benefits are the ease of reproduction and the effortless manipulation digital photography allows for exact replicas of images that can be made instantly and sent out where they have the potential to reach and affect millions of individuals. Furthermore, photo editing software allows for the manipulation of images, where any element can be altered, added or extracted but in doing so, the computer has followed the law of unintended consequences: the box that came to be seen as the conclusive media machine has made conclusions themselves more difficult to reach. The status of photos as visual truth has been severely shaken by this digitization of photography.

The debate over the level of visual truth in photography has only been heightened with the arrival of digital imaging. Visual truth is the notion that a photograph has the power to project images of the truth and can be seen as an unmediated copy of reality (Sturken & Cartwright 2001, p. 362). While this view is extreme, traditional photographs do indeed all have a referent in the real world something of which they mimic and are reflections of. While simply digitizing a photo does not change that, when photographs are altered through the use of a digital technology, they lose this referent and can present a distorted view of reality. This thought is unsettling for some, as determining the authenticity of a photograph is nearly impossible. This can allow for people to create completely fictitious events and execute elaborate hoaxes.

Clearly, Jobling (1999, p.3) believes that the expression of an attitude such as this in fashion photography bears witness to the fact that it can both make a profound impact on the social and cultural scene, and have the potential to make a lasting rather than fleeting impression on the consciousness of any individual. The deceiving tactics in order to persuade or stimulate the desire of viewers and more importantly buyers in the subject presented is evident in every images shown and products endorsed.

Often, photographs are not meant to be strictly a depiction of reality, but instead to be art and evoke an emotion from its viewer. Thus, digital manipulation simply becomes another tool for the artist which allows them to convey meanings that would be otherwise impossible. One must not forget that the interpretation of a picture takes place in one’s heads. The meaning of what people see is never what they see but what it means to them. Pictures are not to concretize reality, but to interpret.

Although the digitization of photography is an unavoidable evolution, it is important to understand that digitization does not necessarily include alteration. Digitization is an astounding advancement that will allow for endless and rapid distribution of photography worldwide especially to the fashion and even advertising industries. As tempting as digital manipulation may be, it is crucial that fashion photography maintains its integrity and continues to display unaltered photographs. Even in an unaltered state, however, photography will always be a subjective art, void of any absolute visual truth. It is digitization though, that allows for a new level of image that can be made to fulfill any desire. According to sources, it is said that the world becomes more controllable and we become more capable of projecting and confirming ourselves and our own world and in our own image as well provided that these digitally altered images are not labeled as authentic, one should be able to appreciate and accept this reconstructed version of photography.

There has been a general argument that the diverse and complex array of images people encounter in their everyday lives, from paintings to news images to digital representations, are subject to the dynamics of social power and ideology, and that images acquire meaning and value according to context and use.

Fashion photography aims not the excessively and overly visual presentation of images but to the artistic and realistic way that will induce the desire of people who loves fashion and the art of photography as a whole. As Jennifer Craik in The face of Fashion deemed, “fashion photography provokes viewers and consumers into confirming their own identity through structures of desire … constituting a nexus between fashion and selfhood” (cited in Jobling 1999, p. 3).

In my own opinion, fashion photography must not be overly interpreted. The images should be attributed from the standpoint of a lens' creative and technical capabilities such as angle view, zooming, depth of field, perspective, aperture control, contrast or tonal and color reproductions. The element of visual truth is the most important aim that fashion photographers must meet. Thus, the presentation of images and subjects is not beyond the limits of real characteristics of fashion items, clothes, and models in the picture. The extent of fashion photography is limited to the execution and presentation of what is true and artistic in the eyes of every individual. Balancing artistry and honesty when it comes to stimulating desires of people is another vital denominator. Thus, people can observe fashion photography play with their own desires and fears and appreciate how the rational images appears without the main influences of “attractive presentation using colours, exotic themes, lighting effects and phantasmagoria of abundance” but with the idea that fashion is relative and that everyone is exceptional in the eyes of one another.

References

Barthes, R 1990, The Fashion System, trans. M. Ward and R. Howard, Berkeley:

University of California Press, p. 8.

Buckley, R & Gundle, S 2000, 'Flash Trash: Gianni Versace and the theory and

practice of glamour', in ed. Stella Bruzzi and Pamela Church Gibson, Fashion Cultures: Theories, Explorations and Analysis, London and New York: Routledge, p.334.

Dance, R & Robertson, B 2002, Ruth Harriet Louise and Hollywood Glamour

Photography, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Evans, J & Hall, S 1999, Visual Culture: The Reader, London: Sage Publications.

Jobling, P 1999, Fashion Spreads: Word and Image in Fashion Photography

since 1980, Oxford: Berg.

Mc Cabe, E 1991, February 25, ‘A ray of light in a phoney world’, The Guardian,

p. 33.

Pirotte, P, De Boeck, F, Tulloch, C, Whitley, Z & Debo, K 2005, Beyond Desire,

Ghent, Belgium: Ludion Publishing, p. 18-25.

Sturken, M & Cartwright, L 2001, Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual

Culture, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 16 & 362.

The D.A.P. Catalog @ artbook.com, Beyond Desire – Book Review, viewed

March 14, 2006, from http://www.artbook.com/9055445584.html.