Photographer Divides Internet by Digitally Restocking a Grocery Store
A photographer has divided the internet after she revealed that she used editing software to restock a grocery store shelf to make an image more aesthetically pleasing.
Influencer Julia Belza went viral on TikTok when she shared how she edited a photo of herself reaching for some fruit on the top shelf of a grocery store.
@juliabelzaa
In the original photo, one of the shelves of fruit is noticeably a lot more empty than the other shelves.
Belza then demonstrates how she uses the cloning tool to edit the photo and add more tubs of oranges to the empty grocery shelf to restock it.
At the end of the TikTok video, which is captioned “restocking the supermarket so it looks more aesthetic for Instagram,” Belza shows the picture-perfect final photo with the packed shelves of fruit.
‘You Have Too Much Time on Your Hands’
Belza’s video amassed over 5.5 million views on TikTok and her photo editing divided social media users — with some dubbing her efforts to restock the grocery store shelf as “sad” and “exhausting.”
“You have too much time on your hands,” an individual comments.
@juliabelzaa Replying to @radnatalia ♬ original sound – lcsted
Meanwhile, another viewer criticized how inauthentic the edited photo was: “These kinds of videos always remind me to tell myself not everything on social media is real.”
Other social media users argued that the photo looked better when the shelves were empty: “I feel it looked more natural before and now it just looks too fabricated.”
‘This is Talent’
However, other viewers leaped to Belza’s defense — arguing that she was “allowed to make her picture look nice.”
Many social media users praised Belza’s impressive photo-editing skills and her eye for an aesthetically-pleasing picture.
“You all are saying this is sad but this is talent,” a user comments.
Another asks: “Why are you all mad? It literally looks better and makes the picture look more balanced.”
While a further individual says: “People are saying this editing is not normal and a waste of time but I think it makes it look so much more put together.”
Another user asked Belza why she did not save herself some photo-editing time and take the image in an area of the grocery store which was fully stocked.
In response to the comment, Belza writes: “I wanted this part with the fruit and one [empty] shelf isn’t going to ruin my vision.”
The ethics of Photoshopping an image has become a much-discussed topic on TikTok. PetaPixel previously reported on a photographer who started a viral debate after she asked followers if she should Photoshop a child’s odd socks so they would match.
Image credits: Header photo via TikTok/@juliabelzaa.