by admin ▪

on May 24, 2026

Seeing Everything Differently/ two stars

This visual assignment asked me to exaggerate the eyes in a photograph, so I used one of my own selfies and edited my eyes to appear much larger than normal. At first the assignment felt funny and simple, but once I started editing the image, I realized how much emotion and meaning eyes can carry in a photograph.

The exaggerated eyes completely changed the feeling of the image. Instead of looking like a regular selfie, it suddenly felt more surreal and expressive. The photo almost looks shocked, overwhelmed, or hyperaware, which made me think about how people use facial expressions online to communicate emotions without words.

I also liked how the editing gave the image an almost cartoon-like or animated effect while still keeping it realistic enough to feel slightly unsettling. Social media filters already change the way people present themselves online, so this assignment reminded me of how easy it is to digitally change identity, mood, and appearance through editing.

Even though the assignment was playful, it still connected to digital storytelling in an interesting way. Small visual changes can completely change how a viewer interprets an image. By only changing the eyes, the entire mood and personality of the photo shifted into something more dramatic and imaginative.