Nowadays, is so simple to manipulate an image even from a cell phone. It’s possible to add lights, crop images an so on. Nevertheless, image manipulation and the creation of new Images, is becoming a problem for photojournalism and media. In some situations, this software is misused, mainly when it comes to the distortion of photographs that involved controversial situations. In spite of the fact that photoshop is questioning photojournalist, there are some cases when this tool really helps to understand the context of an image and it helps to complement it. Within, both of these texts “ Distorted Picture” by Sherry Ricchiardi and “ The Reality of a Fake Image” by Matt Carlson are discussing this polemical situation.
In the text “Distorted
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Whenever we read news, or any kind of media, we know that the journalist chooses what he wants the reader to believe and it is the same with Photo manipulation. The question is, when the news come out, we question the veracity of it or we just take it as a fact? Media as Photojournalism is subjective, this doesn't mean that a photograph has the right of changing a photo completely, but of course, in order to emphasize his point of view the photographer is going to manipulate his Image in a certain way. “A photograph is always a decontextualized representation of reality recorded by a human being who makes conscious and even unconscious choices based on his or her cultural upbringing, experiences and biases. (Share, 2003)” (Photojournalism, The Reality of a fake Image. Carlson, page 8). In every case of Photo manipulation, firing a great Photographer should be determined case by case. Although at the end the photographer is the author of the Image and he is in his rights to change the image, knowing that there are ethics to respect it’s part of being a Photojournalist. Editors of News papers and Magazines are the ones electing which image should be posted. Before making the decision, they should acknowledge the situation and context of the image. They should be advised of the use of Photoshop and the Photographer should demonstrate the veracity of the
The mass media carries with it unparalleled opportunities to impart information, but also opportunities to deceive the public, by misrepresenting an event. While usually thought of as falsifying or stretching facts and figures, manipulation can just as easily be done in the use of photography and images. These manipulations may be even more serious – and subtle – than written manipulations, since they may not be discovered for years, if ever, and can have an indelible and lasting impact on the viewer, as it is often said, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. One of the most significant images of Twentieth Century America was the photograph of a migrant mother holding her child. The photograph was taken during the Great Depression by photographer Dorothea Lange, and has remained an enduring symbol of the hardship and struggle faced by many families during the Depression Era. This image was also an example of the manipulation of photography, however, for it used two major forms of manipulation that remain a problem in journalistic photography.
But what if those photographs were altered? Researcher wanted to see if they could use a fake photo and see if people would accept that as a true event. The researchers showed four people three photographs that were true and one false photograph. When the researchers interviewed the four participants, they found that 50% remembered the false event in the photograph. These studies showed that a substantial amount of false memories can be made using photographs. This experiment proved that memories aren’t very reliable and that photographs may be the best way to truly remember an event. Photographs can’t be easily disregarded or
Dictators were starting to catch on to the ability to alter photographs and they began removing people from their own photos. Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union, had Nicolai Yezhov, chief of the Soviet secret police, erased from his photograph (Falsification of History). Yezhov staged the Moscow frame trails, where innocent people were forced to confess crimes against Stalin and the Soviet Union and were ultimately killed afterward (Falsification of History). Stalin removed him from a photo of the two walking next to each other. Stalin airbrushed the photo to make it seem like Yezhov never existed in the
Susan Sontag discusses the reality of the modern person’s addiction with “needing to have reality confirmed” by photos. Sontag says “we accept it as the camera records it” then goes to say “this is the opposite of understanding.” I agree with her wholeheartedly, as accepting photos as they are limits ones understanding of the world. The trust in photography led to the rise of pictures hoaxes, in which people take pictures out of context and assign it a new background; as well as Photoshop, which becomes increasingly popular as the years go by. Photoshop allows one to manipulate a photo to portray what they desire it to.
The article “Our Photoshopping Disorder” by Erin Cunningham is an article based on negative aspects of photoshopping and the impacts it has on mental health, mainly in young girls. As a woman in todays society dealing with the never-ending struggle to live up to an unrealistic image that are published in the media, it can turn into an obsessive, harmful mental disease. With that being said, it was very admirable to read that Seth Matlins decided to up and quit his job to better focus on bettering the world for his daughter. Matlins said he was worried about the hurdles “that can leap out and get in the way of a little girl trying to grow up happy and trying to becoming a sustainably happy woman” (215). Since Matlins realization of the effects
Through manipulation and lies, media manages to modify objective news into biased news in order to convince the public of what the media wants them to believe. The article, “How the Media Twist the News”, by Sheila Gribben Liaugminas discusses the major influence that news has on readers based on their choice of stories and words. “How the Media Twists the News” has borrowed from multiple other texts such as the books like Public Opinion and Liberty and News, news magazine writers such as Ruderman, and news networks like CBS through Bias, A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News and CNN to make her arguments valid and prove that the news is biased and that it does influence readers significantly because of it.
As a result, many photographers take pictures to keep society updated on the events that are happening around the world. However, many turn to the idea of manipulating images to garner awareness of the current events. Although there are many instances where many don’t realize that a photo has been altered, it brings into question, the concept of ethics. Personally when I look at a photograph I assume that the photo is a clear distinction of the event that had happened at the moment. However, when the photos becomes manipulated I feel as though the truth has been distorted. The reason being is because they I look at the image I start to create a pseudo reality of what might have taken place and I try to understand the symbolism and emotions of the photo. Once you distort these images it then brings into question about whether it is ethically okay to distort the image. Although some photo manipulations is considered okay by some, others disapprove on the idea because it deceives the public. Some examples in photos are manipulated is when people are trying to making someone or a product look more appealing. However, when a picture is being used for journalistic purposes and propaganda I definitely don’t approve of it. This reason is that you are deceiving the public from the truth. Furthermore, it brings into question the intentions of the photographer, is the photo that is being manipulated being made so to garner more attention to the
The modern world is full of photographs. They are used for ads, political campaigns, and magazines. However it can be hard to tell whether or not a photograph is real. Many are ‘doctored’ or altered in some way. These doctored photographs can be seemingly harmless, such as advertisements, but they can misrepresent a product or person. There is a fine line between what is ethical and what isn’t for doctored images. Photographs should never be altered in order to deceive individuals, damage someone’s reputation, or when they have a strong negative impact on self-esteem. However if doctored photographs are used for art or for minor touch-ups for advertisements that don’t misrepresent a product then
Throughout the recent years, Photoshop has become a widespread phenomenon amongst the world. With the rapidly developing inventions of camera’s and devices with cameras on them; posting pictures on social media has become extremely popular. Along with that, the pressure to appear perfect in said pictures has increased dramatically. Society has become exceedingly focused on the idea of perfect, and what perfect looks like. Especially now, with growing photo sharing phone applications such as Instagram, photo editing is becoming even more popular. Photoshop has proven to have many beneficial uses; however, it also has very negative consequences such as false perceptions, and misleading people.
There is an acceptation to this and it is that if the photograph is from the actual event on September 11, 2001 from a bystander that would clearly be more accurate than a remake of the event in a film. When a nonfictional storyline is altered in any kind of way it will bring the value of accuracy down increasingly. As the accuracy gets farther away from the truth the representation leans more towards being considered
Photography is a mindful medium of expression, perspective, interpretation and can sometimes be truth. The changes throughout the history of photography have changed how people see the image they're looking at. In the 19th century, they were no editing options or software of any kind. You just go through the process and take the photo and people could easily tell it was real. Of course it would a shock to see what was once a real life event in that time period, but then transferred on paper "capturing" the moment itself. The truth could easily been seen, now in the 21st century, most of that has changed. There are
Every picture taken is unique and is has its own characteristics given to it by its taker. Much like every individual person, each photo has a story and an attitude. All these distinctive qualities are given to the picture by the photographer with a particular purpose. To set up the desired image, there must be proper steps taken in order to insure perfection. The first...
Photojournalism is a specific form of journalism that employs the use of images to form a news story that meaningfully contributes to the media. This allows a photographer to capture stills that tell the story of a moment in time. Photojournalism creates a transparency between the media and the people as it depicts an accurate representation where meaning can be misinterpreted through text. Photojournalism largely contributes to the way we understand the reality of a moment. Becker (1982) supports this concept as he compares photography to paintings. He says that paintings get their meaning from the painters, collectors, critics, and curators; therefore photographs get their meaning from the way people understand them and use them. Photojournalist’s
The ability to alter images can open creative outlets for photographers and In turn, produce better quality work. Any photog...
Taking photographs and photography itself is a great tool of power in many different aspects of life that one might not realize day to day. Photography has the power to reveal things that if expressed in words, would cease to be as powerful a truth. It serves as evidence of something larger. Yes, photos can be manipulated- yet because they can it makes the viewer even more cautious and observant on the details of these photos. Taking pictures is so much more than what it is painted to be on the surface. It is not always superficial and inconsequential. If you look deeper into the photo meaning and the details about the photos’ source, you observe things you would have never seen otherwise, like the slight hint of sorrow on her face, the contradiction in human ability, and the subtle external truths about the reason we do things, such as take pictures.