Doctored Photographs: When They Are Immoral 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 …show more content…
Photoshop can be used to depict opponents in undesirable situations or to depict events which haven’t actually happened. There have been numerous political scandals where one candidate doctors a photograph of their opponent. In 2012 Wil Cardon, a Republican candidate for the senate, launched a campaign against U.S. Representative Jeff Flake by using doctored photos of Flake to imply that he opposed SB 1070. The pictures had been doctored to feature Flake standing with Obama (McCombs, "Flake: Doctored Photos 'Dishonest '."). Here the doctored photograph was meant to deceive voters into believing an opponent had a certain viewpoint. The pictures depicted a scenario which never happened and may not display the full truth. In this case the doctored photograph crossed the fine moral line. The article Is it Real, Or Is It Photoshoped? discusses the increasing concern of doctored before and after pictures presented to clients by physicians (Anthem Media Group). In this case the photograph is purposely trying to deceive a perspective client into believe that the procedure will be more effective than it actually is. The picture does not present the truth in a scenario where it is unethical not to present the truth. Doctored photographs are not only unethical when they are used deceptively for one’s gain, but also when they are used to destroy another’s …show more content…
They may even argue that in they are ethical in the situations already listed. I agree that there are some situations when doctored photos are completely acceptable. Sometimes they can be used as art such as Halsman’s photograph, The Dali Atomicus. There are also times when pictures are changed only slightly in order to improve the quality, such as lighting or darkening a photograph. In these cases the picture is not meant to misrepresent an opponent or product, harm a person’s reputation, or lower self-esteem. However doctored photographs can be immoral when used to deceive, even if the changes seem minute. An example would be the suspension of photographer Bryan Patrick from the Sacramento Bee due to minor changes made to some photographs. A Newstex article addressed several people who thought that the punishment did not match the crime. They stated that even though the changes were minor “a news photo must represent the truth” (Photo ethics 101). In order for the public to trust a news source to be honest about large details, they must first be honest about small details. Doctored photos are not always immoral, but they can easily be used unethically to deceive, ruin reputations, and lower
Means of posed pictures and the false idea of a morally right person often succeed in allowing the politician or person in a consumer world to exploit the feelings and trust of a person. Posed pictures often give something for people to base their feelings and trust off of but theses medias are foten out of context or missing the entire backstory or meanings for the picture. The ability to act differently and weave a personification of a morally right person to gain people's trust, often leads the audience to trust in a veil that is not the real person that they voted for. NOw when these ways are both wrong, they often lead the the entire trust being placed in the politician and the success of the politician. That is why i believe that the success of successful politicians are often because of the use of artificial medias and even though they are wrong, they are the most effective skill if a politician wants to become
Have you ever seen an advertisement for a product and could immediately relate to the subject or the product in that advertisement? Companies that sell products are always trying to find new and interesting ways to get buyers and get people’s attention. It has become a part of our society today to always have products being shown to them. As claimed in Elizabeth Thoman’s essay Rise of the Image Culture: Re-Imagining the American Dream, “…advertising offered instructions on how to dress, how to behave, how to appear to others in order to gain approval and avoid rejection”. This statement is true because most of the time buyers are persuaded by ads for certain products.
Art in its various forms has developed throughout history in response to changing political trends, philosophical movements, and even technological advances. With the invention of the camera and its increased use in the Victorian era, photography became a recognized art form. As with most forms of technology that infiltrate society, photography since its creation in 1839 has brought about startlingly negative consequences. There is an ethical, moral question one must ask himself or herself – where should the line be drawn in respect to photographing children? The Victorians captured an incalculable amount of images of dead children, nude children, and children in provocative poses. When an average, modern American views a photograph of a naked or dead child, that person usually experiences feelings of disgust and repulsion, and the image is often destroyed (or at least removed from sight). If a person does not respond in that manner, he or she is deemed a pervert by society. Pornographic images are classified as such because of the sexual connotations associated with them today, which was not the norm throughout history. 1 Sexuality, especially that of children, appeared to be a taboo topic during the Victorian era, but it was not entirely ignored by the culture. Contrary to popular Victorian beliefs, children were in fact sexual creatures, as depicted through photography of the period, Impressionist paintings, and Freudian theories.
...her and the more modern case of Brian Walski demonstrates the importance of ethics in the mass media. With the public dependent on photographers for images that will give an accurate and true representation of the facts, in some cases even leading to such important decisions as giving relief aid, waging war, or determining votes in an election, it is vitally important that journalistic images be true and unaltered likenesses of real persons and events. Even apparently innocent misrepresentations, designed to create a better image or better prove a point, can have serious consequences for the photographer, the subjects of the image, and the public. It is a reminder of the importance of honesty in all professions.
Photography is defined at the art or practice of taking and processing photographs. To understand photography is having insight or good judgment to know how to take the picture, but also edit it if need be. Does photography limit our understanding of the world? What some people haven’t realized is that photography is all around us, whether it is in the person’s mind to see it or not. While we see photography throughout our daily routine, people dismiss the small types of photography and focus on the bigger sceneries like other countries beautiful cities and landscapes. It’s true that in this day and age, most photographs we see have been altered in some way. When photographers use Photoshop to edit our photos, we use many different ways to make that image appealing to the eye. Although, photographers unless told to do so will not change an image into something totally absurd that takes away from being astatically pleasing. Images are a gateway to the insight of the rest of the world’s cultures landscapes, and architecture, and photography is the key aspect to it. Photography is a one way to see the world, but it is better if you go and travel around the world to see it. In order to see if photography actually limits our understanding, we have to first look at the positive side of photography.
Leah Hardy (2010) argues that models in today’s magazines are no more than works of the digital retouching. Digital retouching is the use of computer program to remove unwanted impurities of the body, making a person look ideal. Digital retouching is sending a negative message to women because it sets up a false sense of what beauty is. It is impossible for women to look like a digital retouch models, because they are not real. In the film, Killing Us Softly 4 Jean Kilbourne argues that advertisement sends out the same type of message to women (Kilbourne, 2010). Kilbourne states “Advertisement tells women that what’s most important is how they look, an advertisement surround us with the image of ideal beauty. However, this flawlessness cannot be achieved. It’s a look that’s been created through airbrushing, cosmetics, and computer retouching ” (Kilbourne, 2010). Women are being told that in order to fit in society, they have to look a certain way, yet it is nearly impossible because the standard is too high.
In conclusion, authenticity has various meanings and connotations. Whether it is in a historical, expression or cultural context, authenticity is purely subjective and immeasurable. As Sontag puts it, “photographs alter and enlarge our notions what is worth looking at”. For example, when comparing that of David Lachapelle’s image to that of ‘The Girl in The Picture’ by Nick Ut taken during the Vietnam War. It does not suffice to say one is more or less authentic than the other. They represent two completely different reproductions of reality with divergent meanings and internal messages – essentially, they are their very own photo-realities.
Photography, among many things, is a medium used to further the connection between a reader and the story. It does this by drawing the reader into the world of the photograph, and allowing them to experience the realism of the scenario. This connection has amplified the level of communication between humans, namely, in the field of journalism. In the article “To Tell the Truth: Codes of Objectivity in Photojournalism” written by Donna Schwartz, she discusses the methods employed by photojournalists to manipulate photos in order to give the desired effect, or connection. These methods, along with others from “Critical Media Studies” written by Brian Ott and Robert Mack, will be used to analyze the following photo to show how they create the
To continue, the development of new technologies, such as computers and image editing software, has increased and redefined the nature of false advertising. Programs such as Adobe Photoshop have made the digital manipulation of images possible. One of the functions of this software is “airbrushing”, which in this context refers to the technique used to conceal, eliminate, or alter the appearance of flaws. Image editing software has facilitated the “re-touching of photographs related to any characteristics directly relevant to the apparent ...
"A photograph is not merely a substitute for a glance. It is a sharpened vision. It is the revelation of new and important facts." ("Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History."). Sid Grossman, a Photo League photographer expressed this sentiment, summarizing the role photography had on America in the 1940’s and 50’s. During this era, photojournalism climaxed, causing photographers to join the bandwagon or react against it. The question of whether photography can be art was settled a long time ago. Most major museums now have photography departments, and the photographs procure pretty hefty prices. The question of whether photojournalism or documentary photography can be art is now the question at hand. Art collectors are constantly looking to be surprised; today they are excited by images first seen in last week’s newspapers as photojournalism revels in the new status as art “du jour” or “reportage art”.
In conclusion, body image is not to be taken lightly. People should make up their minds that they will not be negatively influenced by the media. In doing this, the public can view the media for what it truly is, a means of conveying information or providing entertainment. Good common sense should tell a woman that the overly attractive person in an advertisement is a model and should be admired for her beauty, all women are not required to look like a model to be attractive. The process of differentiating fact from fiction in adverts can not be described on paper. It can only happen in mind of the individuals. It is true that some messages are sent subliminally, but if consumers would appreciate advertisement for what it actually is, much of these ordeals could be avoided.
Photojournalist Mark Hancock once wrote: “ A journalist tells a stories. A photographer takes pictures, a photojournalist takes the best of both and locks it into a powerful medium”. For many years visuals such as photos have been used to add context to an article, photo’s can allow the reader to relate and or understand the story better. Rather than just reading about an event photo’s that accompany a story connect the viewer to the story in ways that words can not. That being said, although photojournalist photos are meant to be transparent and accurate it is becoming more and more apparent that news outlets and freelance photojournalists are manipulating and photoshopping images. Photojournalist are constantly finding themselves having to detach themselves from their subjects and act quickly and often times because they work in such fast paced environments they are on the receiving end of
Video is one of the most compelling forms of communication of this time. Over the course of the past few years, the gradual but sure drift from analog to digital in video technology has not only improved the abilities of visual communication media to distribute data, but has also improved their abilities to manipulate the data that they distribute. Digital video technology has advanced to the extent that still image manipulation has been usurped by more powerful technological developments that allow elements of a video image to be manipulated in real-time. That is, objects or persons in a video image can be edited out or edited in while the image is in broadcast without the slightest glitch to suggest that some change has occurred; everything would look “real.” The advantages that this technology opens for visual media are extensive. Similar to some technologies, however, it opens up an exploitive edge. Pixels are plastic (can be changed) and using them to distort or manipulate reality is an opportunity open to all users of video manipulation tools. The ethics of such uses and the social considerations of how copyright laws would deal with a technology which manipulates digital works of authorship, works to which copyright automatically attaches, are issues worth considering. This paper explores the possible and actual, reputable and less reputable uses of this technology in an attempt to stimulate discussions about how “well-intended” technologies can be utilized by users in unethical and harmful ways. The paper also attempts to see where possible infringements of copyright’s fair use doctrine has occurred or could possibly occur through use of this technology.
...image was found to be altered. (Fig. 6) was widely dispersed by email in 2001, the photograph is of a great white shark leaping out the water to take a bite of a soldier, nevertheless like the previous photo this was also proven fake. These examples show Similarity to the pre-digital era where photographers had no interest in documenting reality, but now it’s amateurs and professionals alike, whom will take a documentary photograph and manipulate it to conjure fantasies or imaginary scenes. Except unlike pre-digital, photojournalism has developed and no longer is manipulation tolerable in this sector, and it is the general public that has set this, people are searching for truth in photography, but trying to break up the truth from fabrication is difficult and pranksters and even journalists are proving that time and time again, we can't believe everything we see.
People often end up on the opposite sides of the argument concerning the fine line between art and pornography. Artists sometimes include nude depictions or descriptions of the human form in their work. The artists and many other liberals and citizens of the art world argue that it is important for artists to feel the freedom to express themselves in any way that they wish. The problem with this liberty is that many people find the nude body offensive and believe that these images should not be considered art but pornography instead. This is a valid and important dilemma, but as Dennis Barrie describes art in a speech that was published in Art Journal, “…sometimes art is not beautiful, and sometimes it’s challenging, and sometimes it’s even offensive, and yet it can be art, even if it’s all those things” (Barrie 30). Artists should always be allowed to express themselves fully and not fear public reprimand despite the risk they may run of offending people who cannot appreciate their work.