Some editing of techniques are considered acceptable, for example enhancement or correction of color or contrast. If someone's hair is out of place on an otherwise good photograph, one might argue that it is acceptable to edit that hair.
We generally understand that advertisements are doctored in order to present idealized beauty and absolute perfection – such as in the Dove Evolution ad or Julia Roberts' in this Lancome ad. Take a close look at those models in ads for beauty products. Could anyone possibly have skin that flawless? Most likely not. The author of Astropix.com puts it beautifully:
"Today's viewers however, are very sophisticated visually. They know full well that anything, literally, can be done to an image. They have seen dinosaurs and aliens portrayed with lifelike realism in the movies. Problems arise though because viewers expect to be fooled in the movies, and tend to get upset and feel betrayed when they are fooled in an allegedly factual medium such as the news business."
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| Photos composited and manipulated in Photoshop (Wikipedia) |
Let's get an introduction to image editing and photo manipulation from Wikipedia:
Photo manipulation is the application of image editing techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception after the original photographing took place.[1] A mere enhancement or correction is known as retouching.
Types of digital photo manipulation
In digital editing, photographs are usually taken with a digital camera and input directly into a computer. Transparencies, negatives or printed photographs may also be digitized using a scanner, or images may be obtained from stock photography databases. With the advent of computers, graphics tablets, and digital cameras, the term image editing encompasses everything that can be done to a photo, whether in a darkroom or on a computer. Photo manipulation is often much more explicit than subtle alterations to color balance or contrast and may involve overlaying a head onto a different body or changing a sign's text, for examples. Image editing software can be used to apply effects and warp an image until the desired result is achieved. The resulting image may have little or no resemblance to the photo (or photos in the case of compositing) from which it originated. Today, photo manipulation is widely accepted as an art form.
There are several subtypes of digital image-retouching:
Technical retouching Manipulation for photo restoration or enhancement (adjusting colors / contrast / white balance (i.e. gradational retouching), sharpness, noise, removing elements or visible flaws on skin or materials, ...)
Creative retouching Used as an art form or for commercial use to create more sleek and interesting images for advertisements. Creative retouching could be manipulation for fashion, beauty or advertising photography such as pack-shots (which could also be considered inherently technical retouching in regards to package dimensions and wrap-around factors). One of the most prominent disciplines in creative retouching is image compositing. Here, the digital artist uses multiple photos to create a single image. Today, 3D computer graphics are used more and more to add extra elements or even locations and backgrounds. This kind of image composition is widely used when conventional photography would be technically too difficult or impossible to shoot on location or in studio.Photo manipulation alters the content of the images in a devious manner. It becomes difficult for the audience to differentiate between a manipulated image and reality. But Photoshop's popularity has proven to be divisive. While some laud it for its ability to allow subjects to look their best in a photograph, others see it as a vehicle for feeding our culture's desire for ultimate perfection. Manipulated images are created to deceive the audiences and form their understanding on how the media presents everything with perfection.[11] Therefore, with digital democratization[vague] increasing at a rapid rate it[vague] is creating problems. Since more people have access to technology it[vague] creates curiosity in the readers mind when they see an image published in newspapers or magazines. The reader begins to question the ethics of the publication which results in a debate. Photo images were considered as a reliable source and were known as a medium of communication to present the truth to the media.[2]
Fraudulent Photography, aka "Fauxtography"
This photograph is a dramatic example of deceptive photo manipulation or "fauxtography" — a fraudulent photo designed to deceive its viewers.
In August of 2006, Reuters news agency released this photo which had been altered to appear more sensational than the original. The photographer, Adnan Hajj, had used the clone stamp tool to make a column of smoke appear darker and larger than in the original, unretouched photo. It created an outrage — not only in the media community but also by news consumers around the globe — which resulted in the pulling of all Hajj's photographs from Reuters' services, and the firing of Hajj and his editor. (Read more here.)
Further Reading
See more images and read about the ethics of photo fraud at the links below.
A discussion and results of a readers' poll about wildlife photography and objectivity:
http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/nature/nature-photography-objectivity-manipulation-and-ethics?page=show
An in-depth look at the doctoring of news photos, specifically Reuters' Beirut photos:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/21956_Reuters_Doctoring_Photos_from_Beirut
More analysis of Reuter's photo scandals:
http://www.zombietime.com/reuters_photo_fraud/
On the ethics of digital photo manipulation:
http://www.astropix.com/HTML/J_DIGIT/ETHICS.HTM
And finally, a humorous take from TheOnion.com:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/congress-passes-natural-disaster-digitalenhancemen,4252/
