Photographs: Truths or Lies?

Quoting the words of a Turkish Professor (Tiryakioglu, 2009), "It is common knowledge that words can deceive, but most people believe that photographs speak the truth."

Photographers bear witness to the events that shape our world. There are instances where photographs are the only way to convey the reality of a situation, such as horrific images of wars and disasters, or the jubilance of a huge sporting victory. Photographs bring us a little further into the story, and a little closer to the people involved (Funnell 2007).

However, as early as the 1860s, photographs were already being manipulated, only a few decades after Niepce created the first photograph in 1814 (Dartmouth 2009). The portrait of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln published in 1860, for example, was a composite of Lincoln's head and the Southern politician John Calhoun's body.

These occurences have only increased today as photo-editing and retouching software like Photoshop are becoming more common and more advanced.

In June 1994, a significant case of digitally altered photographs came to the forefront of media attention. Shortly after OJ Simpson's arrest for murder, a picture of him appeared on TIME magazine cover. His photograph was manipulated from the original mug-shot that appeared on the cover of Newsweek to make him look like a criminal--"darker" and more "menacing", as shown in the image below.

Figure 1: OJ Simpson on TIME magazine cover

Source: http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering/

This proves that visuals send out important meanings, and the integrity of photographs must be preserved despite retouching work that is being done on photographs for aesthetic purposes. Not maintaining credibility as a photographer will 'diminish journalistic impact and self-respect, and the importance of photography as communication' (Lester 1999).

I shall leave you with two questions to ponder about:

• To which extent is photo-editing acceptable?
• How can the credibility of journalism and the original meanings of the image be protected?

References:
1. Dartmouth 2009, Photo Tampering Throughout History, viewed 5 June 2009, <http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering/>.
2. Funnell, A 2007, 'The Power of the Photograph', The Media Report, viewed 5 June 2009, <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2007/2051819.htm>.
3. Tiryakioglu, F 2009, 'Photo-Manipulation and TRNC Newspapers', SEARCH Conference, 30 May 2009.
4. Lester, PM 1999, Picture Manipulations, viewed 5 June 2009, <http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/chapter6.html>.