Photo manipulation

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Photo manipulation is a type of digital art. It is the technique of manipulating a photographic image either analog or digitally with similar or different elements. Photographs are usually taken with a digital camera and put onto the computer. If a digital camera is not available, a regular photograph may be scanned into the computer. Photos can also be obtained from stock photography databases. With the advent of computers, graphics tablets, and digital cameras, the term photo manipulation encompasses everything that can be done to a photo in a darkroom or on a computer. A photo manipulation is most commonly subtle (eg alterations to colouring, contrast, so forth), but may be explicit also (eg overlaying a head onto a different body, changing a sign's text). Sometimes a photo manipulation has little or no resemblance to the photo from which is started. Image manipulation software is then used to apply effects and warp the image in whatever way possible until the desired result is achieved.

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Before computers, photo manipulation was done by retouching with ink, double-exposure, piecing photos or negatives together in the darkroom or scratching Polaroids. Photo manipulation is as old as photography itself; the idea of a photo having inherent verisimilitude is a social construct. Manipulation has been used to deceive or persuade viewers, or for improved story-telling and self-expression. As early as the American Civil War photographs were published as engravings based on more than one negative. Later creative uses of manipulation include the photomontage of John Heartfield and other 20th century artists.

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The pioneer among journalists distorting photographic images for news value was Bernarr Macfadden and his composograph in the mid-1920s. A notable case of a controversial photo manipulation was a 1982 National Geographic cover in which editors photographically moved two Egyptian pyramids closer together so that they would fit on a vertical cover. This case triggered a debate about the appropriateness of photo manipulation in journalism; the argument against manipulation was that the magazine depicted something that did not exist, and presented it as fact. There were several cases since the National Geographic case of questionable photo manipulation, including editing a photo of Cher on the cover of Redbook to change her smile and her dress. Another example occurred in early 2005, when Martha Stewart's release from prison was featured on the cover of Newsweek; her face was placed on a slimmer woman's body to suggest that she will have lost weight while in prison.

Another famous instance of controversy over photo manipulation, this time concerning race, arose in the summer of 1994. After O.J. Simpson was arrested for allegedly murdering his wife and her friend, multiple publications carried his mugshot. Notably, Time published an edition featuring an altered mugshot, darkening his skin and reducing the size of the prisoner ID number. This appeared on newsstands right next to an unaltered picture by Newsweek. Outcry from minority rights groups followed. Time illustrator Matt Mahurin was the one to alter the image, saying later that he "wanted to make it more artful, more compelling."

There is a growing body of ethics writings devoted to the use of digital editing in journalism. See [1] - "DigitalCustom Model Ethics Guidelines to Protect the Integrity of Journalistic Photographs in Digital Editing" (Rel. Ver. 2.0 - March 1, 2003)

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