Photo editing

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See also digital image editing.
Before
After
Nikolai Yezhov and Stalin, before and after retouching.

Photo editing is the technique of modifying a photographic image by either analog or digital means.

Contents

[edit] Types of photo editing

In digital editing, photographs are usually taken with a digital camera and input directly into a computer. If a digital camera is not available, a printed photograph may be digitized using a scanner. Photos can also be obtained from stock photography databases. With the advent of computers, graphics tablets, and digital cameras, the term photo editing encompasses everything that can be done to a photo in a darkroom or on a computer. A photo editing is most commonly subtle (e.g. alterations to coloring, contrast, so forth), but may be explicit also (e.g. overlaying a head onto a different body, changing a sign's text). Sometimes a photo editing has little or no resemblance to the photo from which it started. Image editing software is then used to apply effects and warp the image in whatever way possible until the desired result is achieved.

[edit] History

Before computers, photo editing was done by retouching with ink, paint, double-exposure, piecing photos or negatives together in the darkroom or scratching Polaroids. Photo editing is as old as photography itself; the idea of a photo having inherent verisimilitude is a social construct. Photo 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.

Joseph Stalin was reported to have retouched photos for propaganda purposes. On May 5, 1920 his predecessor Lenin held a speech for Soviet troops that Leon Trotsky attended. Stalin had Trotsky retouched out of a photograph showing Trotsky in attendance. Nikolai Yezhov, an NKVD leader photographed alongside Stalin in at least one photograph, was shot in 1940 and subsequently edited out of the photograph.

Later creative uses of editing include the photomontage of John Heartfield and other 20th century artists.

Manipulated cover of Newsweek
Manipulated cover of Newsweek

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 editing 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 editing in journalism; the argument against editing 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 editing, 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.

OJ Simpson magazine covers
OJ Simpson magazine covers

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, removing the photograph's color saturation (which some accused of making Simpson's skin darker) and reducing the size of the prisoner ID number. This appeared on newsstands right next to an unaltered picture by Newsweek.

[edit] Ethics

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)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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