Photograph manipulation

This article is about the uses, cultural impact, and ethical concerns of image manipulation. For the mechanics of altering images, see Image editing. For the restoration of physical photographs and documents using digital techniques, see Digital photograph restoration.

Australian photographer Frank Hurley formed this composite photograph from three original negatives of World War I in Belgium.[1] Hurley argued with his superiors over the ethics of compositing photos, arguing that war was conducted on such a vast scale that it was impossible to capture the essence of it in a single negative.[2]

Photograph manipulation involves the transformation or alteration of a photograph. Some photograph manipulations are considered to be skillful artwork, while others are considered to be unethical practices, especially when used to deceive. Motives for manipulating photographs include political propaganda, altering the appearance of a subject (both for better and for worse), entertainment and humor.

Depending on the application and intent, some photograph manipulations are considered an art form because they involve creation of unique images and in some instances, signature expressions of art by photographic artists. For example, Ansel Adams used darkroom exposure techniques to darken and lighten photographs. Other techniques include retouching using ink or paint, airbrushing, double exposure, piecing photos or negatives together in the darkroom, and scratching instant films. Software for digital image manipulation ranges from casual to professional skillsets. One of these, Adobe Photoshop, has led to the use of the term photoshop, meaning to digitally edit an image with any program.

  1. ^ Arbuckle, Alex Q. "One man's record of the war to end all wars". Mashable. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Wishart, Alison (2017). "Truth and photography". sl.nw.gov.au. State Library of New South Wales. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. None but those who have endeavoured can realise the insurmountable difficulties of portraying a modern battle by the camera. To include the event on a single negative, I have tried and tried, but the results are hopeless. Now, if negatives are taken of all the separate incidents in the action and combined, some idea may then be gained of what a modern battle looks like.