Photo Manipulation: Fraud or Art?

Photo Manipulation is a big part of our world today. It has drastically advanced over the years due to the new technology being introduced. Things such as digital cameras,photo editing, and high tech software are some of the factors that contribute to the power of photo doctoring today. Since Photo manipulation has become so common over the past years, it is becoming for difficult to detect fake photos from the original.In fact, some people even consider doctoring photos to be a new form of art. But to be honest, im sure most of these people who say this, are likely to be photo scammers themselves. But the question to ask yourself is, How far can we take photo manipulation?

An Infamous case of a controversial photo manipulation was the June 1994 TIME magazine cover of Oj Simpson. Shortly after being arrested for murder, Ojs mugshot was seen on the cover of both Time and Newsweek magazine. The Newsweek cover, featured the unaltered photo, while the Time cover, was doctored into making OJ look darker and more "menacing". Time magazine defended the Oj shot, saying that it was "photo illustration".

Reading the past passage may get you thinking that Time magazine is the culprit in this situation. But the fact is, there are a surprisingly large amount of magazines and broadcasts that exploit doctored photos. In the case of Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey,who gave birth to Septuplets,It was Newsweek magazine that used an altered photo of Kenny and Bobbi on their December, 1997 cover. The photo was manipulated from the original,that appeared unaltered on the cover of Time magazine. Newsweek doctored their photo , making Bobbis teeth look straighter. They were then accused for manipulating the photo to make her look more attractive. Altough it is highly doubtful that photo manipulation can be erased all together, i do believe that there is something we can and must do about it. If we continue the way we are now, we will never be able to tell the difference between fake and truth.

Since Britney is all the rage these days, heres a video of how much of a difference certain photoshops can change an imagine. Watch the little details that are able to be edited.



This was a popular Dove ad that was sent all over the internet.


"Oj Simpson Mugshot". No Date. Online Image. News. 12 Jan. 2008

"Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey". No Date. Online Image. Dartmouth. 12 Jan. 2008

Pop Photo. State of the Art. 17 Sept.2007. 12 Jan. 2008

Dartmouth. Photo Tampering Throughout History. No Date. 12 Jan. 2008