This is a blog about my teaching, research and service with some occasional personal comments thrown in. These are my notes on a variety of topics. If you want to follow my blog posts on a specific topic, then see the Table of Contents in the right-hand column. While I try to work in the realm of facts, logic and moral absolutes, if there are any opinions expressed here, they are my own. -WilliamHartPhD
DigPhotog: Basic Tech: Technical Meets Ethical: The Ethics of Photo Manipulation [VID] (W7-P3) Sp15
So, one of the benefits of digital photography is that it is so easy to edit a photograph. However, you could also say one of the problems with digital photography is that it is so easy to edit a photograph. How can this be both a benefit and a problem? The advances in photographic technologies leads to some ethical issues in photography that need to be addressed. Digital photo manipulation: "the application of image editing techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception (in contrast to mere enhancement or correction), through analog or digital means." (Wikipedia) Ethics: "(1) the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. (2) a set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral values —often used in plural but singular or plural in construction... (3) the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group." (Merriam-Webster) What are your ethical standards when it comes to digital manipulation? When is it O.K. to manipulate a photograph and when is it not? Would it be acceptable in the area of art, but not in journalism? Why?
Digital manipulation of photos can come up in the realm of politics as in the Fox News clip below. The third photo shown (with the poodle) is clearly "photoshopped," but so are the previous two photos of the two men (yellowed teeth, etc.).
Browse through the many examples of photo manipulation found on Photo Tampering Throughout History. This site has over 120 examples of photo manipulations from the late 1800s to today. Browse through some of them. As you check out some of the examples on the site, see if you can fine tune your ethical standards about photo manipulation. When is it O.K.? When is it not?
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