ENGLISH CLASSES
Leila@
week_11_part_ii_sum_14.pptx
Another issue: Manipulation
of Photos
Dead Soldiers, moved, at Gettysburg, Timothy O’Sullivan, 1863
The first news photographs from war were taken during the American Civil War.
Researchers digging into photo archives found multiple arrangements of the same scenes, indicating bodies had been moved for dramatic effect.
In this battlefield scene at Gettysburg, bodies were moved to fill the frame.
1
It Did Not End in 1865
Prof. Rick Hornik at Stony Brook wrung this admission from the New York Times, whose reporter moved live bodies instead of dead ones.
From: rick hornik <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Oct 7, 2010 at 4:15 PM Subject: Fwd: Staged photographs To the Public Editor (New York Times)
On page C32 of today's paper, the photograph of a MOMA exhibition has three perfectly placed individuals gazing at the art. As a former editor at Time, the composition strikes me as too-good-to-be-true to be accidental. Does the Times have a policy on staged photographs?
Richard Hornik Mr. Hornik: Thank you for writing us and bringing this to our attention. I wanted to bring your attention to the Editor’s Note on A2 of today’s paper, which confirms that the photo you alerted us to was a staged photo and that staged photos are against Times policy. The link below is to view the Editor’s Note on The Times Web site. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/pageoneplus/corrections.html Once again, thanks for bringing this to our attention. It is greatly appreciated. Best, Joseph Burgess Office of the Public Editor The New York Times
The prohibition on posed photos is nearly universal. Here’s the National Press Photographers Association’s language, in part:
Code of Ethics: http://www.nppa.org/professional_development/business_practices/ethics.html
July 10, 2004
Photojournalists and those who manage visual news productions are accountable for upholding
the following standards in their daily work:
1. Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects.
2. Resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities.
3. Be complete and provide context when photographing or recording subjects. Avoid
stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize and work to avoid presenting one's own biases in
the work.
5. While photographing subjects, do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or
influence events.
2
Transparency, in the case of doctored photos, means carefully labeling a picture.
What does the term “Photo Composite” mean?
In this case, all these famous women, who never posed together, are all one the same page. The caption on the lower right in small print says the photo was “digitally composed.”
3
Photo Illustration
TV Guide
What does the term “Photo Illustration” mean?
In this case it means Oprah Winfrey’s head on the body of Dancer Ann-Margaret’s body. Opr ah says he was not informed, but she didn’t complain, either.
4
Credit
Caption
Just to make sure you have the terminology that is used with photo information.
Here’s the caption. (highlighted in yellow.)
Here’s the credit. (highlighted in red)
That’s where you watch for the weasel words like: “enhancement, manipulation, composite, illustration.”
5
Look at Photos and
Captions Carefully
Check Photo Credits
Check Photo Captions for dates, location
Note: File footage, photo archive
Look for these words:
“Photo enhancement”
“Digital photo manipulation”
“Photo composite / illustration”
Here are some especially important basics or fundamentals when dealing with pictures and captions.
For starters, the caption is the type under a picture that describes what the reader or viewer is looking at.
In the era of digital imagery, it is often misleading to take a photograph, particularly an unusual one, at face value. Make certain to:
-Check photo credits –Accountability
Check photo captions
-Does it tell you just when the action is taking place, and where?
Note designations File Footage, Photo Archive
Be on guard if you see:
-Photo enhancement
-Photo illustration
-Digital photo manipulation
-Photo composite
If this stuff occurs, an editor is concerned about transparency and not just wanting to fool you and so will alert you to what’s been done.
6
Marrying Sound to Images
…Moving Images
1937 – The Voyage of the Hindenburg
Here is something in the development of images we discussed before
It is the combination in the 1930s of sound and images. This is considered a classic, first a radio report that later was combined with newsreel footage that was shown in movie houses as filler between double features.
News visuals have an undeniable, enormous power to stick in our memories, to verify and even bear witness to events...
Then there are news images on steroids…MOVING images…With Sound.
The 1937 crash of the Hindenburg, an experimental aircraft, was broadcast live on radio.
At the same time, it was filmed.
We start with just the radio report and then bring in the film reel.
Note the difference when you see what you are hearing.
Go to the next slide to experience the combination
7
Hindenburg.wmv
To play, click arrow at lower left
8
“It (the World Wide Web) is going to be important…but it's certainly not going to be like the first time somebody saw a television…It's not going to be that profound.”
– Steve Jobs
Wired Magazine, February 1996
Was Steve Jobs right? Imagine you’re living in Nebraska and it’s the first time you have seen and heard a movie of real, and traumatic, events that occurred far away.
Here’s a sample of what we mean.
9
