Photojournalism Ethics

Morals are absolute, a firm line between right and wrong. Ethics are not necesarily the same thing, as they usually deal with emotions and making offense. The moral is firmly, "It is wrong to lie," But the ethic that "It is wrong to manipulate a photo" is not so clear-cut.
Situations change all the time - that's what makes them situations. If a photographer changes their rules according to circumstances, they're not really rules, just whims of whatever would be right at that moment. Right and wrong aren't really right and wrong if they're always changing, and rules aren't rules if they're changing too.

A photograph captures reality in the sense that it shows the exact positions of things and people at a precise moment. However, it does not always tell the whole story - someone with an angry-looking face could actually have a stomacheache or something, while the photograph may make them look like they're full of hatred.

As a photographer, I've "edited" reality by altering the colors in a photograph to make it look, well, cooler. As the photos were intended to be artistic anyway, and not representations of a true moment, it's perfectly okay. Cropping photographs is the way I've altered photojournalism photographs, but only to cut off empty space, not other people.

Newspapers definately should have absolute rules regarding photomanipulation because, being an organization, they have a lot of responsibility. As there are a lot of people who will view their photos, people need to know they can count on the newspaper's unwavering credibility that the photograph is real.

Evolution of Beauty

The changes on the model were:
They made the lips bigger
They made her neck longer and thinner
They made her brow lower, her eyebrows higher, and her eyes bigger
They changed the shading on her face to make it look slightly different shape
They smoothed the edges of her face

The resulting photograph drastically changes the truth. However, as this is not photojournalism, the picture is not intended to show the truth. It is an advertisement, and when do advertisements tell the whole truth anyway?
If the picture is intended to show the person as they really are, then it's wrong to do so much manipulation. If the picture is merely intended to advertise a product, and the subject is voluntary, then there's not much of a problem.
It would be wrong to change the subject's face in anyway if she did not give her consent.
Fashion photography is only related to photojournalism in the sense that they use cameras to capture images of people. While photojournalism is intended to show the truth, fashion journalism is intended to make their subjects look beautiful by whatever means. The ethics of photojournalism deal with truth and viewer impact, while the ethics of fashion photography only has to deal with the subject's consent.

Photo Doctoring

1. The University of Wisconsin wished to present itself as a culturally diverse school in their application brochures, but the most exciting photo of the student body happened to show an all-white crowd. A black student's face was cropped out of another photo and placed into the crowd, using the modified photo for the brochure cover. University officials weren't aware the action would have any consequences, and consider the choice now to be an error in judgement. When confronted about the photo modification, they apologized and found a new photo to reprint in their brochures from now on.
2. It's justifiable as a college president to wish to present your campus as diverse. But manipulation is the wrong way to go about things, because it makes an appearance of something that isn't true. Altering the way a photo presents things, at least the things that matter or have an effect, is like telling a visual lie.

1. The most unethical photo manipulation is the one presenting the soldier in the gulf war. It manipulates a very emotional situation to subtly alter the way the viewer thinks about the soldier.
2. The least unethical is the National Geographic cover of the pyramids. Because it does not alter the appearance or position of a person, it does not change the way that person is viewed. The pyramids are not going to get offended for being moved closer together!

A "One Ways" sign, standing in a suburban Dallas neighborhood. Neighbors complained about excess traffic on their streets but could not agree on the direction traffic should travel.

Sumoki Kamikashi examines the latest batch of cubemelons in downtown Tokyo market. The cubemelons were naturally grown and harvested on the moon.

Beowolf, the police station's new security dog, stands on fierce guard. A top performer, Beowolf has won numerous competitions for guard dogs.

Repetition Repetition Repetition

Wednesday, October 3, 2007Is This Seat Taken?A deputy waits before French President Nicolas Sarkozy's speech to members of the ruling party UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) at the Elysée Palace.

October 26 - November 01, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007Slice of HeavenJudges rate Alpine cheese in Oberstdorf, Germany. Jury members at the 5th Alpine Cheese Olympics rated over 700 kinds of Alpine cheese from all over the world.

October 26 - November 01, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007Doe-EyedLisa Simpson appears on television screens on a new Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 after its inaugural passenger flight from Singapore to Sydney, Australia.

Sugar Hill

Melanie added in voice recordings, which add to the depth and feel of the world of Sugar Hill. Having "I sing because I'm free" in the background really sets the tone.

The other feature of her collection I like the most are the map and timeline, because then you can really understand what Sugar Hill's geography and history is like.

Online Edit

Capturing the Experience

1. Most people tried to pose for the camera. I simply ignored them and photographed someone else. Another challenge was trying to make something interesting out of some really boring stuff, so I took a few photos at unique angles.

2. I was thinking most about composition. I knew the exposure would be generally fine, and focus wasn't too hard to keep. What concerned me was having an interesting photo.

3. I tried a form of framing in one shot, where I photographed from an angle between two lamps. I also went for a couple simplicity shots. The lines on the tables gave me chances to use leasing lines too.

Bob Rosato's Coolest Shot

Lens Focal Length - 15mm

Shutter Speed - 1/1600

Aperture - f/2.8

What I Learned

I cleaned the negatives from my camera by dipping them in the cleaner, then gently rubbing them with a lint-free towel.
I loaded them into the enlarger by sliding them under the little metal dots, and pressed the lever down.
I focused the image by altering the knobs on each side of the enlarger. I fine-focused it by holding that little lens mirror up to it and focusing until the blurs turned into crystals.
I set the aperture to a low amount of light by turning the dial on the lens.
I made a test strip by ripping a piece of photo paper and exposing it for different amounts of time, 4s, 5s, 6s, or 7s. I decided the 6 seconds exposure looked the best, so that's what I set the timer for.
I made the final print by setting the photo paper under the enlarger and exposing it for those 6 seconds. Then I put it into the developer, stopper, fixer, and water, then set it on the rack to dry.

Masters of Photography

Ansel Adams

Eugene Smith

Bourke-White

My Negatives

The only problem with my negatives is just a bit of water spots.

My focus was actually really good for the most part, the only exception being #5 because it was a moving close-up. The best ones are #3 because it shows good facial expressions, and #4 because there's a lot going on.

Jostens Yearbook Contest

"Fill Frame"
There's absolutely zero empty space, plus this picture is really just cool and unusual.

"Action"

The flames are awesome - the look on the guy's face confirms so.

"Story"
You get the idea that the girl in focus has a lot on her mind. She is either ignoring the social world going on around her or feels excluded from it.

Contest Winners

The timing for this picture is amazing - the kid's ninja-kick action is what makes this photo a winner. The lighting is great, and the very out-of-focus background makes the kid seem more like "bam!" It obviously had to be a very fast shutter speed to get such a clear image.

The Camera

An SLR camera and a pinhole camera are two devices that are seemingly worlds apart. However, this is what they have in common - they are both machines designed to capture an image. They both involve light shining through an aperture onto a focal plane. They both have shutters to stop the exposure of light. They both are totally lightproof, not allowing any unwanted light to get in. They both allow someone to be creative.

However, after this, the list of features and things an SLR camera can do continues on and on and on. Basically, everything that hasn't been mentioned in the previous paragraph is a difference between the two.

Pinhole Photos

This image has no action. The paper was bent and warped in various ways, so even though it looks like the lobby of a building, it is distorted and looks very abstract. The focus is in the center, on the stretching windows, and there is a ring of softness where the center meets the edges.

There isn't any action, but I like the way the slight warpedness causes the horizon to break between each window pane. The focus is on the beams across the window, not the shoreline in the distance.

Critiquing Photos

This photograph is great because there is dynamic emotion expressed, you can tell she is communicating. Her face is well angled and well lit, and there is hardly any empty space. The only flaw is her eyes - they look rolled back.

This photograph is terrible because half of the frame is empty space! There is hardly any action or expression.

Welcome

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