The Truth About Photos

Photographs are the most deceiving form of media because everyone expects them to be completely true. And how could they not be true when they are literally a snapshot of life? Well, there’s multiple ways that photos can be false. The way that most people know about is airbrushing. Everybody has heard about some airbrushing incident where the model on a magazine cover or in an advertisement has been slimmed or otherwise perfected by that magical airbrush function in photoshop. Most people’s knowledge of falsified images stops there, but there’s more ways. Photos have the ability to show bias, and through that bias make a point, without the viewer even noticing. Bias can be anything from making the white male in the photo seem higher (therefore more powerful, important, etc.) than the native female by having him stand further up a hill, to choosing to feature a salad on the table instead of a burger (to push healthy eating). Both of these seem small, but they can have a pretty large effect on the unsuspecting mind. Bias can also be seen – or not seen – in what the photographer chooses to leave out of the photo. This can be done by cropping the edges to leave only what the photographer wants you to see, or by deliberately placing or not placing certain items or people in the shot. The photographer can also use contrast to make certain items or people stand out more than others.

This is only a brief list of some of the ways photos can be false despite seeming truthful. In this blog we will be exploring some of these methods as they apply to specific photos. Hopefully we can take some of the deception out of photography.

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