A Digital Age of Cropping

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Where did photography start and where is it now?

If we roll back the clocks to the mid 1850s we can see realistic style images being created with a stereograph; a device used to view a "side-by-side photo" to create a 3D effect (Wheeler, T. H. (2002). Phototruth Or Photofiction? Ethics and Media Imagery in the Digital Age. Taylor and Francis). Photojournalism became popular around the mid-20th century when used for documentary photography. So can we manipulate a photo? Well we "must begin with the recognition that photography itself is an inherent manipulation—a manipulation of light, a process with many steps and stages, all subject to the biases and interpretations of the photographer, printer, editor, or viewer" (Wheeler, T. H. (2002). Phototruth Or Photofiction? Ethics and Media Imagery in the Digital Age. Taylor and Francis). Society has gone past just the age of digital photography and capturing, manipulating and sharing images are now in the hands of anyone with a smart-phone.

What's available and how easy is it to use?

If you open up a social media app right now, I bet you see new images of someone you know. But, how do you know that image has not been altered? How do you know that when you watch a news story that the video has not been altered or the photo's in a news article hasn't been tapered with? The truth is, you don't know.

There are hundreds of editing apps for photography, video, mobile or laptop applications. "Citizens and professional journalists have new and easy ways to capture and transmit images, such as cell phones linked to the internet via wireless technology "(https://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/resources/digital-media-ethics/).

Is Photo editing always acceptable or ethical?

"Another issue is whether a journalist or a citizen used technology to alter the photograph, e.g. to add an object to the picture or to take an object out. Changing the meaning or content of the image so as to mislead viewers is considered unethical "(https://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/resources/digital-media-ethics/). If we can change the colors but not the meaning of the image where do we truly draw the line? Does simple photo manipulation of the colors change the story for the news needs verses changing the meaning? Most traditional photographers say that they will do their best to diminish the amount of changes to the images, but this mind set might tint the view towards newer, younger photojournalists that may be used to only digital photography and the use of using photo editing software.

Some apps go so far as to change the complete look of a person; including changing the age of the person, like on the FaceApp. This app has brought up multiple ethical dilemmas other than just manipulating the image like the access of private mobile data that was underlined boilerplate information that was accepted by the downloader right from the start (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/style/faceapp-privacy-scare.html).

Who should be held liable and who can edit?

Technically there are no restraints for photojournalists or journalists from editing video or images because this is a ethical issue that is still under high debate. "When I first put a video camera on my shoulder for an upstart news channel called Cable News Network, the question of ethics in photojournalism had never been broached to me. There were no college courses devoted to the examination and discussion of ethical questions for photographers. There were no assignment editors or bureau chiefs who laid down the law... . There were no hard and fast rules. Basically, it seemed as though each photographer lived and worked according to his own ethical standards. William Langley" (Wheeler, T. H. (2002). Phototruth Or Photofiction? Ethics and Media Imagery in the Digital Age. Taylor and Francis). If we want to assess the situation of how is to be liable for changing the meaning o an image we would first have to evaluate who is a journalist and who's journalistic information would need to be deemed as credible. Would credibility be only for those that were either scholars or partial journalists or could anyone that writes a social media blog be considered credible? (https://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/resources/digital-media-ethics/) There are way too many loop holes and ambiguous meanings about these questions, to point the finger arbitrarily at any one person.

photographyethics/podcast

What would I do?

I own and operate a photography business and I primarily work Weddings. Some couples like images as close to candid as possible, while other couples like a posed and edited look. The dilemma is always; who do you please, the client or your ethical code? I believe my Wedding style is journalistic in nature and I only manipulate images tones and colors to show the natural beauty of the photo. I don't believe the question of where to draw the line for photojournalists will ever been 100% answered. The best way to work is by adopting your own moral and ethical code!!