Techniques of
Photo Fakery
Photo Fakery
1: Inserting details. This includes placing an element from one photo into another to create a composite image, reproducing a detail of the photo by cloning it, superimposing an image onto another, or drawing-in details.
2: Deleting details. This is usually done by extending background elements over the unwanted detail. Or one can crop out the unwanted detail.
3: Manipulating elements within the photo. For instance, adjusting the color, resizing details, or rotating or moving details.
4: falsifying the caption.
5: Staging the scene. This is considered fakery particularly in photojournalism. Varieties of staging a scene include using models and cutouts and inserting a prop into the scene.
6: Trick angles. The most common example of this is the use of forced perspective.
2: Deleting details. This is usually done by extending background elements over the unwanted detail. Or one can crop out the unwanted detail.
3: Manipulating elements within the photo. For instance, adjusting the color, resizing details, or rotating or moving details.
4: falsifying the caption.
5: Staging the scene. This is considered fakery particularly in photojournalism. Varieties of staging a scene include using models and cutouts and inserting a prop into the scene.
6: Trick angles. The most common example of this is the use of forced perspective.
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The Hoax Photo Archive
A gallery of photo fakery throughout history.
Years Archived:
1840-1900 | 1900-1919 | 1920-1939 | 1940-1959 | 1960-1979 | 1980-1999 | 2000-2004 | 2005-Present
A gallery of photo fakery throughout history.
Years Archived:
1840-1900 | 1900-1919 | 1920-1939 | 1940-1959 | 1960-1979 | 1980-1999 | 2000-2004 | 2005-Present
Time Period: 1980-1999
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Yeah Eckerd (1981)
The news photographer staged the scene by having a fan write the phrase "Yeah Eckerd" on the soles of his feet. ...» |
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The Case of the Moving Pyramids (February 1982)
In what became the first high-profile example of digital photo manipulation, National Geographic moved the pyramids slightly closer together to fit within the frame of the cover. ...» |
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Sinking Bus (March 3, 1988)
This double-decker bus actually did fall into a hole in the road. The photo was not staged or digitally created. ...» |
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The Disappearing Coke Can (March 31, 1989)
An editor digitally removed a Coke can from this front-page image because he felt it ruined the composition of the photo. ...» |
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Oprah’s Head Transplant (August 26, 1989)
It's Oprah Winfrey's head, but it's Ann-Margret's body. ...» |
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Madonna’s Gapless Glamour (December 1990)
Madonna got mad when she discovered a photo editor had digitally closed the gap between her front teeth. ...» |
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Missing in Action (July, 1991)
The Pentagon concluded that the men in this photo were not American fliers missing in action in Vietnam. Instead, they were Soviet farmers. ...» |
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White Hot Mama (July 1992)
Texas Governor Ann Richards' head was pasted onto the body of a model to create this magazine cover. ...» |
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The Disappearing Nipples (Jan/Feb 1994)
The editors of American Photo decided they had to digitally remove Kate Moss's nipples from this cover photo "as a matter of taste." ...» |
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Fire on Ice (Feb 16, 1994)
Harding and Kerrigan were seen skating together on this Newsday cover, but the scene never occurred in real life. ...» |
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O.J.‘s Darkened Mug Shot (June 27, 1994)
Time magazine was accused of racism when it decided to use a darkened version of O.J. Simpson's mugshot on its cover. ...» |
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Tootsie Redressed (Mar 1997 issue of Los Angeles magazine)
Dustin Hoffman sued Los Angeles magazine for $5 million on account of this photo of his head pasted onto the body of a model wearing a silk gown. ...» |
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The Tip of the Iceberg (Created in 1999. Circulating online since 2001.)
This widely circulated photo is actually a digital composite of four different images. ...» |
All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.