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: 2000-2004
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Snowball the Monster Cat (Circulating online since early 2000)
Cordell Hauglie never anticipated that this picture of him holding a digitally enlarged version of his family cat would become one of the most popular images on the internet. ...» |
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Cut-and-Paste Diversity (September 2000)
In order to highlight their school's racial diversity, University of Wisconsin-Madison officials pasted a black student's face into this crowd scene that appeared on the cover of the undergraduate application. ...» |
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Chicken McNoggin (Circulating online since late 2000)
This news photo shows a fried chicken head that really was found in a box of McDonald's Mighty Wings. ...» |
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Pike Swallows Trout (Jan 22, 2001)
This award-winning photo was taken at the Alaska Department of Fish & Game aquarium in Anchorage. It was not photoshopped! ...» |
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A Sonic Boom (Taken in 1999. Found online in 2001.)
An unmanipulated photo of a cone of condensation forming around a Navy jet. ...» |
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Helicopter Shark (Circulating online since Aug 2001)
Despite what this photo shows, a Great White shark has never attacked a helicopter in San Francisco Bay. ...» |
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Tourist Guy (Circulating online since September 2001.)
Created by a Hungarian man as a bit of dark humor to share with his friends, this photo became one of the most widely viewed images online in the weeks after 9/11. ...» |
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Mid-Island Fish (July 29, 2002.)
This ad was supposed to express support for Long Island, New York businesses, but viewers noticed it showed a Seattle fishmarket. ...» |
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Bush Reads Book Upside-Down (Found online, September 2002.)
In the original version of this photo, President Bush's book was not upside-down. ...» |
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Leftist Patriot (Circulating online since 2002.)
Senator Daschle's hand was digitally flipped to make it appear he was repeating the Pledge of Allegiance incorrectly. ...» |
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The Lackawanna Shooter (Published Sep 20, 2002)
A New York Times photographer was accused of staging this photo "like a fashion shoot." ...» |
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The Misleading Steak Premiere (Late 2002)
A government investigation concluded there was a disparity between the amount of toppings shown in this ad, and the amount on the actual sandwich. ...» |
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Kate Winslet’s Legs (February 2003)
Kate Winslet complained that photo editors made her look too skinny on this GQ cover. ...» |
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Shuttle Columbia Explosion Photos (Circulating online since 2003)
Supposedly taken "from an Israeli satellite in space," these images were actually stills from the movie Armageddon. ...» |
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British Soldier in Basra (Created March 29, 2003.)
This digital composite slipped past the editors of the LA Times and ran on the paper's front page. ...» |
All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.