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: 2005-Present
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Barack Obama Smoking (Circulating online since early 2008)
Obama admits to being a smoker (trying to quit), but this picture of him smoking was faked. ...» |
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Charlton Heston’s Home Gun Collection (Circulating online since Apr 2008)
This series of pictures documents a remarkable gun collection, but not that of Charlton Heston. ...» |
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“Not What You Want To See” (Circulating online since early 2008)
Two pictures were composited together to create this dramatic scene. ...» |
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Hand with no thumb (Found on the internet, June 2008)
A digital composite creates the illusion of a hand with no thumb. ...» |
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Cruise vs. von Stauffenberg (Controversy from June 2008)
United Artists was mistakenly accused of altering an image of German officer Claus von Stauffenberg to make him appear to resemble Tom Cruise. ...» |
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M.C. Escher Golf (Taken Aug 18, 2006. Published June 2008)
A surreal effect of impossible geometry may have been caused by the use of a telephoto lens to take this picture. ...» |
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Fox Airs Faux Photos (July 2, 2008)
Fox News aired pictures of New York Times staffers that had been digitally altered to make the men appear less attractive. ...» |
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Jumping Shark (July 3, 2008)
A photographer happened to take this series of photos just as a shark was leaping from the water behind a surfer. ...» |
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The Missile Launcher Vanishes (July 9, 2008)
The Iranian government pasted a missile into this photo, apparently in an attempt to conceal the failure of one of the missiles to launch. ...» |
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A Whiter Beyonce (August 2008)
Critics accused L'Oreal of lightening Beyonce's skin color in this advertisement for its cosmetics. ...» |
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Palin in Bikini and Miniskirt (September 2008)
After John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, provocative fake pictures of the Alaska Governor began to circulate online. ...» |
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U.S. Army Releases Doctored Photographs (September 2008)
Lacking an official photo of a deceased soldier, the U.S. Army instead released a doctored image to the media. ...» |
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Kim Jong-Il’s Shadow (November 2008)
Western media questioned whether this image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il had been doctored, but it appears not to have been. ...» |
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The Fake General Dunwoody (November 2008)
When Ann Dunwoody became the first four-star general in the American military, the Army released a doctored photo of her to the media. ...» |
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Dati’s Disappearing Ring (Nov 19, 2008)
Photo editors at Le Figaro deleted a ring from the French justice minister's hand in order to make her appear less glamorous. ...» |
All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.