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
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William ‘Dad’ Martin’s Freak Postcards (1909-1910)
Martin made a fortune selling "freak" postcards that featured midwesterners interacting with oversized animals and vegetables. ...» |
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The Melon Party (1911)
In order to create this postcard of children eating a giant watermelon, photographer Alfred Stanley Johnson used wooden props. ...» |
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Ocean Execution (December 1913)
A vacation snapshot was creatively recaptioned to become evidence of a brutal execution scene. ...» |
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The Cottingley Fairies (1917-1920)
Two young girls used paper cutouts to create a series of images of "fairies." These images are among the most famous fake photos of all time. ...» |
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Trotsky Vanishes (Taken in 1919; altered ca. 1967)
Once Leon Trotsky fell out of political favor, Soviet censors attempted to purge all evidence of his existence. This included removing him from photos such as this one. ...» |
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Stotham, Massachusetts: The Town That Didn’t Exist (Published in April 1920)
A Massachusetts town, described as an example of an unspoiled New England village, turned out not to exist. ...» |
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The Nest of a Fatu-Liva (1921)
An image of square eggs satirically proves that the camera never lies. ...» |
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High-Pressure Hijinks (ca. 1923)
It is unlikely that water pressure alone is keeping this soldier suspended in air. ...» |
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Raised Runway (Undated. Possibly from the 1920s.)
An April Fool's day image shows a raised runway in a German city. ...» |
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Ada Emma Deane’s Armistice Day Series (November 1924)
Spiritualists claimed this image showed the spirits of dead war heroes. A newspaper identified the faces as living football players. ...» |
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Bloody Sunday, 1905 (1925)
Soviet textbooks claimed this was a photo of 1905's Bloody Sunday massacre in St. Petersburg. It was actually a reenactment of that event. ...» |
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Mother Cat Stops Traffic (July 29, 1925)
The news photographer arrived too late to capture the original scene, so he convinced the policeman to recreate it. ...» |
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Death in the Air (Published in 1933; debunked in 1984.)
Spectacular images of World War I dog fights were eventually exposed as photos of model airplanes. ...» |
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Wisconsin’s Capitol Collapses (April 1, 1933)
An April Fool's Day image of the Wisconsin state capitol collapsing due to an excess of gas generated by verbose debate. ...» |
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Baby Adolf (Late 1933)
This fake baby photo of Adolf Hitler circulated widely during the mid-1930s. ...» |
All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.