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: 1840-1899
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The first fake photo ever created: Hippolyte Bayard pretending to be a suicide victim. ...»
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The Valley of the Shadow of Death (April 23, 1855)
Cannonballs were strewn across a road to enhance the drama of this melancholy war scene. ...» |
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The chestnut, which is barely visible in the thumbnail, is suspended from a fine piece of thread. ...»
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Interior of the Secundra Bagh (March or April 1858)
Human bones were disinterred and scattered around to recreate the aftermath of a battle. ...» |
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Mumler’s Spirit Photos (1861-1879)
William Mumler created the genre of the spirit photo: ghostly images supposedly caught on film. ...» |
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A Sharpshooter’s Last Sleep (Taken in 1863. Exposed as a fake in 1961.)
Civil War photographers used a corpse as a movable prop. ...» |
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Petticoat Politics (May 1865)
A Northern photographer created this image of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in a dress. ...» |
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Lincoln’s Portrait (Late 1860s)
The head of Lincoln was pasted onto the body of Southern leader John Calhoun in order to create a heroic-style presidential portrait. ...» |
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The Martyr Lincoln (late 1860s)
One of many fake death photos of President Lincoln. ...» |
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Dickens in America (December 1867)
An early example of how a celebrity's appearance could be tidied up in the darkroom. ...» |
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The Rope Trick (ca. 1888)
This model is not really sitting on a swing. ...» |
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The Silent City (ca. 1889)
An Alaskan prospector claimed this was a photo of a "silent city" mirage visible from Muir Glacier. It was actually a blurry photo of Bristol, England. ...» |
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The Sympsychograph (September 1896)
Supposedly a psychic projection of "a cat in its real essence." Intended as a joke, but taken seriously by many. ...» |
All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.