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
Category: Head Transplants
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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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Oprah’s Head Transplant (August 26, 1989)
It's Oprah Winfrey's head, but it's Ann-Margret's body. ...» |
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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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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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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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The Real Julia (July 2003)
Julia Roberts' head was pasted onto a younger version of her body. ...» |
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Martha’s Last Laugh (March 2005)
Newsweek indicated nowhere on the cover that this shot was actually a composite image of Martha Stewart's head pasted onto a model's body. ...» |
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Vote for Dean Hrbacek (January 2008)
In this flyer distributed by Hrbacek's campaign, the candidate's head was pasted onto the body of a significantly slimmer man. ...» |
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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. ...» |
All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.