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.
Site Map
Photo Archive Categories
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: Landscapes
 |
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. ...» |
 |
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. ...» |
 |
The Perambulating Skull (May 1936)
Arthur Rothstein was accused of using a steer's skull as a movable prop in order to exaggerate drought conditions in the Great Plains. ...» |
 |
The Nazi Air Marker Hoax (August 10, 1942)
Pictures of unusual shapes in farmers' fields led to fears that the Nazis were planning an air attack on the United States. ...» |
 |
“Qinghai-Tibet railway opens green passage for wildlife” (Published in 2006. Debunked in 2008.)
This award-winning Chinese photo appeared to show the peaceful co-existence of antelope with a new high-speed train. Unfortunately the photo was a digital composite. ...» |
All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.