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: Military
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Camel Spiders in Iraq (Found online, Spring 2004)
It's true that camel spiders are very large, but much of the information about these creatures that accompanied this picture as it went around the internet was false. ...» |
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Whatever It Takes (October 2004)
An ad released by Bush's 2004 presidential campaign showed a crowd scene from which the President had been digitally removed. ...» |
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Islamic Hostage Action-Figure Hoax (February 1, 2005)
Hostage "John Adam," whose photo appeared on internet bulletin boards used by Iraqi rebels, turned out to be a Cody action-figure doll. ...» |
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Fake Smoke Over Beirut (August 5, 2006)
A freelance photographer heightened the drama of this image distributed by Reuters by adding additional smoke. ...» |
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Suicidal Teens Welcome (Found on the internet, early 2007)
The armed forces does not really actively recruit suicidal teenagers. ...» |
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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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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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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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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. ...» |
All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.