The Museum of Hoaxes
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Techniques of
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.
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
More than thirty years after its initial publication, this famous photo by W. Eugene Smith was discovered to be two photos composited together. ...»
The many biology textbooks that used this image did not reveal that the moths were dead and glued to the bark. ...»
When the LA Times published this picture, it airbrushed out the model's belly button in order to "conform to regulations." ...»
Oswald’s Backyard Photo (Published in February 1964)
Magazines that published this photo of Lee Harvey Oswald retouched portions of it, leading to suspicions that the original image itself was fake. It was not. ...»
Thoughtography (Gained notoriety in 1967)
Ted Serios claimed he could transfer his thoughts directly onto film. Skeptics disagreed. ...»
The Bluff Creek Bigfoot (October 20, 1967)
Bigfoot believers claim this is a photo of that elusive North American primate. Skeptics argue it shows a person in an ape suit. ...»
The Missing Pole (May 4, 1970)
An unknown photo editor decided to airbrush out the pole that was awkwardly situated behind Mary Ann Vecchio's head in the original version of this photo. ...»
These photos of Victorian-era street children turned out to be modern frauds. ...»
Yeah Eckerd (1981)
The news photographer staged the scene by having a fan write the phrase "Yeah Eckerd" on the soles of his feet. ...»
In what became the first high-profile example of digital photo manipulation, National Geographic moved the pyramids slightly closer together to fit within the frame of the cover. ...»
Sinking Bus (March 3, 1988)
This double-decker bus actually did fall into a hole in the road. The photo was not staged or digitally created. ...»
The Disappearing Coke Can (March 31, 1989)
An editor digitally removed a Coke can from this front-page image because he felt it ruined the composition of the photo. ...»
Oprah’s Head Transplant (August 26, 1989)
It's Oprah Winfrey's head, but it's Ann-Margret's body. ...»
Madonna’s Gapless Glamour (December 1990)
Madonna got mad when she discovered a photo editor had digitally closed the gap between her front teeth. ...»
Missing in Action (July, 1991)
The Pentagon concluded that the men in this photo were not American fliers missing in action in Vietnam. Instead, they were Soviet farmers. ...»
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All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.