Quick masking
Part 1: the ethical dimension of image manipulation
In the exercise on Layering and Collage, Digital Foundation’s authors referred to Hippolyte Bayard’s Self Portrait as a Drowned Man from 1840 as the first combination print. It seems the history of photographic manipulation extends almost as far back as the very first photographic images! We now use digital tools such as Photoshop for small and large image manipulations, from the slightest tonal range adjustment to the creation of an entirely alternative reality.
We created an alternative reality in the Cloning exercise. In the end, we asked you to consider some of the ethical ramifications of digital image manipulation. Given that we live in the age of Photoshop, deep fakes, and generative AI, this can be very shaky ground!
In certain situations, the digital artist must be ethically aware of the manipulation that occurs in such applications. The National Press Photographers Association maintains a code of ethics that journalism students and professionals should abide by.
Journalists and news photographers strive for accuracy in their image-based reporting. We know of several famous historical cases of digital manipulation that illustrate violations of the NPPA code of ethics.
Moving the pyramids
One of the most notorious of these incidents? National Geographic literally “moved” the Pyramids of Giza to fit on their cover.
This scandal broke in 1982. These were the very early days of digital manipulation. We had not yet tested the ethical considerations raised by the technology. National Geographic quickly established standards for visual content thereafter, acknowledging having crossed a pretty clear line that violated their editorial integrity.
Commentary, marketing, in-joke, or propaganda?
A much grayer-area scenario occurred in 2012 when National Review magazine published a cover that featured Barack Obama addressing Democratic National Convention delegates carrying signs that read “ABORTION.” In the original photo, distributed by Reuters/Newscom, the signs read “FORWARD.”
The image manipulation itself created great controversy. Was this editorial commentary? Is it better to move such content to the Editorial page? Should we hold magazine covers to the same ethical standard as the actual news content of a news magazine, or do covers function as a marketing device to sell the magazine? Is this so clearly an altered state that, seen as an obvious in-joke, it can hardly be confused with reality? Do we consider this humor, or is it propaganda? Do we consider it transformational and therefore covered by Fair Use doctrine? Or is this a violation of the rights of the photographer and distribution service? Is it news, or is it art? And if it’s art, does the artist bear the same ethical burden as a photojournalist?
The NPAA held a forum to discuss these thorny, gray-area questions, which you can read at this link.
While the NPAA debate is inconclusive on the ethical issues raised by the digital manipulation itself, it’s clear the magazine crossed a line when it attributed the cover image to Reuters/Newscom. The news service vehemently objected to the attribution, which the editors later acknowledged in a publisher’s note you can read at this link.
Part 2: Digital Foundations
We visit Digital Foundations Wiki again for an exercise that will introduce us to the Pen Tool and the power of Bezier curve drawing and editing.
Chapter 11
Visit the DF wiki and do the exercises in Chapter 11:
Make sure to find and download the sample file when you see a link with a name similar to Click here to download chapter X work files. If you have difficulty with the download, do the following in a Chrome browser:
- Right-click the download link, and in the dropout menu select Save Link As…
- Save this to a logical place like the Desktop or the Downloads folder.
- At the upper right-hand corner of the Chrome window, see the following:
Select Keep then open the file, or unzip a compressed file.
The results of the exercise should look something like this:
