Zackinabox’s Weblog

In social journalism class last week, we looked at an assortment of photos and debated whether the manipulation in certain photos was ethical/right. The main example was a flower which had a blemish removed.

I believe that when removing a spot or blemish from a photo you must first look at it carefully and see if it will affect the symbolism and significance of the photo. What I am saying is that sometimes a photo may need a little adjusting to look respectable. If the move you make does not affect the uniqueness of the photo, I don’t see why there would be a problem with editing it.

On the other hand, if there is a picture of a famous athlete, actor, actress, or other celebrity you should not edit the way the photo looks because you may offend the person in many different ways. For example: many magazines such as time have had to hange there cover after editing it because they change the color of someones skin, add in people who were not there, or multiply an audience in the picture. This is far more serious then the manipulation of a single flower in my opinion. But, that’s all it is, an opinion. Everyone has them.