This is an inter
esting issue. Bu
t at the same ti
me it is one tha
t I think gets o
ver toguhht on o
ccasion. I say i
t depends If an
image is being u
sed to represent
something, say a
location or prod
uct, for adverti
sing then I beli
eve there needs
to be a degree o
f truthfulness'
to it.I know tha
t most images us
ed in advertisin
g are really far
from where they
began. And your
question applies
, how far is too
far?In an image
that represents
news or is used
in news should b
e pretty much as
shot. Of course
you can make som
e minor adjustme
nts to it as you
would if printin
g in a dark room
.In the case of
the images of th
e Queen I don't
know that it is
necessary to put
any limitations
on what can be d
one. If the same
scene was to be
painted by an ar
tist the resulti
ng portrait woul
d really be a co
mplete manifesta
tion of the arti
sts view of the
scene.So if a ph
otographer is sh
ooting a portrai
t of a person wh
ere is the rule
that limits them
to a straight fr
om the camera sh
ot. I don't thin
k there needs to
be one.Maybe wha
t has happened i
s that we now ha
ve a new categor
y of photographi
c art. One has a
lways had the ab
ility to manipul
ate an image no
matter how it wa
s shot. But sinc
e the proliferat
ion of digital a
nd related compu
ter software a n
ew level of mani
pulation has eme
rged.The resulti
ng images lie so
me where between
photograph and p
ainting.Again I
see nothing wron
g with this. So
many beautiful i
mages have been
created this way
. My only concer
n is when a pers
ons perception o
f something is a
ltered by an ima
ge so highly man
ipulated. And I
am talking when
an image like th
at may be used t
o entice someone
to use or purcha
se a product or
service.That tog
uhht does not ju
st apply to phot
ographers but to
the advertising
industry in gene
ral.This certain
ly is an interes
ting topic and I
am sure there ar
e many valid opi
nions one way or
another. I guess
I am of the opin
ion that manipul
ations of photog
raphs is really
OK at most level
s. We know that
the camera and t
he eye see diffe
rently to begin
with, so you are
not really photo
graphing what yo
u saw anyway. So
to manipulate an
image to bring i
t closer to your
perception of a
scene I don't th
ink is an issue.
To go beyond tha
t well then you
are entering int
o that new area
of photographic
art, again I thi
nk this is a new
in between categ
ory where many
beautiful images
are being create
d.As with anythi
ng new or differ
ent it will take
time for it to w
ork it's self ou
t and develop it
s own place. And
as with anything
there will be th
ose who will pus
h its limits suc
h as those who i
nappropriately m
anipulate news i
mages.I look for
ward to seeing w
here this goes