Photo editing and manipulation have been part of photography from the very beginning*. That’s a fact. Most photos, including so-called iconic images in photography, are staged and presented as spontaneous, or manually retouched, altered, or “corrected.” That’s also a fact.
A photo doesn’t have to show the absolute truth, as long as it’s not a document or proof of something. I argue that a photo doesn’t have to be a direct reflection of reality. A photo can be an image created with the help of imagination, a camera, and editing tools—because photo editing is inherently linked to photography, whether we like it or not. Many say, “Yes, but there are limits!” The truth is, no one can clearly define an objective and understandable boundary for photo editing or manipulation—when does it go too far, and why exactly at this point?
One thing is clear: our outrage, our possible protests, our love for purism and “authentic” photography don’t change anything. The world keeps moving forward, with or without us. What really matters is the final product—whether people like it or not. Very few care about how it was created.
I believe there’s room for everyone in photography: photographers, photo technicians, straight photographers, image creators, photo artists, and whatever else they call themselves. Tolerance might not be enough here—acceptance is what’s really needed. Whether we want to or not, photo editing plays a major role in the photography world, and that role is only growing.
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* 1868 book “Negative Developing and After-Manipulation” — techniques for image manipulation ranging from light corrections to overlays, multiple exposures, and swapping heads and content
* Around 1850, composite photography (retouched photo collages) was already known Photo editing and manipulation have been part of photography from the very beginning*. That’s a fact. Most photos, including so-called iconic images in photography, are staged and presented as spontaneous, or manually retouched, altered, or “corrected.” That’s also a fact.
A photo doesn’t have to show the absolute truth, as long as it’s not a document or proof of something. I argue that a photo doesn’t have to be a direct reflection of reality. A photo can be an image created with the help of imagination, a camera, and editing tools—because photo editing is inherently linked to photography, whether we like it or not. Many say, “Yes, but there are limits!” The truth is, no one can clearly define an objective and understandable boundary for photo editing or manipulation—when does it go too far, and why exactly at this point?
One thing is clear: our outrage, our possible protests, our love for purism and “authentic” photography don’t change anything. The world keeps moving forward, with or without us. What really matters is the final product—whether people like it or not. Very few care about how it was created.
I believe there’s room for everyone in photography: photographers, photo technicians, straight photographers, image creators, photo artists, and whatever else they call themselves. Tolerance might not be enough here—acceptance is what’s really needed. Whether we want to or not, photo editing plays a major role in the photography world, and that role is only growing.
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* 1868 book “Negative Developing and After-Manipulation” — techniques for image manipulation ranging from light corrections to overlays, multiple exposures, and swapping heads and content
* Around 1850, composite photography (retouched photo collages) was already known Bildbearbeitung und Manipulation gehören von Anfang an* zur Fotografie. Es ist Fakt. Die meisten Fotos, auch die sog. Ikonen der Fotografie sind gefälscht (inszeniert und als spontan deklariert oder manuell retuschiert, verfremdet oder „korrigiert“. Es ist auch Fakt.
Ein Foto muss die absolute Wahrheit nicht zeigen, solange es sich um kein Dokument oder Beweis für irgendwas handelt. Ich behaupte, ein Foto muss nicht ein Abbild der Realität sein. Ein Foto kann ein Bild sein, kreiert mit Hilfe eigener Fantasie, einer Kamera und Entwickler-Tools denn Bildbearbeitung ist fest mit der Fotografie verbunden, ob man das will oder nicht. Viele sagen: „Ja, aber es gibt Grenzen!“. Eigentlich ist keiner in der Lage die genaue Grenze (objektiv und nachvollziehbar) für Bildbearbeitung/Bildmanipulation zu nennen, wann geht das zu weit und warum gerade hier?
Eins ist klar, unsere Empörung, unsere evtl. Proteste, unsere Liebe zum Purismus und zur „echten“ Fotografie ändern nichts, die Welt geht weiter, mit oder ohne uns. Entscheidend ist sowieso das Endprodukt, gefällt oder gefällt nicht. Die Entstehung interessiert die wenigsten.
Ich glaube, in der Fotografie finden alle Platz: Fotografen, Fotografiker, straight photographers, Bildgestalter, Fotokünstler und wie sich alle nennen. Toleranz ist dabei vielleicht zu wenig, eher Akzeptanz. Ob man will oder nicht, Bildbearbeitung spielt große Rolle in der Fotowelt und die Rolle wird immer größer.
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* 1868 Buch „Negative developing and after-manipulation“ - Techniken zur Bildmanipulation, von leichten Korrekturen bis Überlagerungen, Mehrfachbelichtungen so wie Köpfe und Inhalte austauschen
* Um den 1850 war schon Komposografie (retuschierte Bildcollage) bekannt
About Image EditingAbout Image EditingÜber Bildbearbeitung
Photography or no photographyPhotography or no photographyFotografie oder keine Fotografie
