Author : Pam Morris March 15 2015

Often it is not until a photograph is developed that we notice a compositional flaw that does not in any way impact the factual content of the photograph. The photo from Kent State University which was awarded the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography (Figure 10 ) broaches the line between ethical and unethical manipulation. The image on the left is the original image as captured but at some point in time the fence pole coming out of the girls head was ‘air brushed’ out. According to the Time Life publishers, they are unsure when and where the retouching occurred. (Zhang 2012).[i]

Figure 10 Original Image: John Filo Mary Ann Vecchio crying over dead body - Kent State University Shooting 1970

As the digital age progresses it becomes more and more unclear as to what is acceptable and what is not, when changing an image purported to be for photo-journalism. Whilst clearly adding or removing objects (pixels) from an image (except for the removal of sensor dust), is unacceptable there is little clarity as to what constitutes unacceptable manipulation of tone, colour, or exposure[ii]. It appears that photographers are more and more uncertain as to the limits of acceptability as evidenced in the recent 2015 World Press photo competition; where 20% of the photos were disqualified by the judges for reasons including, addition and subtraction of image content. This was almost three times the number of disqualifications from that of the previous year. Whilst in some cases the pixels were not actually removed but instead the tonality had been adjusted to be so dark so as to obliterate them, this was still considered unacceptable[iii].

[i] Zhang M.2012, The Kent State Massacre Photo and the Case of the Missing Pole http://petapixel.com/2012/08/29/the-kent-state-massacre-photo-and-the-case-of-the-missing-pole/– Retrieved March 3rd 2015

[ii] Scott A. 2014, Publishing the news : Retouching in Photojournalism. http://www.americanphotomag.com/processing-news-retouching-photojournalism– Retrieved Mar 3rd 2015

[iii] New York Times., 2015, Debating the Rules and Ethics of Photojournalism http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/world-press-photo-manipulation-ethics-of-digital-photojournalism/# Retrieved Mar 3 rd 2015