Comments on: Photographers are visual liars

By: Wakefield Photographic Studios

Wakefield Photographic Studios — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:15:24 +0000

Hey, perception is everything, and a photograph can be the ultimate in a screwed perception of things…

By: Thaty

Thaty — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:17 +0000

I agree too… There’s a history of Calvin and Hobbes that says:

Calvin – This is what I like about photography. People think cameras always tell the truth. They think the camera is a dispassionate machine that records only facts, but really, cameras lie all the time! Select the facts and you manipulate the truth!

Calvin – Por example, I’ve cleared off this corner of my bed. Take a picture of me here, but crop out all the mess around me, so it looks like I keep my room tidy.

Hobbes – Is this even legal?

Calvin – Wait, let me comb my hair and put on a tie.

By: Mike Baird

Mike Baird — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:49:09 +0000

I found your proposition and reader comments to hit the nail on the head. It really addresses what photography is all about for some. Now I’m satisfied that some of my crappier photos are actually the more realistic, but it does not make them any good. It is said that “Perception is controlled hallucination” so creative photography has to be about inducing elements of hallucination to mold the perception we want to communicate. mike [at} mikebaird d o t com

By: Chica

Chica — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:46:26 +0000

What a wonderful new think to think about, I’ve posted about this as well, gave credit back to this site, and post. :)

By: John Watson

John Watson — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:53:52 +0000

That’s probably true though I think you’re comparing apples and oranges. People don’t have the same expectations of impressionist paintings as they do from photographs.

By: Mac

Mac — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:25:52 +0000

I’m not a liar any more than any other artist working in a visual medium. No one asks if Van Gogh fudged a bit when presenting us with Starry Night, do they?

By: Sam (Sam's Stock photo review)

Sam (Sam's Stock photo review) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:32:19 +0000

until they design a camera that duplicates what the eye sees (and that isn’t even half of what’s going on in other parts of the invisible spectrum), all photography will be “a lie”, just enjoy the beauty of it, that’s what i say…

By: toyfoto

toyfoto — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:02:09 +0000

I think “liar” is kind of a strange word. Especially when it tries to lable something that is arguably arbitrary.

Whever you edit something, frame something, bolster something to make a point. When you write something from your own perspective you are selectively eliminating something that others may feel is important.

Any type of communication can be called “a lie” if one person wants to drag another person down a notch or two.

Santa is fundamentally a LIE but he is also a story with a moral, and a purpose beyond the reality that he doesn’t really exist in person form.

For me a lie in photo form is one that has been deliberately manipulated (think cloning tool to add smoke and explosions to a news image) to inflate what actually happened.

A photo like this, though, seems more of an illustration of a thought. Not really a lie at all.

By: Donncha O Caoimh

Donncha O Caoimh — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:41:02 +0000

You could say the same thing about any artistic or creative endeavour. It’s a snapshot in time and it’s up to the artist to create “as honest” a portrait of that scene as possible, whether it be a photo, painting, song or writing.

By: Johnsenclan » Blog Archive » Links 2/25/08

Johnsenclan » Blog Archive » Links 2/25/08 — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:33:56 +0000

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