photography ethics, YouTube & welcome to the future

[Cloud]

I think that the point the fellow I saw talk about it made was that, intrinisically, photographs ought to represent a true, authentic, representation of what is--at that moment. When that representation is altered, even if just to enhance the color, it is no longer an accurate historical or, certainly, evidentiary record.

[Bullitt]

I agree with trying to maintain the integrity of the photo and the scene it portrays, to a point though. Every photograph has had to go through the developing process, which alters the image to make it resemble the real life situation that the photographer tried to capture.

You have to keep in mind that a photograph is a visual interpretation of the physical scene, never an exact replica. In a perfect world, one could say that original photographs do in fact "represent a true, authentic, representation of what is--at that moment." Unfortunately, it just isn't so. For example, Ansel Adams is one of the most famed photographers of the 20th century. But for all his famous images, such as the Snake River in the Tetons, his real genius was in the darkroom adjusting his images until they came out as the eye popping, gorgeous scenes that they are.

My point being, all images by being produced in the first place, are adjusted and altered so there is no such thing as a "perfect" image of any given scene. Differences in all the different facets of exposure make it that way, and there's really no way around it. All people can do is try to find that sweet spot where the image *best* represents what was actually there at that place and time.

[xoxoxoBruce]

There are millions of pictures on the web, that are unlabeled, unexplained and often uncredited.

[Cloud]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

There are millions of pictures on the web, that are unlabeled, unexplained and often uncredited.

that's true enough. I guess my starting point is photographs for evidence in civil trials, which is another type of thing altogether. Authentication becomes even more critical in criminal trials.

I think it greatly depends on the purpose of the photograph. Certainly, photographs depicting news events should be held to a higher standard of . . . unalterability? than a pic for an ad should be.