#29 in a series of background briefs

Convincing the viewer
and increasing “transparency”
Why do viewers need convincing?

  • A. Making it clear that you care

    {still to come} { keeping them separate?}

    "Trust" relies on confidence, and confidence is shored up by consistency.

    It’s easy to make TTG photos, but in many contexts it will be hard to convince viewers.

    {showing viewers that you care includes providing bg info}

  • B. Accountability

    Just as the most trusted photographers on social media are those who have established themselves on other platforms...

    . . . photographers who post TTG-labeled photos only on social media may also want to put the same photos in an additional context where viewers are more confident that they can hold the photographer accountable. More

    For a photographer not confident their work will be published by a highly regarded third-party image provider, the easiest solution is creating a monosite — a website dedicated to a single person (like a photographer) who has primary control over its content.

    It is easy and inexpensive (free, even) to create such a site, although the TTG photographer should ensure that the website stays active and alive (see #6 here)

    Advantages of monosites for TTG photographers

  • C. Showing “supporting images”

    It can be in the TTG photographer’s interest to save not only the original of the image that is put before viewers but also to save other, related images. More

    It is assumed that anyone who applies the TTG label to photographs knows the value of keeping an unaltered original of every photograph and only working on — and showing to viewers — copies of that original image.

    The originals can be valuable to all photographers for technical reasons and additionally to TTG photographers for “proof” reasons.

    But it can be in the TTG photographer’s interest to also save other, related images and not merely the original of the image that is put before viewers.

    Most “impressive photographs” are not the result of a photographer trooping off to a distant location, pulling the camera out of the bag at just the right moment, snapping a single photo, and then packing up and going home.

    Instead, most advanced photographers take a number of photos (from which a “best” one is later selected). Those “neighboring frames” can help make the case for applying the TTG label.

    Videos can also be used as “supporting images.” Consider the photographer who claims that a photo-contest submission reflects how they spent a lot of money to get to a remote location where they photographed animals doing remarkable things (in a remarkable setting and under remarkable skies). That photographer’s claim would be much more believable if they spent even 10 seconds shooting a short video clip on their smartphone, sweeping around the scene to show the contest judges how remarkable everything truly was.

    Unless or until VUOs become common, eventually the expectation could become routine that finalists in “undoctored” categories of photo contests should submit various supporting images in addition to their main contest entry.

    More on showing “supporting images”

  • D. Providing “supporting data”

    In many cases publishing the camera settings may not be relevant regarding viewer “trust,” but for some kinds of photos those numbers may be helpful. More

    To cite an example of “non-relevant” supporting data, if someone photographs an animal in a zoo and presents it as being in the wild, publishing the complete list of camera and lens settings won’t make the photo any less deceptive.

    • Nonetheless, for any photographers who are trying to demonstrate “transparency” to viewers, there is never any harm in publishing camera settings and equipment details. In many cases such data could be helpful to viewers who are scrutinizing a TTG-labeled photograph to see if the photo was indeed made with the setup that the photographer claims it was made with.

    • With photographs taken outdoors, if the photographer can supply the exact date/time and GPS location of the photograph, then independent corroboration of the weather and lighting depicted may be possible.


See also the FAQ on “proof”