“Without misrepresentation”
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1701. What’s the point of P7?
In light of Characteristic #7 of trusted photographs, P7 ensures that the photograph doesn’t misrepresent the appearance of the scene as the camera lens saw it during the exposure(s).
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1702. Why does TTG say that P7 plays a “cleanup” role?
Because P7 “mops up” after the first six requirements.
P7 looks at the combination of all visual effects after a photograph meets P1 through P6 and ensures that the final result would meet rinairs for not misrepresenting the appearance of the scene.
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1703. What does the phrase mean in P7, “As the camera lens saw [the scene]”?
(P7 is here)
Simply that the reference point for TTG photos is the view from the camera and not from somewhere else.
Note that P7 specifies what the camera lens saw, not what the camera recorded, because those two are often not the same thing when it comes to “light”-related aspects of the image (tones and colors).
For more on this, see #421, see the Key, and see also the page on light.
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1704. What if “what the camera recorded” misrepresents the scene’s appearance because of normal lens imperfections?
Things like routine lens flare, corner/edge darkening, and barrel or pincushion distortion do not disqualify a photograph from TTG — even though they aren’t visible in the actual scene being photographed — because those effects are allowed by respected news agencies.
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1705. TTG says that it is “impossible” for any two-dimensional photograph to depict any three-dimensional scene exactly as the camera saw it, thanks to “limitations of the medium.”
But since exact depiction is impossible — that is, since no photo can perfectly represent a three-dimensional scene—
how does TTG decide which “imperfect” representations are allowable and which ones disqualify the photo from TTG?In a word, rinairs, because the sources of that standard are the world’s largest providers of trusted photographs.
For decades those news organizations have dealt countless times every day with all of the limitations of the medium that keep photographs from “perfectly representing” the scene depicted.
rinairs is also the arbiter of TTG's Allowable Changes
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1706. But why does P7 use the information-reportage standards of “respected international news agencies” to assess misrepresentation and not some other standard?
(P7 is here)
Because there are no other photographic “non-misrepresentation” standards that are anywhere near as well-known and respected all around the world.
Nothing is even close.
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1707. Many photographers will not feel as familiar with the rinairs practices as trusted image-providing organizations feel.
So is P7 intended for photographers or for image-providing organizations?(rinairs is explained here)
It's intended for both.
P7 is an important tool for any image-providing organizations that do not want to have their credibility compromised by publishing unqualified photos that are labeled TTG.
Any image-providing organization can declare that they will not publish the TTG label with a submitted photograph, for whatever reason they choose (including “the photograph does not meet rinairs”). See here.
Most photographers are more familiar with rinairs than they realize, as virtually all of the most of the most-famous photographs in the world meet not only rinairs but also the entire Trust Test.
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1708. Why does P7 specify that it applies to the appearance of the scene “as it was during the exposure(s)”?
(P7 is here)
Because photographers often want to doctor a photo so that it looks the way it would have looked if they had photographed it “just little bit earlier” or “just a little bit later.”
Wishful thinking doesn’t matter when it comes to TTG. TTG is never about “what the photographer wishes the camera had seen.”
A TTG photograph is about what the scene looked like during the exposure, not about what it “might have” looked like at some other time.
Common rationales that don’t cut it with TTG.
See also the brief on “seen vs. simulated”
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1709. Is it accurate to say that ANY photograph can be made to meet P7 if it is left as recorded and then undergoes only the Allowable Changes linked from P2?
(TTG’s Allowable Changes; P7 is here)
Yes, unless the photograph was recorded in a way that made it TTG-ineligible from the start; then it cannot be made eligible for TTG no matter what is done to it.
The numbering of the FAQ questions will not change — any new questions are added at the bottom and given new numbers — so users can safely make a link to any specific question.