More on FAQ #707

  • 707. Does TTG's broad definition of “subject manipulation” mean that many news and information-reportage photographs have undergone subject manipulation as TTG defines it?

    Yes it does (although the subjects were not necessarily manipulated “for the camera” per se).

    As it says in #701, almost everything other than open ocean, virgin wilderness, and contrail-free/satellite-free skies could qualify as “subject-manipulated” under the definition that TTG uses—

    —and most news and information-reportage photos are of subjects other than these.

    (See for example the the “lipstick” example in #706.)

  • In “news” reportage,

    what most people would consider “manipulation of the subject for the camera” is fairly rare and is usually found only when the set-up nature of the scene is immediately apparent to viewers.

    Examples of news photos that have undergone “manipulation of the subject that was done for the camera and is immediately apparent to viewers” include a posed group photo of world leaders meeting at a summit and posed handshakes between heads of state upon meeting or departing.

    Many kinds of fully “orchestrated” news events like press conferences, groundbreakings, grand openings, political speeches, and military parades are not intended only for the camera—

    — but they also usually are not set up only for “in-person” viewers either.

  • In respected news agencies’ “information” reportage—

    (that is, the standard used by TTG in P7 and P8)

    —“manipulation of the subject for the camera” is more common (but it typically is immediately apparent to the viewer).

    Examples of information-reportage photos that have undergone “manipulation of the subject that was done for the camera and is immediately apparent to viewers” would include

    • a CEO posing with his arms crossed in front of his company’s factory in a photograph for a business article on the manufacturing sector, or

    • a cancer researcher in her lab demonstrating a new device in a photo for an article on progress in medicine.

  • Obviously the boundaries can get fuzzy

    . . . between “news” reportage and “information” reportage, with many different definitions, expectations, and policies.

    That's why TTG makes it easy (with “IC” alerts) to avoid deceiving viewers anytime the inapparent circumstances of the photo are something viewers would want to know about but are not immediately apparent...

    . . . regardless of the subject or use of the photo — news, information, or other.