885. So “blown highlights” and “inky shadow areas” don’t disqualify a photograph from TTG?

They do not automatically disqualify photographs from TTG, but they can when their lightness or darkness has been selectively exaggerated compared to contrast levels in other areas of the photograph.

As explained in the answer to #884, it is often impossible to depict in a single photograph the brightest and darkest parts of a scene.

That’s why TTG photographers have some leeway in how they depict contrasty scenes (photographs depicting silhouettes or blown-out skies, for example, routinely qualify as TTG).

But a photograph can fail to meet rinairs — and thus fail to meet P7, and thus be disqualified from the TTG label — when the local lightening or darkening of select areas results in removing the depiction of things that would be visible if the same contrast levels were applied to those select areas as were applied to the entire photograph.

See also the Key entry on highlight detail and shadow detail.