Photographic manipulation has always been prominent within the world of photography since the first picture was taken, dating back to 1826 or 1827 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Although photo-editing programmes, for example, Adobe Photoshop weren’t invented or accessible; image manipulation was achievable by editing and being selective of what you choose to capture or how you processed the image in the light room. Fundamentally, I believe when the image is deferred from what the raw photograph portrays or otherwise known as the ‘truth’, the meaning and concept of the image taken is lost. I comprehend multiple photographs may be used in a combination to form a unique concept; however, I feel this process becomes its own, individual art form and moves away from photography. Crucially, restricted editing is acceptable for the world of photography, manipulating image colour, for instance, putting images into black and white, is an acceptable process as long as the photograph portrays the truth behind the lens.

The work of American photographer Ansel Adams is a demonstration of early photograph manipulation, as he created black and white coloured filters to cover the lens of the camera. The variation of colour enables us to interpret the image in a different manner if in comparison to the coloured version, however, despite the colour difference, the image depiction is still the same but the variation may help the photograph enhance the concept they’re trying to portray. The technique stated is an organic and traditional way of image manipulation, preventing the image from becoming something that it is not, just merely improving a concept. On the contrary, utilizing the modern day software’s of Adobe Photoshop is acceptable as long as the content of the image is not altered. I have frequently used this device for manipulating the colours and enhancing the quality by eradicating slight blurs or cropping the image, however, artists have previously taken it too far and deferred from the truth.

Another early instance of camera manipulation is the “Man on the Moon” controversy of 1969. It is reported that the United States’s NASA hoaxed the event by setting up a fake studio and destroyed evidence in order to compete and beat the technological advances of the USSR in what was known as the “Space Race”. In this case, I believe that the US have created this staged scenario to create and record a breakthrough event, however, due to the severity of the lie and how this would have fooled people globally, it is morally incorrect. Fundamentally, the principle of changing what the lens of the camera sees is in my opinion, a valid manipulation of photographs, so long as the images portray a specific meaning or concept and maintains the truth of the setting.