History

In the Darkroom

Early in the 17th century manipulation was occuring with staged backdrops, models and compositions of multiple negatives. The first "fake" photo was made in 1840 with a useful photographic process by a Frenchman, Hippolyte Bayard. After being recognized for his work two years later he recieved a prize from the Societe d'Encouragement pour I'Industrie Nationale in the amount of 3,000 francs (9).

Hippolyte BAYARD Self Portrait as a Drowned Man, 1840

Images Courtesy of İlk Fotograflar

On the Computer

In 1982 National Geographic featured a digital manipulated photograph on the cover of the magazine. Their verticle cover was an image of a orignially horisontal photo of Egyptian pyramids. They validated the manipulation by calling it the "retroactive repositioning of the photographer." In other words, if the photographer had a different angle when he shot the photograph, the manipulated image is what it would have looked like. This display of manipulation has damaged the credibility of National Geographic for the last twenty some years.