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I my view once you start working for the news, staging of any kind is unethical. People take the news as to what actually happened. When you change the scene even slightly you change what happened and it is no longer news. The problem lies in how much you change the scene. Do you move the doll 2 feet to the left to get it out of the shadows and into the sun? Do you move the gun in the same way but now it is closer to a dead person making them look more like a combatant than the passerby they were? The problem is every person has a limit to what they consider too much staging and the limits are not the same. Is it ok to move the doll 2 feet? 6 feet? 100 yards? The news needs to be just what happened. Here is a link to a photo that got a news photographer fired for what is really a very slight change that does not effect what happened in the photo but still calls the photographers ethics into question.
http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/...e_alter_03.jpg
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wow penodr that was an interesting read!! I understand where the newspaper is coming from but reporters 'edit' all the time to tell the story they want. I receently did an interview with the Globe and Mail. the reporter tracked me down and interviewed me. when I read the final story it did not reflect what he interivewed me about or anythng that I said. :mad: How is that different then that photographer taking legs out of the picture?
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I hear you LOUD and clear A.L. but it's never that cut and dry imo.
What about burning in the sky, or dodging a dark area or bleaching? This is post shooting stuff so it's not staging but it's MORE than simple recording and all 3 were used extensively in pre-photoshop days.
What about PLACING a subject in shadow when they are in bright sunlight - even that can be considered staging...
Obviously there are levels that are more or less abhorrent... :twocents:
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Marko,
You are correct, stagging and editing of a photo are not just digital issues. There is a very famous civil war photo taken during the battle of Gettysburg of a "snipers" nest where the photographer was accused of placing the rifle in the photo. In my view if you are going to be shooting news photos your photos should be above reproach. If it comes out you made a minor change it will more than likely be blown out of proportion and everything you have done in the past will come into question.
With that said, I am very comfortable editing photos for non-news uses, which is most everything else.
Dave
