Lying through Photography

In Vicki Goldberg’s article about photography and fairies, she writes, there is “a clear indication that the medium most dedicated to realism and most ineluctably tied to this world has also been striving to reach another one and investing in magic along the way”. This statement, in my opinion, illustrates the enormous potential of photography. I personally value photography for its ability to capture and express the realism of which Goldberg writes. There is nothing more fantastic than “freezing” a fleeting moment before your eyes and then sharing this moment with the world. Photography has the power to expose the nuances, the inequalities and the events of everyday life and ultimately, provide documentation of our reality. Often overlooked, and on the rise, is photography’s ability to present an altered reality; one inundated with slight adjustments or outright lies. The camera as a machine itself, along with the increased capabilities of technology, warrants this manipulation. Technical choices regarding depth of field, shutter speed and double exposures enables a photographer to shape what the lens views. The photographer is also capable of manipulating the subject material itself; creating fictitious moments and suggesting a different reality is entirely plausible if the photographer has the necessary creativity and ability to execute it. It is important to employ both realistic and unrealistic approaches as each one demonstrates the possibilities this medium permits. Photography has the potential to depict reality as well as the potential to create and convince others of a different “reality”. It is a medium that constantly challenges the viewers and makes them question not only the subject material itself but also the legitimacy of the subject material. What in the image is real and what has been manipulated?