Photoshop is not the answer
My mom — and dad, and brothers, and boyfriend — has noted that I’m a pretty black-and-white person. I’d like to think that my being an active participant in classroom discussions in various philosophy and epistemology courses in high school and college would prove that I’m perfectly capable of detecting, comprehending and validating nuances and shades of gray. (Not “Grey.”)
But the fact is, I am a (mostly) black-and-white person. Especially when it comes to photojournalism ethics: Either it’s ethical or unethical. Either it’s fit to print or it’s not.
So when The New York Times runs a photo slideshow that includes an obviously Photoshopped photo of a doghouse, yes, I will call them out on it. Even though it’s The New York Times. Even though it’s just a doghouse photo.
I tweeted it. Got a lot of responses. Blogged it. Got a few more.
Head on over to the YDR photo staff’s blog Look for the Storify of last night’s tweetstorm and my full explanation for why even submitted, non-photojournalistic, Photoshopped photos shouldn’t be published by any news organization of record.
(The York Daily Record/Sunday News does not publish submitted photos that have been Photoshopped or otherwise altered. And, neither should The New York Times. Or anybody.)