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Michelle Obama has three hands! Is this another case of unethical photo manipulation?
Original photo from http://www.atbreak.com/pictures-2/the-many-hands-of-michelle-obama/
The explanation of the third hand is explained by photojournalist Alex Garcia in his article in the Chicago Tribune The Extra Hand Belongs to Michelle Obama’s Mother (Yeesh) . It raises serious concerns about what is allowed and what is ethical in taking and using photographs?
Photographers have been fired for the unethical use of Photoshop in editing images for their stories. I recall one of the most famous instances from the Iraq war when Brian Walski a photographer for the LA Times was fired April 1, 2003. He combined two of his Iraq photos to create one image. (see story and images Manipulating Truth, Losing Credibilty )
The National Professional Photographers Association (NPPA) has a published Code of Ethics to guide Photojournalist. Schools produce publications and maintain websites. ITGS students include photos in their ITGS projects. What is your school’s code of ethics on the use and manipulation of photos?
Additional resources for class research and discussion
Photo Tampering throughout History [Up-to-date examples of photo manipulation. It does not include before and after photos, but is good basis for further research to track them down on other sites.]
16 Historic photos that were edited. A history of photo editing! [Includes before and after photographs.]
Photos can lie [Good overview of the extent of political photo editing in pre-Photoshop era from 1929 to 1953 during Josef Stalin’s dictatorship in the Soviet Union.]
