Visual Truth

Is the camera really an object of truth? I vote no. Photographs show only which the photographer wishes to be shown, photographs are a distortion of what is real and logical. Photographs provide an escape, an outlet for a person to be viewed in the way that they wish. The family snapshot does not necessarily portray what goes on behind closed doors, instead it depicts the way in which the family wishes to be seen, creating a posed and strangely unlifelike image. With the advent of photoshop and other digital manipulation software the 'untruths of the photograph' grew steadily more prominent. For example, take the photograph on the left. This is a self portrait of me holding a picture of myself. The untouched photograph I am holding is juxtaposed with the heavily photoshopped version of myself. This clearly demonstrates the blurred line of what is real in photography, and what is false. The photograph is still of me, that much is not a lie, but it is a photograph of me the way I would like to be seen, rather than the way that I am viewed. Modern portrait photography leads everyone to believe the world is made up of attractive people, when in reality, it is not. This brings the reputation as a photograph representing a visual truth into question.
Photo manipulation is also used by the media to sway the opinion of the public.Take this photo on the right for example. The left image is an ordinary untouched photo while the image on the right has been darkened considerably, making it appear menacing and even frightening. This sort of technique is used within in the media to distort the truth, particularly in alleged criminal cases.
This is why I believe the camera is not an object of truth, although it does have the potential to be. Images are often structured and edited in a way that does not represent an accurate view of real life.

Please Note: If you click the images they will open up larger so you can view them easier, also there are reaction buttons and comment sections on all my posts and I would love to hear some feedback, thankyou.