The camera never lies – or does it?
The saying, ‘the camera never lies’ has been around since the dawn of photographic technology. In simple terms, the camera photographs what it sees, as a photocopier outputs what it scans.
Of course, there are some major differences that the camera is unable to interpret. For example, in the early days of photography, we didn’t see things in black and white, but that was a restriction of the technology at that time. The other big difference is that we are able to see our world in 3D, whereas the camera’s output is in a flatter 2D.
There are also subtle differences that our eyes cope well with, yet cameras still cannot. For example, we have to adopt all sorts of techniques to get an output from a camera that rivals the colour range and dynamics of a scene that our eyes easily copy with in a blink.
Although the camera never lies, it doesn’t necessarily tell the whole truth either. When taking a photo, we are selective of what we snap. It is often in isolation of the surroundings, and from the desired perspective. Therefore, the resulting photo might seem at odds with its surroundings when viewed by someone who has never seen those surroundings. It’s like a Masters’ painting – take the Mona Lisa. We all know the painting, yet, try to imagine the subject in the likely studio surroundings of Leonardo’s run-down property. If the surrounding room was included, well, it’s likely the painting would be worth considerably less. And so is the effect with photographs. Framing and composition is what sells pictures.
Once the output of the camera is delivered, that’s when the lies start to creep in.
To be ‘photo-shopped’ is a word often used to denote that an image has been altered – for better or worse – to create the desired result. Models can be made to look even more beautiful; landscapes more dynamically and dramatically coloured; celebrities made to look great or maybe a fool; surroundings to be removed or altered. This has been going on and selling very nicely for decades.
So, what we see in any photo can be anything from a few missing details to an out-and-out lie.
By the way, the sky in the above photo was added during post-processing, and only a short expanse of this very long beach between Downdery and Seaton in Cornwall has these lovely verdant seaweeds growing on the rocks.
