Has my photograph been manipulated?
Personal and professional photographs are frequently staged, cropped or altered:
- For dramatic or aesthetic impact
- To correct imperfections (e.g., red eye)
- To deceive the viewer
One test for an altered photo is to check for metadata (date, time, focal length, camera name, white balance, flash, etc.) that is stored with the photograph. The absence of metadata is sometimes evidence of photo editing. To display the metadata of a photo:
- Submit the URL of your image to an Exif Reader
- In Flickr, choose "View Exif info"
A second test is to locate the small white dot, a reflection of the light source, in the eyes of each person in the photo. If the shape, color or position of the dot differs, the photograph is a composite.