Photography is a form of communication. It tells a story. As we’ve seen in recent events, that story can be a lie

There are several things to look for when investigating the authenticity of a photo. Keep this in mind while viewing photos: People tend towards organization, straight lines, and repetition… Nature abhors those things. Look out your window and you won’t see anything from Nature that has a straight line. How about anything that is a duplicate? (Even identical twins have different fingerprints.) Noticeable organization is almost always manmade. I won’t dispute that God’s creation is organized, but it’s at a level of complexity that is usually beyond casual observation. In Nature, randomness is the rule. Repetition or patterns are a dead giveaway of altered images. If the subject is supposed to be from Nature, be very suspicious of anything approaching repetition.

Manmade objects are the inverse; look for nice straight lines, repetition, patterns, and other forms of organization. Watch out though. A photo of a stone wall may have the straight lines the builders put in the wall, but the stone texture and color will have the randomness of Nature. Photos can have aspects of man and of Nature, but each should reflect its own origins. Look for anything that defies its origins. See straight lines or repetition in nature? See randomness in a manmade object? These are clues that something may be wrong.

In previous writing I defined graphic design as “…the applied art of selecting, creating and arranging marks on a surface to communicate a message.” Some of the photos in the news right now are showing that photojournalists have been taking lessons from graphic designers. They are selecting, creating and arranging their photos in order to better communicate a message.

Other relevant writing:
Altered Reality

In an era where imagery is everything, an honest portrayal of events is key.

PhotoShop Tutorials

PhotoShop

The trick is in making the image scream when it tells the truth, but whisper when it lies.