FRAV

When I first started photography as a hobby, the rules for exhibitions were simple - The photo I entered was a picture that was not altered in any fashion. Today with the software available it is possible to "adjust" or enhance any or all of the original exposure. The sky can be changed from clear, blue daylight to a dark and stormy evening.
Items can be added and or subtracted etc etc.
What are the standards for entering a photo in a contest / exhibition when it is not explicitly stated? Are there ethics that govern what we do - or has photography turned into a new art form where anything goes as long as it is pleasing or interesting?
Just something I have been wrestling with and would like some thoughts.

Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA

When you say not altered in any fashion, how was the film developed?

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I took a black & white film class, with darkroom work, in 1989. I can assure you we manipulated a whole lot

If there is a contest where "anything goes" in all categories, and you're not comfortable, just don't enter. But I think you'll find that there aren't many with no rules.

From past threads on UHH, the ethics you struggle with seem to be mostly about deceit vs. disclosure. Many postings here will state in the opening if significant changes were made. Learning/teaching from sharing, in other words.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

To me using an editor on digital images is no different than darkroom work on film & paper. I can simply do SO much more with digital and much more easily now.
I only had a B&W darkroom, so I love being able to adjust color images!
While watching TV yet!

No more darkroom chemical prep & setup and tear down.

No more dodging, burning, masking ...oops, get another piece of paper... try again.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Every contest has its own rules. If an exhibition does not publish rules, I would interpret that as anything goes. But most exhibitions I encounter have some restrictions (although I do not pay much attention any more). Are the exhibitions judged by real experienced photographers, or are they just voted on by the observers, who may be anyone (and the possibility of bias is significant)?

And in the film days, how would the judges know if it was altered in some way? Certainly adding and subtracting elements was more difficult but not impossible back then. And brightness/contrast was done easily in the darkroom. Did your contests require that the photos be developed and printed by a commercial lab? They would take instructions from the customer if it was a single print, maybe not if it was a whole roll.

Can you pinpoint the time when you were entering exhibitions previously?

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

As for "What is photography?" people seem to forget how much darkroom manipulation was done by that guy Ansel. Those folks (presumably over age 50) also seem to dismiss the fact that a jpeg can be manipulated significantly in the camera - no computer editing needed. There are all kinds of choices in today's digital cameras for sharpness, contrast, color saturation and more.

Many hobbies (and their tools) have changed over the past 30 years. Just do what makes you happy and hang out with those who agree with your own pov

BebuLamar

If it's not stated then enter anything you want. Otherwise it has to be in the contest rules. But then contest and photography don't have to go together.
If you asked me what I think as photography? You must record the light... after that you can alter them all you want. You can't simply paint because you didn't record the light or use computer generated graphics without a light capture.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

BebuLamar

The reason they didn't think about it because most never did it themselves. They had someone did it for them and scratched their head why the pictures weren't what they want.....

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

There are ethics in photojournalism such that photos should not be manipulated. Unfortunately they do not cover the simple manipulation of turning the camera away from or toward something.

Louis Daguerre announced the invention of photography before the French Academy of Science on January 9th 1839. The photo below of the Boulevard du Temple was taken previously by Daguerre and shown as an example of the process. Notice the man standing with his leg up having his shoe shinned. He and the person shining his shoe are in the photo. The dozens of other pedestrians, carriages and horses that were there at the time are not in the photo. There's all kinds of ways to manipulate a photo. In this which can arguably be offered as the first official photograph do we say it's manipulated because dozens of people and even horses have been taken out?

From this photo on photographs have been manipulated in so many ways it would take a book to document.

What does "altered" apply to in a photo? Adding/removing things? What things? I just posted a photo this morning of new apples on the tree in my garden: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-699353-1.html#12291536 I posted it below. When I take closeups I often trip the shutter using the self-timer. I swear in that photo between my activating the timer and the shutter release a small insect landed on the top apple. I removed it. Altered? I also removed some of the more unsightly spots. Oh and I flipped the photo horizontally because the composition works better that way. So is my photo altered? I applied a pretty strong vignette to the photo -- is that altering it? Even after the vignette that top leaf was just too bright so I burned it down -- is that altering the photo?

Good luck drawing the line.

(Download)

L-Fox

Photography is the step that transforms my observations into my visions.

BebuLamar

With Linda's post about most people didn't think about post processing done in the film era I have a thought. Although I don't see it lately but I used to see posts complaining about shooting digital you have to sit down on your computer and do the PP while in the film days you can just send off your film and get your prints back in a week or so. I thought of a service to do just that. You shoot the raw files on your memory card. Send it to us then we will pp the raw files the best way we think (remember we think not you think just like the film days) and then print them and send them back to you.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

This is a truly awesome insight, Larry. Thank you!!

UHH main discussion forum is bereft of topics regarding the importance of:
Emotion
Light
Composition
Creativity
Timing
Context
Layers

From https://photographylife.com/whats-important-in-a-photograph-and-what-isnt

.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Love it