BILDMANIPULERING

There are pictures almost everywhere. Regardless
of our wishes, we are constantly confronted
with numerous visual impressions. We see
pictures in public places, on tv, at the cinema,
in books, newspapers and periodicals, on
various types of packaging and in many other
contexts as well. Never before have we had
access and been exposed to – or the victims of
– as many pictures as exist today. It is obvious,
and perhaps a good thing, that all pictures are
not salient at every separate occasion. Many
actually drown in the general media noise.
Concurrent with the rapid development of
computers and computer programmes is the
growing risk that pictures – particularly photographs
– will lose their traditional credibility
as it becomes easier to manipulate them as
well as our perception of their contents. It is
often impossible to see whether a picture is
manipulated or authentic. The present study
discusses different aspects of the concept of
picture manipulation. What does it mean to
manipulate and to be manipulated? What
does manipulation imply? Can we trust pictures
that claim to mirror real events and developments?
Are published pictures distorted
and arranged so as to serve certain purposes?
In what ways can pictures be manipulated?
Picture manipulation implies the improper
86
PICTURE MANIPULATION
A Summary
Rune Pettersson
control of people's perception of a given reality
through the use of pictures. This improper
control can occur in various ways.
One way does not involve changing any
picture element. People's perception of reality
can be influenced and steered in a desired
direction through well-considered selection
of pictures, careful trimming as well as leading
captions. By changing certain picture elements
in order to alter picture contents, one
can affect people's perception of the reality the
picture appears to depict.
Every published picture has been subject to
selection, not just once, but on several occasions
before being published in a book,
newspaper or other medium. Different people
perceive and describe a given event in different
ways. Photographers, journalists, editors
and graphic designers have different priorities
and make separate selections. This means
that readers and viewers have completely different
opportunities to interpret what has actually
happened in connection with a given event.
Conscious and perhaps even unconscious
deception, falsification and manipulation of
pictures – through tampering, biased selection
or improper captions – occur rather often,
resulting in readers being manipulated, deluded
and misled. Readers are seldom or never
Rune Pettersson, Ph.D, is Professor of Information Design at Mälardalen University, Eskilstuna, Sweden. He
is Past President of the International Visual Literacy Association, IVLA, Vice President of the International
Institute of Information Design, IIID, and Adjunct Professor at Appalachian State University in the US.