FAQ 7 - Subject Manipulation
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701. How does TTG define “subject manipulation”?
“Subject manipulation” is defined as broadly as possible on this website.
The term refers to any human-related action — intentional or accidental — that affects in any way the subject depicted in a photograph, whether that action is performed by the photographer, by the subject, or by someone else, regardless of whether the manipulation is “for the camera” or not.
Basically, almost everything other than (1) open ocean, (2) virgin wilderness, and (3) contrail-free/satellite-free skies could qualify as “subject-manipulated” under the definition that TTG uses.
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702. Why does this website use such a broad definition of “subject manipulation”?
Because it isn’t worth fussing over the nuances of individual differences in definition.
Viewers care about not being deceived by “inapparent circumstances” more than they care about small differences in how the term “subject manipulation” is defined.
Photograph and manipulation are also defined broadly on this website.
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703. Is it correct to say that no photograph is ever disqualified from TTG because of what was done to the subject?
Yes, that is correct.
No photograph of any three-dimensional subject is ever disqualified from TTG because of how the subject was manipulated, controlled, posed, guided, or directed. More on this
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704. Does P8 mean that every photograph that meets P1–P7 can qualify as TTG if it is explained well enough to viewers?
Yes, every photograph that isn’t TTG-ineligible and that meets P1 through P7 can be explained well enough to meet P8.
If the photo goes on to meet P9, the photo can qualify for the TTG label.
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705. How does a TTG photographer alert viewers to inapparent circumstances?
The shortest way to do is with use of the TTG-IC version of the label (as stipulated in P8), often fleshed out with additional description or explanation.
More on the “TTG-IC” label
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706. Why doesn’t TTG simply disqualify photographs in which the subject was manipulated in any way?
Because that would not be realistic, especially when “subject manipulation” is defined as broadly as it is on this website (see #701).
More
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707. Does TTG’s broad definition of “subject manipulation” mean that many news and information-reportage photographs have undergone subject manipulation as TTG defines it?
Yes it does (although the subjects were not necessarily manipulated “for the camera” per se).
As it says in #701 above, almost everything other than (1) open ocean, (2) virgin wilderness, and (3) contrail-free/satellite-free skies could qualify as “subject-manipulated” under the broad definition that TTG uses
. . . and most news and information-reportage photos are of subjects other than these three things.
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708. Can’t a distinction be made between subjects that were manipulated “for the camera” and subjects that were not?
No. It is often impossible to make that distinction in the 21st century, because there is much more awareness than before that almost any subject anywhere might be photographed anytime.
In other words, countless things we see every day were deliberately manipulated to improve the way they look, and the person(s) who manipulated them were not unaware that many of those things might be photographed.
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709. But why are attitudes toward subject manipulation different in the 21st century than in earlier times?
Because there weren’t cameras everywhere in the past.
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710. What is the difference between “posed” photos (which do not need the TTG-IC label) vs. “staged” photos (which do need the TTG-IC label)?
Both kinds of photos are “set up” for the camera, but for TTG:
“Posed” — Viewers can immediately see that the subject was set up for the camera, so the photo does not need the TTG-IC version of the label (unless there’s something else about the photo that warrants a TTG-IC).
“Staged” — Viewers cannot immediately see what they would want to know about “set up” aspects of the photo, so the photo does need the TTG-IC version of the label.
This is also in the Key.
Are selfies eligible for the TTG label?
The numbering of the FAQ questions will not change — any new questions are added at the bottom and given new numbers — so users can safely make a link to any specific question.