Generally speaking, an undoctored photograph is a photo that shows “nothing other than what the camera lens saw at the moment the picture was taken” (as judged by rinairs; no photo can exactly depict a real-world scene). Undoctored photos need not be completely unaltered.

The formal definition of “undoctored”:

Photographs are considered “undoctored” only:

1) when they undergo no changes other than TTG’s Allowable Changes

AND

2) when the combined result of any Allowable Changes that are made meets P7.

The formal definition of “doctored” is the reverse

This formal definition is not arbitrary, unlike a lot of the definitions floating around out there:

• The #1 part of the definition reflects a worldwide consensus.

• The #2 part of the definition is based on the standards of the world’s largest providers of trusted photographs.