Ethics 101: Staged Shots in Travel Photo Contests

[cgw]

You be the judge:

The Baffling Allure of Staged Photos in Photography Competitions

It seems that more and more photography competitions are being won by photographers who shoot staged and often overdone travel photos.

petapixel.com

 

[webestang64]

I won't judge but then I have never cared or entered photo contests of any kind. Here in St. Louis it's all about who you know and who you schmooze.

 

[thecoastallens]

I have often wondered why so many competition wining images look so polished and feature similar subjects, light and editing techniques. This article explains a lot and casts many wining images in another light.

Macro Insect Photography is also another area with unethical practices .

 

[John 2]

what the article doesn't address is whether there is a difference between artificially staging an event in order to photograph it and staging an activity within a genuine event in order to capture the essence of it. e.g. persuading a dance group to hold a pose showing one of their moves in order to photograph it albeit not during the actual performance as opposed staging a shot that pretends to be of a performance that doesn't actually take place. ...................................... thoughts????

 

[cgw]

what the article doesn't address is whether there is a difference between artificially staging an event in order to photograph it and staging an activity within a genuine event in order to capture the essence of it. e.g. persuading a dance group to hold a pose showing one of their moves in order to photograph it albeit not during the actual performance as opposed staging a shot that pretends to be of a performance that doesn't actually take place. ...................................... thoughts????

Posing and staging? Not the same for me. That winning photo resulted from some considerable production values. Think you'd agree. Was McCurry's famous 1984 "Afghan Girl" staged or posed?
My sense of travel photography doesn't include either but, prissiness aside, I can take posed shots that aren't painfully obvious. Still, I value impromptu, "decisive moment" shots over either form of manipulation.
But then you asked, right?

 

[VidThreeNorth]

So I guess it starts when you tell someone "Smile!"

 

[terri]

So I guess it starts when you tell someone "Smile!"

That's a pose. Not staged, with actors and someone else's staging and lighting setup.

Thumbs down on that crap. Hopefully these judges are sufficiently chagrined at falling for this poseur!

 

[VidThreeNorth]

That's a pose. Not staged, with actors and someone else's staging and lighting setup.

Thumbs down on that crap. Hopefully these judges are sufficiently chagrined at falling for this poseur!

I should have expanded on that. I see it in many cases as a continuum of possibilities. Yes, in some cases there is a clear demarcation between staged and posed, but it can be something "in between". At one end is "smile for the camera" and at the other end is, well, there is whatever you can imagine (and maybe afford).

 

[CherylL]

There was a photo winner a few years back that had a lot of talk. It was a photo of a dog standing on tall rocks inside a massive cave. It turned out it was a composite.

The St Louis paper has their travel photo contest open this month. The winner last year and the year before was the same person (if I remember correctly).

Then there was another professional photographer that held a contest. And he won! LOL

 

[JoeW]

This whole issue of "what are we judging?" is becoming more complicated as well due to sophisticated post-processing (converting a frown to a smile for instance or replacing crooked brown teeth with a white vibrant set of choppers) to cloning out distractions (another person) to even AI. There is a FB group I belong to about "Photography tricks." And some people interpret this to mean: "let me use photoshop to install a great sunset". And others argue that the post production can be minimal at best: crop, maybe sharpen, brighten or convert to B&W.

 

[cgw]

This whole issue of "what are we judging?" is becoming more complicated as well due to sophisticated post-processing (converting a frown to a smile for instance or replacing crooked brown teeth with a white vibrant set of choppers) to cloning out distractions (another person) to even AI. There is a FB group I belong to about "Photography tricks." And some people interpret this to mean: "let me use photoshop to install a great sunset". And others argue that the post production can be minimal at best: crop, maybe sharpen, brighten or convert to B&W.

Years ago, now-defunct "PopPhoto" ran an unforgettable image of two kangaroos silhoutted against a glorious sunset at Lake Titicaca. Solid gold!