A Reassessment of the Veracity of Photographs

Because computer generated images—along with those captured by digital cameras and other digital processes—can be easily manipulated and used as evidence of the real world, they challenge the trustworthiness of all photography. Thus challenged, the high degree of veracity long ascribed to conventional photographs is brought directly into question and now needs to be thoroughly re-examined in the light of history. Some genres of photography, such as advertising photography, had probably lost any high levels of veracity they once held many decades ago, but a few types of photography—such as photojournalism, medical, scientific and forensic photography—still maintain levels of high veracity (truth-value) in the public understanding of photography. Such photographs are regarded as being truthful renditions of the external world—indeed, of reality itself—and much often depends on our acceptance of that notion. Once, almost all photographs were regarded as possessing high veracity and, in this regard, photography has maintained a unique position amongst visual media since its introduction over a hundred and seventy years ago. However, it is a false impression, an inaccurate perception, which allows this notion of high veracity to persist. It will be argued that this misperception lies in the nature of the seemingly ‘hands-off’ or detached production techniques of a photograph compared to other visual media—and in the way humans actually view their world.Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2010