Let’s assume that this picture appears on the front page of the daily newspaper and below it is the headline “Large  demonstration in Venice“. We are obviously in Venice, as the palazzi in the background show. The photo could have been taken near the Rialto Bridge. We see a lot of people standing close together. So everything is fine, isn’t it?

What do we really see?

To say it in advance: Yes, the picture was taken in Venice at the Rialto Bridge. But it only shows the normal flow of visitors on a weekend during Carnival.

In combination with a text like “Large demonstration in Venice” however, it is implied that regular crowds of people can be seen here. In fact, however, apart from the people on the stairs at the top right of the image, only 14 different people are really recognizable. Since the people on the left and right of the picture are cropped, you can’t tell how far the “crowds” actually extend to the right and left. And since the shot was taken at about shoulder height of the man in the foreground, the view into the depth of the picture is also obscured. So it could be that there are many more people hiding behind the ones actually visible. Or not. But our brain completes the missing information without any problems and comes to the conclusion that there are actually a lot of people to be seen here.

A little story from pre-digital times

Since the example above may sound a bit theoretical, I’d like to share a little story I’ve experienced myself.

When I was still an employee at an aerospace company in Bremen, Germany, I came into the staff kitchen one day to prepare myself a tea. As I did so, I heard loud shouting from outside. Looking out of the window, which was facing the main gate of the company, I saw a group of about 40 to 50 people with banners and a man with a megaphone.

The background: At that time, fuselage center parts for Tornado fighter jets were produced in the plant. People gathered in front of the factory gate and demonstrated against arms production in Bremen.

So far, this is not remarkable. However, when I opened the Weser Kurier (THE daily newspaper in Bremen) the next morning, I saw a photo similar to the cover photo for this article. You could see the backs of some people and a few banners. Underneath was the headline, you guessed it, “Large demonstration at MBB”.

Was it really the same event that I had observed from the tea kitchen? Yes, it was! A small group of scattered opponents of armaments had gathered in front of the factory gate and then became a large demonstration overnight …

This was only possible because the photo was cleverly taken (cropped right and left, shot from shoulder height, see above) and then provided with a suitable text (Large demonstration).

So a picture can lie without any digital manipulation at all.

Image and reality

A photo never shows reality. At best, it shows a section of reality. Even in the choice of the image detail, the photographer determines what he shows the viewer and, perhaps even more importantly, what he does not show. But of course that is not all. The photographer’s personal ideas and world view always factor into the picture. One would rather show the beauty of the world, the other the misery, the third perhaps only the funny moments of life.

Perhaps most important, however, is the context in which a photograph is used. One and the same image can thus support two diametrically opposed theories.

As usual, I’m looking forward to your thoughts and comments on this topic.