staged

The Baffling Allure of Staged Photos in Photography Competitions

Ah, the world of photography – where the line between candid images and artfully contrived scenes grows increasingly hazy. It’s as if the debate about staged photos and their place in photography competitions never quite loses its luster. But wait, we’ve got another gem to share: the revelation of a prize-winning staged photograph in yet another photography competition.

The Library of Fake ‘Travel Photos’ in Asia

Finally, it’s arrived! A tool to help the world’s photography competition judges work out if the “travel” images they are judging are real or not! Yep, this is the first library of fake travel photos focusing on people photography in Asia. You’re welcome!

I Photograph Birds in My Backyard by Setting Up Stages

Last year I joined my local photography club. The club holds regular competitions and I was amazed by the quality of the bird and wildlife photographs. I've never been much of a natural history photographer. So it's not surprising that my own photographs did very poorly in competitions.

The Winning Photo of the $120K HIPA Prize Was Apparently Staged

The prestigious Hamdan International Photography Award (HIPA) has announced its 2019 winners, and Malaysian photographer Edwin Ong Wee Kee won the $120,000 Grand Prize with a photo shot in Vietnam showing a mother carrying two children. But the win is proving controversial today after a behind-the-scenes photo revealed that the shot was apparently staged.

Why Does Controversy Follow World Press Photo?

Another year and another controversy for World Press Photo. This year, photographer Ramin Talaie raised questions about the authenticity of Hossein Fatemi who took 2nd place in long-term projects with his An Iranian Journey.

Eyes of the Afghan Girl: A Critical Take on the ‘Steve McCurry Scandal’

I will begin by saying that my intention is not to attack Steve McCurry or defame him in any manner. It is only an attempt to clear certain facts that have come to light regarding his work and to also raise certain questions on aspects that may or may not have been missed, but certainly have not been expressed till now... at least not publicly.

I Built a Fake Elevator for a Portrait Project

My name is Dirk Hardy. I'm a 27-year-old Dutch photographer currently based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. For the past eighteen months, I worked on a personal project called Void. After having lived and worked in New York City for six months a few years back, I developed an obsession for the elevator.

Photographer Recreates Stories From Famous Artists’ Lives Through Their Eyes

Wouldn't it be interesting if we had snapshots through the eyes of famous artists throughout history? The images could reveal things they saw, worked on, and were inspired by.

Italian photographer Dan Bannino just finished a new project titled "The Eye of the Artist" in which he recreates scenes of the lives of art masters... as seen through their eyes.

World Press Photo And Its Credibility Issue

“World Press Photo is committed to supporting and advancing high standards in photojournalism and documentary photography worldwide.”

That's what the "About The Foundation" page on the World Press Photo says. Now follow this timeline of recent events.

World Press Photo Stands By Its Decision for Award Despite Town’s Protests

We shared last week that the Belgian town of Charleroi was protesting after a series of photos casting it in a bad light was awarded 1st prize at the prestigious World Press Photo contest. According to the town's mayor, Italian photographer Giovanni Troilo had gone out of his way to stage shots for the purpose of painting the city as "The Dark Heart of Europe."

Today, after investigating the claims against the photographer, World Press Photo announced that it will be sticking by its decision on the controversial award.

Town Accuses Photographer of Staging His Shots That Won World Press Photo

Charleroi is a town of about 200,000 people in Belgium that has fallen upon some tough times in recent years due to increases in unemployment, poverty, and crime. Italian photojournalist Giovanni Troilo pointed his lens at the city last year, capturing a gloomy photo essay titled "The Dark Heart of Europe." The images were recently awarded 1st prize at the prestigious World Press Photo contest in the Contemporary Issues category.

The contest, which already got a black eye after 20% of the finalists were disqualified for unethical photo editing, has another messy problem on its hands: the town is accusing Troilo of staging his winning photos.

The First Hoax Photograph Ever Shot

The mid-1800s was a busy time for photographic firsts. In 1838, daguerreotype inventor Louis Daguerre captured the first ever photo of a human being. One year later, in 1839, photograph pioneer Robert Cornelius stepped in front of his camera and created the first self-portrait. 1840 held yet another interesting development: the first hoax photograph.

Obama Reenactment of bin Laden Speech for Press Photos Stirs Controversy

You might not know this, but virtually all of the still photographs you've seen in the press showing President Obama announcing the death of Osama bin Laden are staged photographs. Reuters photographer Jason Reed wrote an interesting behind-the-scenes blog post on Monday, explaining:

As President Obama continued his nine-minute address in front of just one main network camera, the photographers were held outside the room by staff and asked to remain completely silent. Once Obama was off the air, we were escorted in front of that teleprompter and the President then re-enacted the walk-out and first 30 seconds of the statement for us.

Apparently this has been standard practice during Presidential speeches at the White House for quite some time, and is meant to prevent the noise of camera shutters from interrupting the televised address. Despite the fact that news organizations try to disclose the nature of the photos in the captions, the fact that these photos are staged doesn't sit well with some folks.

Photographer Cries Wolf? Contest-Winning Shot Allegedly Staged

Spanish photographer José Luis Rodriguez recently received the prestigious winning title as the Veolia Environment Wildlife photographer of the year, along with £10,000 (about $20,000 $16,000) in prize money for his image, Storybook Wolf.  The photograph depicts a rare, Iberian wolf hopping a fence to enter a corral where the photographer had placed meat to attract the animal.