The Portland Metro Photographic News

  A commentary by Tom Hubbard

World Press Photo Takes A Stand For Truth In Photojournalism

The esteemed, Amsterdam-based World Press Photo has announced its request for submissions for its 2010 photojournalism contest with a new requirement.

Rule 15: The content of the image must not be altered. Only retouching which conforms to currently accepted standards in the industry is allowed. The jury is the ultimate arbiter of these standards and may at its discretion request the original, unretouched file as recorded by the camera or an untoned scan of the negative or slide.

This new rule marks a milestone in digital imaging for photojournalists.  It's a "stake in the ground" for defining the acceptable limitations of digital retouching in a journalistic environment.  A new "worldwide" definition that will be noticed throughout the photographic industry.

Last year 5,508 photographers in 124 countries submitted their images for the prestigious World Press Photo Contest.  This year each photographer must be aware of the amount of retouching contained in their submissions.

It's an old debate, but one that has come to the foreground since the advent of digital photography and the introduction of sophisticated digital enhancement software.  It's much easier to manipulate and alter the camera's "reality" than ever before.

The definition provided by World Press Photo in Rule 15 is not very specific and definitely open to interpretation.  In the words of World Press Director, Michiel Munneke, "'We realise that by using the phrase 'currently accepted standards in the industry', we leave room for interpretation. This is because there is a need for further flexibility. The definition of manipulation for a portrait, for example, is not necessarily the same as for a hard news picture."

But, it appears the organization is seeking to limit image manipulation to the accepted journalistic processing operations practiced in the 20th century, traditional "wet" darkroom.

• Cropping
• "Dust busting"
• Lighten/Darken
• Contrast Control

The inclusion of Rule 15 is obviously an attempt to return photojournalism to its respected roots as a pure documentary process -- presenting reality as the photographer and camera saw the event unfold without introducing creative post-processing alterations.  It was this unstated "no image alteration" rule among news gathering organizations that provided photojournalism with a solid foundation of credibility throughout the 20th century.

In the words of World Press Photo's Director, Michiel Munneke, "'We realise that by using the phrase "currently accepted standards in the industry", we leave room for interpretation. This is because there is a need for further flexibility. The definition of manipulation for a portrait, for example, is not necessarily the same as for a hard news picture."

As digital photo manipulation became easier for photographers to perform, its inevitable that image alteration would become a common, accepted practice.  For some segments of the photography industry this makes total sense.

Providing these digital tools to commercial and wedding/portrait photographers enhances their photography, affords customers with more photographic options and opens new creative avenues.  Although image manipulation can be used in excess, even in these photography categories, overall the advancement has been positive.  The result has been a digital expansion of the tool kit that today's photographer have at their disposal.

For photojournalism, the result hasn't been as positive.  Recent history is full of stories of media manipulation of photographic images.  For those who rely on the accuracy and credibility of the media, the question that surfaces is, "What's real?"  This must have been the ethical dilemma that faced World Press Photo.

Kudos to World Press Photo for taking a stand for realism in photojournalism -- and putting it in writing.  As their rule committee contemplated the 2010 contest, World Press Photo has decided to take a very public stand and come down on the side of pure documentary/journalistic photography. 

That's a good thing for the media and their readers.

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Submissions to the 2010 World Press Photo Contest are now being accepted from photojournalist around the world.  The deadline for entry images is January 14, 2010.

Visit the World Press Photo website for more information. 

About World Press Photo:

Our mission is to encourage high professional standards in photojournalism and to promote a free and unrestricted exchange of information. World Press Photo aims to support professional press photography on a wide international scale. Promotional activities include an annual contest, exhibitions, the stimulation of photojournalism through educational programs, and creating greater visibility for press photography through a variety of publications.

World Press Photo is run as an independent, non-profit organization with its office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where World Press Photo was founded in 1955.

The organization is controlled both by an independent executive board and a supervisory board, and employs around 25 permanent staff. The Amsterdam office acts as the hub for a network of professional contacts worldwide - it is this network that makes organizing the contest, exhibitions and other activities on such a large scale possible.