Spring Checklist
Brush Up On Ethics • Step Up
Your Game
By George D. Lepp & Kathryn Vincent LeppAltered Reality & Ethics In
Nature Photography
There’s a question we hear a lot these days;
it goes something like this: “I enjoy par-
ticipating in photo competitions and have
been fairly successful. Some colleagues
maintain I could improve my competitive-
ness by employing post-capture manipu-
lations, such as adding subjects and color,
to make my photographs more artistic.
Because I consider myself to be a nature
photographer, I’m troubled by the idea of
manipulating images in that way. What’s
the standard you recommend?”
There are at least two answers. My own
standard, and one that’s usually applied
in major competitions where I serve as a
judge, is that post-capture processing is
an essential part of digital photography,
particularly when images are captured
in RAW format. To achieve the most
perfect possible representation of real-
ity, images can be adjusted for sharpness
and detail, dynamic range, white balance
and gamut, basic composition (cropping),
and removal of extraneous debris, such as
random sticks and reflections. The key is
to avoid misrepresentation of the environ-
ment or the subject.
So, for example, substitution of a cloud-
filled blue sky or magnificent sunset for the
actual gloomy overcast, adding or remov-
ing a subject, or removal of evidence of
captivity for a wildlife subject, wouldn’t be
OK. In a previous column, we wrote about
various AI programs that can be applied to
digital scans of film originals to improve
resolution, color and grain structure quality
far beyond what could be achieved in the
film days and that also improve today’s
digital captures. In my opinion, post-cap-
ture or in-camera focus-stacking or HDR
compositing are also appropriate in that
they improve the image’s representation
of reality. For me, such advances aren’t
violations of ethical standards for nature
photography, although not all contest orga-
nizers incorporate them into their rules.
The second answer, and one that’s
increasingly popular with contests, is a
category of entry that embraces artistic
alteration of original images, called in
some instances “Alternate Reality.” One
ironic example of in-camera application of
alternate reality would be black-and-white
film. It doesn’t really matter that, at one
point in the evolution of photography, it
was the only option. It was, nonetheless,
not an explicit representation of the subject
being photographed.
Today, alternate realities in photogra-
phy also could be likened to creating an
oil painting from a snapshot. From that
essential beginning, apply color, design,
softening, new elements or any other aspect
the artist wants to employ. It’s not a literal
depiction of nature but rather an expression
of the artist’s vision. I love judging this
category because there I can appreciate
the artistry and imagination of the pho-
tographer without concern for the origins
of the image.
But for those of us who are fascinated by
the behavior of a hummingbird, and who
want to depict it in all its actual beauty and
mystery for others to see and experience,
altered reality isn’t the answer. Reality—
accurately, honestly and compellingly con-
veyed—is the key for us.
And there’s where another element of
judgment comes into play. It involves the
origin of an image, which is really about
the ethics of capture, particularly in wildlife
subjects. This is an evolving concept, onethat evokes much discussion and some-
times, especially on social media, sham-
ing of photographers who are perceived to
have violated current standards. It’s at the
essence of the integrity of the photograph
and the photographer—and a frequent
topic of discussion among contest judges
when evaluating entries. Because deception
seems to be at the heart of our culture these
days, astute judges look at every entry from
the perspectives not only of quality, artistry
and uniqueness but also credibility. And
so I’ll take this opportunity to put forth,
once again, my standards for the origin
of wildlife photographs because when it
comes to talking about photography, my
goal always has been to educate.
First, become informed about your
potential subjects. When you see them
in the wild, take the time to observe their
behavior and their response to you and other
humans before you begin photographing.
Employ equipment appropriate to the sub-
ject and that, most critically, allows you to
photograph from a distance that’s safe for
the subject and for you. Don’t press, entrap
or invade the space of your subjects; no
photograph is worth causing them stress,
reckless flight or abandonment of their nest
or young. Don’t patronize institutions that
confine, breed or exploit “wild” animals;
look up the definition of the words “game”
and “farm.” In addition to the exploitation
of these animals for gain, the photographs
that result when captive animals are posed
in natural-looking settings establish a false
standard of what’s possible and acceptable
when actually photographing in the wild.
Reject the rationalization often offered by
game farm photography proponents that
working there is “educational.”
As another alternative to working intech tips
26 Outdoor Photographer outdoorphotographer.com