Photographic Theory VDES 36084
Major Assignment Part #1: Literature Review
Adrian Resendes
Heather Morton
November 11th 2021
Literature Review: Ethics and Synthetic Imagery
Synthetic Imagery has existed, and impacted photography and image making since its
inception and continues to today. As a result of this there have been many ethical issues that have
arisen. These ethical questions continue to present themselves as this technology advances at an
extremely rapid rate. When the medium of photography was first invented it fundamentally
changed the world forever. It was also regarded as the most objective or truthful medium as
opposed to the more standard mediums before like painting. This resulted in those didn’t yet
have the visual literacy to think that whatever was being depicted in a photograph was the
complete truth. However, in regards to this idea Popova states that photos were being
manipulated and altered for a variety of different reasons long before the invention of more
advanced editing techniques and digital software. 1 Many people falsely assume that photography
made before the widespread introduction of digital image editing software, is more truthful as the
options for manipulation were much more limited and difficult. Although it was more difficult
and time consuming this assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. A variety of different
techniques such as dodging and burning as well as the layering of multiple exposures or
1
Popova, M. (2015, September 18). Faking it: A visual history of 150 years of image manipulation before
Photoshop.
negatives to create a new image, were used. Some of the manipulated photos at that time as
Popova points out were artful and clearly not meant to be perceived as reality, while others were
made in response to political and social issues and many thought them to be truthful.2 An iconic
example of a piece of pre digital photo manipulation software political propaganda would be
Stalin removing his water commissar from a group photo after he was arrested and shot for
treasonous behavior3. This photo was made through a process of dodging and burning as well as
combining multiple exposures. Another example is the lithographic portrait of 16th President
Abraham Lincoln which was Lincolns head composited on top of politician John Calhoun’s
body.4 Writer Andy Polaine talks about how early synthetic and or doctored images had a
profound effect of story telling just like they still do today.5Polaine describes the 1917 Cottingley
Fairies Hoax which was when two girls borrowed one of their fathers cameras and created a
series of photographs which depicted them in a garden surrounded by fairies. Their father at the
time thought the photos were an innocent joke but many people at the time including the two
girls mother believed the fairies in the photo to be real. Modern viewers now can obviously tell
that the photos are manipulated now and don’t actually depict real life fairies but peoples visual
knowledge and literacy at the time was not like ours today. Photography has had to face many
ethical questions regarding the manipulation of images long before digital editing applications
and now with more advanced synthetic imaging techniques.
2
Popova, M. (2015, September 18). Faking it: A visual history of 150 years of image manipulation before
Photoshop.
3 Polaine, A. (2019, October 8). Design in the age of synthetic realities
4 Polaine, A. (2019, October 8). Design in the age of synthetic realities
5 Polaine, A. (2019, October 8). Design in the age of synthetic realities
Some would argue that after the invention of the camera or 35mm film, Photoshop
revolutionized photography as well as the way we view our world and many other aspects of our
everyday lives. It democratized and simplified photo manipulation as well as the creation of
synthetic imagery. This is similar to the invention of small handheld 35mm cameras and film
which enabled more people to utilize the medium of photography and allowed for more
spontaneous shooting. However, alongside the many positive and groundbreaking applications
that the introduction of photoshop provided there have been many ethical concerns surrounding
things like its use in photojournalistic work, its overuse in commercial advertising images and its
effects on mental health and body image. Similar to early pre digital photo manipulation, the
majority of the general public lacked the knowledge and literacy to know that the majority of
images they may come across in their day to day life are likely somewhat or often times heavily
edited and don’t accurately represent reality. Now this isn’t necessarily the case as people are
more aware of how widespread thus use of photoshop is, but there are still consequences of this
regardless. Photoshops effect on mental health and body image issues has been especially
prevalent amongst young people. In an attempt to combat this and change the way people think
about and utilize photoshop a set of rules and guidelines was created writes Katherine Schwab. 6
These guidelines were created fourteen years ago and were called The Retouchers Accord. The
accord focuses on moving away from heavily retouching or totally changing female models
bodies as well as the idea that image manipulation in product design needs to be changed too.
Similar to image manipulation with people, when products are heavily retouched and edited it
creates a false fantasy that people find themselves believing in. The retouchers accord Schwab
says is made up of 5 key points and guidelines which are “I pledge to bring attention to my
6
Schwab, Katherine (2017).
membership in the Retouchers Accord”, “I pledge to fuel a dialog about social impact, diversity,
and ethnicity with each and every client or partner”, “I pledge to improve and build upon my
knowledge of retouching techniques that are more authentic on a daily basis” , “I pledge to
practice integrity and empathy in image making in order to lead by example and “I pledge to
advance the understanding of healthy body image throughout the industry and in general public
awareness.”7. Schwab says that the accord is largely a symbolic gesture and relies heavily on a
fundamental change in the way corporations and brands approach branding but it is still a step in
the right direction in terms of the ethical issues regarding photoshop nonetheless.
Photo manipulation software like photoshop forever changed our relationship with
images and photography as a whole. Many people believe that the next revolution on this scale in
synthetic imagery and manipulation will be with synthetic media technologies that involve
artificial intelligence and GAN (generative adversarial network) technology. These technologies
will and have already started to change the way images are used and created in commercial,
creative as well as political applications in both promising positive and frightening negative
ways. Clearly as these kinds of technology advances more and more ethical issues will arise and
will have to be tackled with policy and education amongst the general public. One of the positive
applications of artificial intelligence based synthetic imagery is in commercial and advertising.
GAN based technology are a form of artificial intelligence learning that pits two neural networks
against each other to evolve synthetic images 8. In simple terms this means that GANs can create
highly realistic images that don’t and never have existed in the real world. In commercial
applications this means designers can do things like coordinate entire “photoshoots” or sets of
7
8
Schwab, Katherine (2017).
Polaine, A. (2019,).
images without having to actually shoot anything in the conventional sense meaning they can
save a lot of money in terms of things generally required in production costs. The question that
arises from this is whether or not its ethical for images that are created solely through artificial
intelligence to sell and advertise physical products. Another commercial and creative application
that has become increasingly popular in movies and TV shows has been the use of deep fakes to
make certain actors are act and appear on screen. One of the biggest and earliest commercial uses
for this to date is Disney bringing back Star Wars characters like Princess Leia and Grand Moff
Tarkin on to the big screen once again, even after the original actors are long deceased at this
point.9 According to Polaine, Deep Fakes make use of crossing the inputs and outputs of GAN
training networks to swap faces, meaning they map the style of one original input and apply it to
another 10. Deepfake and GAN technology allow users to swap faces or other features onto
different subjects and mimic their mannerisms as well as potentially making them do or say
anything they want. As with any groundbreaking technology such as this certain groups have
decided to use it for more nefarious purposes such as fake news, political propaganda, and black
mail. Opposition or trolls against a certain political figure could create deepfake videos or photos
of that figure saying something outright false or potentially dangerous to create chaos and tarnish
the reputation of that figure. Using this technology this way is a highly advanced modern day
version of Stalin’s removal of his water commissar from a portrait of his. This technology has
already been used with US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Director Jordan Peele
created a PSA with the publication Buzzfeed about the dangers of Deep Fakes using president
Obama to illustrate how realistic they can appear and how potential enemies could exploit this
9
Brown, J. (2021)
Polaine, A. (2019)
10
for their own gain.11 Another nefarious use of deepfake and GAN technology that similarly
effects everyday young women like other synthetic imagery technologies are deepfake websites
like DeepSukebe. DeepSukebe is a website that uses an advanced AI algorithm that allows users
of the sites to upload personal photos or photos they may find on social media of women to the
site where the algorithm will use GAN technology to remove the clothes off the subject and
make it look like they are posing nude. This is highly problematic for obvious reasons and with
this kind of technology advancing at an increasingly rapid rate it won’t be long before these
photos are very difficult to differentiate between a real life photo of someone and an AI
generated deepfake nude photo. Journalist Ben Wodecki reports on how policy makers have tried
to stop these kind of sites and behavior 12. Maria Miller is a British member of parliament who
wants all sites like DeepSukebe to be shut down permanently as she believes it should be an
offence to distribute sexual images online without the consent of all parties especially with this
new deepfake technology and websites. A more positive and practical use of GAN based
technology is currently being used in medical based photography. A study conducted by Tae
Keun Yoo, Joon Yul Choi & Hong Kyu Kim found that a GAN model was able to quickly and
automatically remove artifacts or image degradations such as overall haze, lashes, and uneven
illumination from fundus medical photographs. 13This allows doctors to more quickly and
accurately diagnose and then treat patients based off the findings from their photos.
11
Polaine, A. (2019)
Wodecki, B. (2021)
13 Yoo, T.K., Choi, J.Y. & Kim, H.K. (2020)
12