Techniques of Fakery
There are six basic techniques of faking a photo, none of which are mutually exclusive.

1: Inserting details. This includes placing an element from one photo into another to create a composite image, reproducing a detail of the photo by cloning it, superimposing an image onto another, or drawing-in details.

2: Deleting details. This is usually done by extending background elements over the unwanted detail. Or one can crop out the unwanted detail.

3: Manipulating elements within the photo. For instance, one can adjust the color, resize details, or rotate or move details.

4: falsifying the caption. (In a sense, every fake photo has been falsely captioned.)

5: Staging the scene. This is considered fakery particularly when it occurs in photojournalism. Varieties of staging a scene include using models and cutouts and inserting a prop into the scene.

6: Taking a photo at a trick angle. The most common example of this is the use of forced perspective.


Themes


Time Periods
hoax photo database

Thumbnail Gallery: Present-1840
The Hoax Photo Database catalogs examples of photo fakery throughout the history of photography. Included in the database are photos that are "real," but which have been suspected of being fake, as well as images whose veracity remains undetermined. The images are listed here in reverse-chronological order (you can also view them in chronological order, 1840 to the present). They are categorized by theme, technique of fakery, and time period. Other Viewing Options: Full Text Mode: Present-1840 or 1840-Present


The Ultimate Houseboat

2014



Orphaned Syrian Boy Sleeping Between his Parents’ Graves.

Jan 2014



Giant Squid in Santa Monica

2014



Long Exposure of a Tree Struck by Lightning

2013



Snow-Covered Sphinx

2013



Santa’s Identity Revealed

Dec 2013



Jennifer Aniston gets a buzzcut

2013



Paris Hilton Says ‘Stop Being Poor’

Nov 2013



Cow on hood of car

Jan 2013



Fairy Pools

Oct 2013



What happens when lightning strikes sand

2013



Digital Glitch Furniture

2013



Fireworks Over Europe

2013



Angry Koala

2012



Japanese Moon Melon

2012


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