Darkening of journalistic photography

[Alex Benjamin]

or just a completely intentional choice to darken the images for ideological reasons.

Yup. Possibly photographer's choice. Nothing to "fix". Live and let live.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Honestly, Alan, this is just Grumpy Old Men stuff. Photo may be too dark according to your standards, maybe perfectly exposed according to theirs. That you don't like it the way it is is fine. That you question their craftmanship and professionalism from a single photo whose exposure you happen not to like is a bit over the top.

I didn't question the photographer's skill. I defended her. I took the trouble to actually research her work and provided links to it. It showed she knows how to properly expose photographs and present them online accordingly. See my earlier post #25 copied below. I have no idea why the OP posted one of hers that is so dark, but it doesn't seem to be representative of her work. She's a very skilled and accomplished photographer.

Here's the photographer's portfolio for photojournalism. Her shots seem normal. Why not contact her and ask her why the publication messed up? Her phone number and email address are on her website.

faith ninivaggi

As seen in https://faithninivaggiphotography.com

faithninivaggiphotography.com

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

... and detail on the highlights is gone. It doesn`t matter as detail on highlights isn`t important, but the original picture was set for not loosing detail on highlights - maybe it just was some sort of auto-setting failure?

I deliberately left some of the details on the girl's shirt, the brightest part of the picture. But not all. A simple 5 second levels edit. With ten more seconds, one could have left all the details and still had a brighter picture elsewhere.

 

[Don_ih]

I have no idea why the OP posted one of hers that is so dark, but it doesn't seem to be representative of her work.

The photo isn't really representative, in either exposure or composition. But it is published by a news agency and widespread. And a number of other similar photos for similar news stories are also dark in that way. From yesterday:

looks like the photo is probably from the same batch as the one in the original post.

I said earlier that her photos seem darker going back to the election but I think it was only one example and not really dark in the same way these other ones are.

that's darkish but the exposure looks correct.

I think @warden was not really picking on that photographer specifically but on a more general trend toward less-bright photos, which I think is just a natural outcome of digital cameras + digital publication + no print media. And all we've done is pick on this photographers photo.

 

[warden]

I think @warden was not really picking on that photographer specifically but on a more general trend toward less-bright photos, which I think is just a natural outcome of digital cameras + digital publication + no print media. And all we've done is pick on this photographers photo.

Correct I'm in no way picking on the photographer, and as I said in post #1 I've been seeing this in other news outlets too from other photographers or the people that alter their images. I wasn't going to share the photographer or news outlet info initially because I didn't want it to seem that I was interested in either the photographer or this particular news organization. But it didn't feel right to share an unattributed image.

 

[Don_ih]

But it didn't feel right to share an unattributed image.

I'm glad you cited the photographer. It gives people a chance to see this photo is not the regular one you would expect.

Looking the Reuter's 2024 in pictures, you can see that there is a tendency toward more "cinematic-looking" photos - i.e., maybe you should be sitting in a dark room to view them. They're all well-exposed, though.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Correct I'm in no way picking on the photographer, and as I said in post #1 I've been seeing this in other news outlets too from other photographers or the people that alter their images. I wasn't going to share the photographer or news outlet info initially because I didn't want it to seem that I was interested in either the photographer or this particular news organization. But it didn't feel right to share an unattributed image.

Do you have the original link to the article the picture appeared in?

 

[warden]

Do you have the original link to the article the picture appeared in?

I don't see it now Alan but if you go to The Guardian the story was about Harvard and their legal situation with the federal government. The article is no more than five days old but I don't see it presently.

 

[Don_ih]

Do you have the original link to the article the picture appeared in?

Here.

 

[Harry Callahan]

I deliberately left some of the details on the girl's shirt, the brightest part of the picture. But not all. A simple 5 second levels edit. With ten more seconds, one could have left all the details and still had a brighter picture elsewhere.

I see.

The photo isn't really representative, in either exposure or composition. But it is published by a news agency and widespread. And a number of other similar photos for similar news stories are also dark in that way. From yesterday:

View attachment 396818
looks like the photo is probably from the same batch as the one in the original post.

... again it looks like someone set for not loosing highlights (though there aren`t a lot of highlights) ...

 

[Pieter12]

again it looks like someone set for not loosing highlights

You are assuming the photographer is using a Canon digital camera. I don't believe any others have such a setting.

 

[F4U]

My Nikon D 7100 camera does that which was the original complaint from the OP. Everything dark. Proof positive that technology can go too far and end up replacing that which was at it's peak (being film), and didn't need replacing. But as long as there IS film, I won't be exhausted into compliance. My D-7100 is nothing but an automated last ditch backup device for important shots, and a fair to middling exposure meter. Other than that I can say that digital photography has not improved the quality of my life one iota.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I sent the photographer an email and asked her about it. Let's see if she can settle it for us.

 

[pentaxuser]

I sent the photographer an email and asked her about it. Let's see if she can settle it for us.

Great idea, Alan, I hope she replies

Not relevant to your idea above but I was a regular reader of the Guardian during the pandemic when a large-chain grocery store in the U.K. was giving it out "free" if you spent more than a certain amount on groceries and I never noticed such a picture's darkening before. I occasionally read articles from the Guardian online and again this is the first picture that I have seen looking like this

pentaxuser

 

[Jeremy Greenaway]

Carelessness, ineptitude and ignorance on the part of the underpaid, under-experienced people who are doing things now.

Exactly! I'm heartily pissed off with the crap work that is waved in front of us by kiddywinkies lauded as tomorrow's wunderkind out of some turd-rate uni (one not far from me). NO would-be graduate from a photo-related course should leave unless they have shown their ability with analogue process, and a basic grounding in art and design - understanding perspective, both of light and geometric. I'm a pretty poor artist, but I really cracked perspective and architectural drawing, although I was useless at penning a pair of voluptuous tits on the college model. It was later in my career that my film cameramen colleagues enlightened me on the subtleties of lighting both natural and artificial. As for The Guardian, I did as a freelance succeed in selling a few shots to them and held their few staffers such as Dennis Btesh in awe!!

 

[Pieter12]

Exactly! I'm heartily pissed off with the crap work that is waved in front of us by kiddywinkies lauded as tomorrow's wunderkind out of some turd-rate uni (one not far from me). NO would-be graduate from a photo-related course should leave unless they have shown their ability with analogue process, and a basic grounding in art and design - understanding perspective, both of light and geometric. I'm a pretty poor artist, but I really cracked perspective and architectural drawing, although I was useless at penning a pair of voluptuous tits on the college model. It was later in my career that my film cameramen colleagues enlightened me on the subtleties of lighting both natural and artificial. As for The Guardian, I did as a freelance succeed in selling a few shots to them and held their few staffers such as Dennis Btesh in awe!!

On top of that, everyone thinks they're competent when it comes to photography and design. Armed with today's technology and automation (not to mention what AI has inshore for us), and no education in the fundamentals, just an "anyone can do that" attitude. Sure, it works for some, but it also results in a lot of crap being produced and published. And by lowering standards, the viewing audience has lower expectations. I sometimes can't believe the junk proudly posted online in forums and websites.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Great idea, Alan, I hope she replies

Not relevant to your idea above but I was a regular reader of the Guardian during the pandemic when a large-chain grocery store in the U.K. was giving it out "free" if you spent more than a certain amount on groceries and I never noticed such a picture's darkening before. I occasionally read articles from the Guardian online and again this is the first picture that I have seen looking like this

pentaxuser

I did communicate with her. She checked and said the original was dark like the one posted. She said most of her work shows normal brightness but this one was lowered to prevent clipping the highlights. Reuters requires JPEGs only from their photographers, no RAW shots.

I sent her the link to this thread. She added the following: "I glanced at the forum- and I agree there is a trend with the blacks, which I absolutely don’t do. I have noticed the younger photogs do it- and I suspect in part because they never learned photography in the film era, ever printed in a darkroom or printed C-41"

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

By the way, She does very nice work. You all ought to check it out.

faith ninivaggi

As seen in https://faithninivaggiphotography.com

faithninivaggiphotography.com