Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop Hardcover – October 30, 2012

When I saw a write-up on the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for which this book serves as catalog, I immediately ordered the book sight-unseen. Smart move. This is another in a long series of outstanding books on photographic history associated with Yale University Press (here, as distributor), as usual beautifully printed and bound using high-quality materials.The text here is outstanding, laying out a history of photographic manipulations from the 1840s through the late twentieth century. Done for exaggeration, distortion, or to yield an image "more true than truth", with techniques including hand-coloring, drawing on negatives, compositing, chromolitho and half-tone printing and others, this is probably the most exhaustive study of the subject. There are other books on specific kinds of images -- exaggeration postcards. for example, and surrealist photography -- but I know no others that cover the full range so effectively. The text is also clear and accessible, and there's a section at the end that discusses each cataloged image in more detail. There's also a very good glossary at the end. Several images are shown with their component images, or detail showing negative alterations, or multiple images using a repeated component (like a cloudy sky composited into a scenic view) in order to help understand the processes.The photographs are beautifully reproduced at good size. Relatively few are at full-page, but since many were originally produced as smaller images (e.g., CDVs, postcards) that doesn't feel inappropriate. The cover alone would make it suitable for a coffee table; the contents would enthrall anyone who casually picked it up from there.My one quibble would be that there are insufficient examples drawn from parts of the world outside the US and Europe. There is a single Japanese image with hand coloring and added rain, and unsurprisingly there are several Russian and Soviet images -- the latter notorious for political editing -- and a scattered few others. To name just one example, Mexican journalistic photography is well known for its manipulations, and there are other global traditions both artistic and journalistic that could have been drawn on more fully.As noted in the text, Newhall's History of Photography from 1839 to the Present Day remains a widely read classic work in the history of photography, but is specifically slanted towards "straight" photography. This volume would make an excellent companion to that work, fleshing out the history significantly.

I was lucky enough to be able to visit the Met's exhibition for which this book was prepared more than once. Some of the items on display were striking, especially the most technically accomplished ones (Camile Silvy's 1958 "River Scene" and Yves Klein's fabulous 1960 "Leap Into The Void" in particular). The same works stand out in the book, but the greater depth of analysis afforded by the printed version made certain other works even more interesting.In particular, the book makes the interesting and important case that in the early years of photography, techniques that would subsequently be viewed as "cheating," including combination of negatives, were necessary to create images that were pictorially accurate but otherwise impossible to capture with the lenses or film of the time. Examples include clouds dubbed in from one image to another, to compensate for the inability of early emulsions to properly expose blue skies, and multiple photos of a single scene shot with different focal planes to compensate for the camera's narrow depth of field.This portion of the book was, for me, by far the most interesting. The novelty photos (farmers with giant chickens) and surreal images (Audrey Hepburn with a long neck) and political images (the erasing of discredited Komisars from photos with Joseph Stalin) were worth seeing, but have all been collected elsewhere.

The book covers an interesting topic and I have no problem with that. But, to describe the book as "book as new" was totally misleading. The spine of the book was partially separated from the paper that connects to the back cover. Yes, it is used, but is certainly is not "as new". And it was not ready for immediate shipping, it was delayed. Due to family obligations, I not notice the condition in time to return it. So, I must keep it. I will not purchase from this source again.

I saw this show at the Met with my wife and daughter and we thought it was one of the smartest and most engaging exhibitions of any medium we'd ever seen. I bought the book because I wanted to be able to remember what we saw and was more than pleasantly surprised by what an incredibly beautiful object the book is. Everything about it is great. The writing is mind-percolating smart and super accessible (as I knew it would be from the wall text at the show). The overall design is lovely. The photo reproductions are crisp and rich. The paper stock is heavy. I can't say enough great things about the book and the exhibition it accompanied. Anyone who loves photography should read this book. It is a total eye-opener.

Really a delight to view and read. I only wish it had more information. Not that is wasn't well done, I just want more.

Well before Photoshop became a verb, photographers have changed and altered their images. This fantastic book shows examples from over a century and a half of photographic wizardry, from in-camera tricks, darkroom magic and masterpieces of retouching. As a photographic educator, I love sharing this book and its images with my students and use many of the photographs for class discussions.I was fortunate to learn from a colleague about the exhibit before it went on display, and was able to travel and see the show in person. This book is the next best thing to being there.

This is a wonderful book filled with great illustrations and informative text. It's the catalog for an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Anyone with an interest in the history of photography should buy this book. I only wish that the seller had mentioned that it was a second printing.

I have manipulated photographs in the darkroom and in Photoshop. It is easier in Photoshop, and one is forced to admire some of the feats that were pre-digital. It is an excellent rebuttal to those who say that the photograph does not lie.

This book accompanied an exhibiton at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. I didn't manage to visit the exhibition but this book was the next best thing. It demonstrates that manipuating photos started in the very earliest days of photography, and not just in the more recernt days of digital photos. The book has many well illustrated and well explained examples of the various techniques, and also the photographers behind them. I read and enjoyed the whole thing without skimming, including the informative technical notes at the back.

La fotografia è da sempre ripresa dal vero e suggestione di irrealtà. Questo libro, catalogo di una mostra tenuta a NY, racconta la fotografia attraverso la sua manipolazione, che nasce praticamente contemporaneamente alla fotografia stessa. Oggi siamo abituati alle manipolazioni digitali e photoshop è sempre il primo nome a essere fatto quando ci si trova davanti ad una fotografia che sembra irreale, ma i fotografi hanno sempre utilizzato varie tecniche anche quando il digitale non era ancora neppure stato immaginato. L'estetica fotografica ha sempre ricercato immagini evocative e complesse che potessero non solo rappresentare la realtà ma anche illudere e fare sognare. Consigliato a tutti quelli che amano la fotografia.

I found the font too small to read easily and the content was descriptive and rather boring. In addition the front cover had been partially ripped from the body of the book. I returned it.

Bellissimo libro con cenni storici, belle immagini e riferimenti testuali. Masterpiece

C'est un très beau livre pour tous les amoureux de la photographie. On y trouve de très belle photo ainsi qu'une explication sur certaine.Un seul défaut, le livre est entièrement en anglais. Pour les non anglophones, il faudra vous contenter des jolies images. Pour les autres, après un temps d'adaptation et un dictionnaire, vous apprécierai le contenu de ce livre.