The camera doesn't lie but the photos sure can

Something didn't sit right with the photo. Those with sharp eyes picked it up immediately after its release and in no time at all it went viral on social media and made headlines around the world. The BBC picked up the story. So did the The Independent and the London Evening Standard. Newsweek had the story, along with the New York Post. Even Footwear News picked it up.

We're not talking about this week's photo doctoring scandal engulfing Catherine, the Princess of Wales, but rather the 2019 Shoegate scandal involving the then-Squire from the Shire, Scott Morrison.

A family photo featuring Scotty, Jen and The Girls was posted on the then-PM's website but it had been doctored. Grubby trainers on Scotty's feet had been clumsily replaced by pristine ones. The PM appeared with two left feet. After it was detected, the minor uproar was laughed off by Morrison, who said he wished the staff responsible had focused on his dwindling hair rather than the dirty footwear.

Princess Catherine's apology for the photo, which earned kill notices from the news agencies which had picked it up, came with an explanation. Like many amateur photographers, she'd fiddled with the image before posting it. And really, who hasn't done exactly the same thing?

A tweak to the exposure in Lightroom. The magic wand in Instagram. Using the child's face with open rather than closed eyes in the family shot. Some smartphones even boast the ability to do that to create "the perfect shot".

The difference, of course, is that we're ordinary folk, not royalty subject to intense, unrelenting scrutiny. If a hand or a sleeve is misaligned in a photo we post, it's unlikely anyone would notice. But if it's a public person, we're on it immediately - and for good reason. We expect the truth and nothing but the truth from people in high office, especially if they're living on the public dime.

The old adage that the camera doesn't lie might be true, but the photo often does and has done since the birth of photography.

Russian dictator Josef Stalin had people who'd fallen from favour - and disappeared into the bowels of the Lubyanka - removed from photos.

The Nazis claimed photos of captured Germans after Stalingrad had been doctored for propaganda purposes. In Signal, their English-language version of Life magazine, they showed how groups of prisoners in the photo had been multiplied many times to make the crowd appear larger than it was.

The news agencies which killed the tricked-up royal photo did exactly the right thing.

As innocent as Catherine's lousy editing might have been, it was daft to post the image to social media, especially in this post-truth era of deepfakes. The resulting speculation and rush to conspiracy theories once the pic was "killed" was entirely predictable.

What surprised many was that someone whose image is usually so carefully managed was let loose unsupervised to post the clumsy attempt at perfection as a Mother's Day greeting. Also surprising was the refreshing humanity of the blunder. Here was a glimpse of a real mum trying to make the family shot Insta-worthy, Photoshop warts and all.

Not even Scotty stooped that low. He had staff to stuff up the family photo. If only they'd intervened to limit the torrent of silly Benny Hill-style selfies the former PM insisted on posting throughout his tenure.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Has too much fuss been made over the Princess of Wales' doctored photo? Did the clumsy edit job make her look more human and a little less royal? Do you edit photos before posting them to social media? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

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THEY SAID IT: ""Message to my Department (PM&C): I didn't ask for the shoeshine, but if you must Photoshop, please focus on the hair (lack thereof), not the feet!" - Scott Morrison

YOU SAID IT: Remove nuisance tariffs by all means but impose higher taxes on nuisance imports while you're about it.

Stuart nominates the imports he wants taxed: "Jet skis, e-scooters and corporate e-bikes. And let's get rid of social media platforms - the prime source of misinformation. Can we tax staffers who want to be politicians as well? Maybe just a tax on politicians might do it."

"Yes, THUDs are first - Tough guys' Huge Urban Diesels," writes Michael. "Most of the ones I see are used by families, not tradies. Tax them by the length and width. Second, social media, or, rather, anti-social mediocrity. A good idea would be to require a payable training course leading to a licence for all users (good for TAFE income). This should cover spelling and grammar, logic, ethics, legals, and respect. Then a compulsory public registration so the users could be identified if required, and lose the current anonymity. Then an annual paid licence to cover regulatory costs and network blocking of non-registered and licensed users, and to contribute to local news providers."

Deb writes: "I agreed wholeheartedly with The Echidna piece on tariffs and taxes, but we must include the 'lazy surfer' craze, e-foil surfboards, which must also be banned around real surfers, bodyboarders and swimmers, not to mention all the whale nurseries and calving areas."

"Do you feel better, John, now that you have got that off your chest?" asks Sandra (yes, I do, thanks). "I agree wholeheartedly. Especially the 'big trucks'. I don't have a small car, but I even have trouble seeing around these ugly vehicles. The TV reruns, please stop, I am reading more as nothing to watch. What I don't like is movie remakes. A lot of 'new' movies are rehashes of older movies. Have producers and writers run out of ideas?"

Maggie writes: "If you want to discourage 'larger vehicles', rather than charging them more to park, you could simply make parking spaces smaller. After driving around with growing frustration, owners might get the message. However, some longer vehicles are justified, and length doesn't necessarily equate with muscle-truck. And yes, please preserve the difference between these imported monstrosities and our home-grown ute, which is, after all, an Australian invention, and remains an essential off-sider for farmers and tradies."

"I so agree with almost all (still love the British TV shows) of your comments," writes Jillian. "Those Yank tanks are horrendous and perhaps a ban rather than a tariff. Not imports, but I would love a tariff on the TV mumblers, dreadful voiceovers who speak through their nose rather than from the diaphragm, channels who use banners to promote a different show during screening another. Higher tariffs on imports of fruit, vegetables, foodstuffs which are already grown in Australia. Higher tariffs on clothes/items made in sweatshops should be sky high. Not imports but tickets used by politicians and their entourage who travel overseas. Let's see just how important that trip is when they have to pay triple to get there and back. Feeling better now so thank you for this platform."