Natalie Schield
Eric Roman
Photo 100
7/23/2018
Steve McCurry
Steve McCurry is a well-known photographer for National Geographic, with his most popular photograph of an Afghan girl in the Middle East. Over four decades, McCurry has been photographing travel and war. Over that time, he has been accused of photoshopping images, breaking one of the greatest laws of Photojournalism. He was caught when a photographer in Italy noticed a broken street sign was moved so the picture of the man walking behind it would be clearer. It was picked up by many of his followers and shared all over the world. When he was taking these photographs, he was still considered a photojournalist. One day I plan on becoming a photojournalist and I hope to travel the world and photograph the same amazing experiences as Steve has. After learning the ethics and laws of Photojournalism, I do not believe McCurry should be considered a photojournalist after this mistake.
While editorial photography must adhere to a set of industry-accepted rules, commercial and fine art photography don’t share the same standards (Laurent). McCurry claimed that he was not a photojournalist when taking these images, but rather taking them while freelancing. Regardless, he was still known as a journalist to many companies. Under laws of photojournalism, photos must not be edited to not look like the original at all. Taking away people, objects, and a meaning ruins the picture entirely. McCurry was in the wrong for taking away the sign. It was a part of the picture, and it was his fault for photographing the sign in the way. If he wasn’t working for National Geographic, and was in fact photographing for himself, then I understand editing for his personal views.
Other than the case of the street sign, he was caught removing a boy from a photo he took of a group of boys playing ball. The original photograph was sent in by a viewer, and when you compare the two photos, they are nothing alike (“Botched…”). Many other instances have been brought up since the street sign case, and we will never know what the original photos he has taken.
Just because people want to place Steve in the "photojournalism box" doesn't mean that is where he is today (Letzter). If he is now 66 years old and cannot adhere to the rules of photojournalism, then he should not be considered one. Taking away from photographs, make them loose their meaning. It doesn’t make you a great photographer if you’re altering a photo, taking away aspects of it and people from the background. It may give a wrong meaning to its viewers, and it also questions the authenticity of the photographer.
Works Cited
“Botched Steve McCurry Print Leads to Photoshop Scandal.” PetaPixel, 7 May 2016,
Laurent, Olivier. “Steve McCurry: I'm Not a Photojournalist.” Time, Time, 30 May 2016,
Letzter, Rafi. “The 'Afghan Girl' Photographer Faked Some of His Photos. Does It
Matter?” Business Insider, Business Insider, 21 May 2016, www.businessinsider.com/steve-mccurry-photo-editing-scandal-2016-5.
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