"The camera never lie" . . .

Ian D J

Ian D J

Michael Fish
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Ian D J
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. . . does that old expression make you feel like you want to slap that person on the face and say "Err . . . actually, it can! Ever heard of post processing?!".

Or is it just me that thinks that?

I came across a photo of myself in facebook and commented on how pale I looked (I always look pale, I could NEVER put on a tan no matter how or what). A friend replied and said "Oh I can see a tan, the camera never lie".
I felt my tension level rise the moment I came across that phrase. Luckily I saw sense and decided not to go into a tirade about being able to manipulate digital images using photoshop, etc, etc, and just left it at that. It was late at the time and they say you should never go to bed on an argument (at least that one makes more sense).

I know "the camera never lie" phrase is an old term from when film photography was the norm (and even then you was able to fiddle about with film photographs) but I think it's time to lay that one to rest.
 
Grammatically it's 'the camera never lies' - but the original saying was 'The camera cannot lie' and came about around the introduction of photography (I've got a feeling that it may have even been an advertising slogan - don't know which came first though) but was related to the way a photograph reproduces a scene in a way that a traditional artist cannot.

But there were arguments about the appropriateness of it even at that time.
 
'The camera never lies' is the kind of nonsense phrase I tend to ignore, the same as that other load of twaddle, 'great minds think alike'; it's precisely because great minds don't think alike that makes them great :LOL: Anyway, Ian, the person who left that message on your picture was clearly trying to wind you up ;)
 
The camera does not lie, it faithfully records whatever is in front of it.

However

The photographer may 'alter' the image to bend the truth, or people may 'interpret' what they see which may not be the truth :)
 
Knikki said:
The camera does not lie, it faithfully records whatever is in front of it.

However

The photographer may 'alter' the image to bend the truth, or people may 'interpret' what they see which may not be the truth :)
Click to expand...

No the camera doesn't lie; as you say, it records, which is passive. Lying or telling the truth are decisive acts, neither of which a camera can take the credit for. Saying a camera doesn't lie is the same as me saying this cup of tea in front of me doesn't lie either, nor does it tell the truth for that matter; it's a cup of tea :D
 
I would counter that phrase by saying that the camera always lies owing to the fact that it's tonal range and colour reproduction will never equal that which you actually saw at the time with your human eye!

Follow that with a lecture about digital sensors and light stops, etc, and at least you know that you'll never hear those words from them again whilst you're around! :D:LOL:
 
The camera never lies, because it cannot. Same as the eye cannot lie either.

The difference is that we interpret images with or brains, and two people looking at exactly the same photo or scene will often 'see' different things. Sometimes completely different - we see what we want to see, largely.

BTW, the OP's avatar does look a bit pasty. No tan at all - he's turned all grey. How can that be?
 
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