What is photomanipulation? Judging from my frequent browsing of the photomanipulation categories, it's clear a lot of people simply don't know what it is. I'm certain that somewhere on dA there's an "official" definition, but as I'm writing this article, I've chosen to define photomanipulation like this: It's an art form wherein the subject of a work (be it a person, landscape, animal, object, etc.) is either a.) significantly altered from its original state or b.)the context in which of said subject is significantly changed.

Let me show you an example of the former and the latter. I'll be using my own artwork as examples, because, well, this is my article.

Here's an example of where I significantly changed the appearance of the subject--in this case, a model:



As you can see, the finished product bears little resemblance to the beginning photo.

Here's an example wherein I change the context in which the subject resides:



She was just a girl standing on the sidewalk; now she's on top of a building, in some slightly otherworldly scenario.

Here are some things photomanipulation is not:

`Taking a photo, changing the hue, colors or saturation that has otherwise not been changed in any way.
`Colorizing or recoloring a photo that has otherwise not been changed in any way.
`Adding a filter to photo that has otherwise not been changed in any way.
`Writing humorous things on a photo...or just adding text in general that has otherwise not been changed in any way.
`Coloring over eyes to make them "scary" that has otherwise not been changed in any way.
`Using the warp or liquify tool to arbitrarily distort a photo that has otherwise not been changed in any way.
`Applying a brush or two to a photo that has otherwise not been changed in any way.

These are just a few of the things that *not* photomanipulation. There are many other things that aren't.

NOTE: This article is the opinion of the author and nothing more. I am not a gallery director or administrator here; I'm simply sharing my thoughts in the hopes of enlightening the wonderful denizens of dA. I hope someone finds it helpful.

I hope to wax psychotic on photomanipulation in future articles if people are receptive to it.

Until then, cheers.