June 19, 202
Years ago, I attended a presentation on using photo editing software. The idea that amateurs could edit their own family photos was new then.
As the presenter showed slides of before and after pictures, I was excited to see amazing upgrades on old family pictures. Scratches and gouges become almost invisible. Torn corners were restored with just a few clicks of her mouse.
I was sold on the idea that I could fix my own heirloom family photos. That is, until she presented one of her last examples. The picture was of her grandfather. It was taken in the early 20th century. It was a photo of a young man leaning against a large boulder, apparently relaxing after a hike. The picture appeared in good condition. I wondered what the presenter had found to correct.
When she clicked to the next photo, I realized the young man had been holding a cigarette in his hand in the first picture. In the “after” photo, the cigarette was gone. The presenter explained that she’d known this grandfather in his old age, and he was a lifelong smoker. She hated the habit and decided to erase it from her photo. She wanted to use it in a book she was writing, and she didn’t want her grandfather to be a smoker.
I’ve never forgotten that presentation. It has reminded me that the goal of genealogy is to gather and disseminate the most accurate information about our ancestors possible. Just because we don’t like something about our ancestors doesn’t mean it’s okay to erase that fact. Whether our ancestors smoked or were slaveholders or were executed for murder, they were who they were. I don’t think it’s a genealogist’s job to try to improve an ancestor, even if it’s something as small as changing his smoking habits.
With AI and all the other technology now available, it’s easy to cover up the flaws of an ancestor – especially in photos. Most of us would never post an incorrect marriage date for a couple if we had a copy of their original marriage certificate. I doubt we’d do it even if the couple involved lied about their marriage date during their lives to protect the fact that they had a six-month baby. We ought to think just as seriously about posting a doctored photo.
I’ve seen many colorized and otherwise edited photos on various online family trees. I suspect the posters believed they were improving the pictures. It’s important to remember that once a picture is published, it’s there forever. Personally, I’d rather see a scratched, beat-up photo of my great grandfather than one that’s perfect but is edited to make him seem like someone he wasn’t.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society