World Press Photo set to change post-processing rules in 2014

The World Press Photo organization has announced that its contest rules will suffer some changes after the 2013 edition has been troubled by much controversy.

One of the most important image competitions in the world is held each year by the World Press Photo organization. This year’s edition has been won by the renowned photographer Paul Hansen.

The public has approved of the judges’ decision to award Paul Hansen the first prize. They have been impressed by the image of mourning uncles and brothers carrying their dead nephews and brother to a church, which was the best of the year in the organization’s vision as well.

The Gaza funeral procession photo has circled around the world and millions of people have been deeply affected by the story of these children and their father killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The Gaza funeral procession photo has been accused of being fake. Experts say it is real, but the controversy remains. Credits: Paul Hansen.

World Press Photo Awards 2013 edition troubled by controversy

Paul Hansen has been congratulated for the image, but it has not been all roses for the photographer and the WPP. The former has been accused for forging the image, while the latter has been slammed for selecting a fake shot as the winner.

Following the critics, the organization has decided to look further into the matter. It has hired forensic experts to determine whether the shot is fake or not.

The conclusion of the experts had been clear: the photo was real, but it had been a subject of a fair amount of post-processing, as some parts had been made darker, while others had been made lighter.

Next year’s WPPA edition to introduce new post-processing rules

Despite all these facts, a lot of professional photographers have stood their ground. They say that their fellow lensmen should not perform too much editing on an image. A photo should tell the story, not post-processing, they say.

This has left a bad mark on WPP’s reputation and the same thing must not be allowed to occur once again. One of the first decisions taken by the organization is to elect Gary Knight as the chair of the 2014 edition.

Additionally, the World Press Photo has revealed that there will be major changes regarding the post-processing rules. The organization has confirmed that the levels of permitted post-processing will be changed in order to “create more transparency”.

New contest rules to be announced ahead of the call for entries

The World Press Photo did not go into too much details. The new rules are unknown as they have not been created yet. The organization is still evaluating the possible scenarios and will make an announcement right before the submissions which will open this December.

One thing that could happen is to “examine the files during the judging”. This way the WPP will see whether too much post-processing has been applied or not.

The 2014 World Press Photo of the Year contest is just around the corner and you should hear more details soon no matter which side you are on.