EXCLUSIVE — Photographer and University of Pennsylvania graduate Erica Denhoff was shocked to see her work significantly altered on the Today show last week, adding that at first, she thought “something was honestly wrong with the video.” She said she was “disappointed” by the show’s choice and that “I pride myself on providing authentic images as a photojournalist.”
After watching the segment multiple times, she came to the conclusion that the apparent softening of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas‘s features in her pictures was “intentional,” telling the Washington Examiner, “It’s really important as photojournalists that we transmit authentic photos that have not been altered.”
“When I first noticed the airbrushing on the segment referenced, I thought something was honestly wrong with the video. But then, I watched it again and thought, ‘Wait a minute, this appears to be intentional. Lia’s features are softened,'” the photojournalist told the Washington Examiner.
“I then went to my original photo, on the sites that they could access to license the photo, and compared it and immediately saw a difference.”
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Denhoff told the Washington Examiner that a previous unedited version of her photo had been used by Today earlier in March. A comparison of Today’s usage of the image from March 3 to March 17 is particularly jarring.
Denhoff was a credentialed member of the media covering the Ivy League women’s swimming and diving championships, where she took photos of Thomas, as well as several other athletes.
According to her, she was “following the news to see how my images have been used to tell Lia’s story” when she stumbled upon the noticeably altered photo on Today.
“To me, it definitely seems like something was going on with the airbrushing/noise reduction of all of Lia’s photos in this segment,” she said, referring to a March 17 segment that went viral on social media for using obviously edited photos.
“My photo that they licensed was an authentic photo,” Denhoff added. “I’m surprised and disappointed that Today altered my image of Lia for this particular news segment.”
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The photojournalist has a special connection to the University of Pennsylvania, where Thomas swims, as it’s her alma mater. She graduated in 2008 and revealed she was also “a varsity athlete on the track and field team.”
NBC News did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
