From towering global figures such as Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln to tyrants such as Mussolini and Stalin, the way a photograph looks can change our view of history.
Many iconic images have been airbrushed and doctored over the years for the purposes of propaganda.
Some leaders erased political opponents from historical record, fabricated meetings that had never taken place or even constructed new people.
The technique was particularly popular in the Soviet era when figures who fell out of favour were scrubbed out of history.
One famous image of Vladimir Lenin speaking to a Russian crowd in 1917 was later altered to removed Leon Trostky.
Trotsky was erased from a series of images after being denounced as a “scoundrel” by the Communist hierarchy.
In a twist on the formula, a photo of an ailing Lenin in 1922 was expertly changed to show Joseph Stalin crouching beside him in a bid to show support for the former leader.
In Italy, dictator Benito Mussolini demanded an image of him riding a horse was changed to remove the animal’s handler.
The fascist leader wanted to give the impression of more power and independence.
And even great British leader Winston Churchill underwent the treatment.
His characteristic cigar was removed from an image of his famous two-fingered salute when it went on show at the Britain At War Experience in London.
Even King George VI was not immune. He was removed from a 1939 photo showing him alongside the Queen mother and Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in Alberta.
The photo was used on an election poster and it is thought the picture was altered because an image of just the prime minister and Queen showed him in a more powerful light.
But the technique was not only limited to the 20th century.
One famous 19th century lithograph portrait appears to be of US president Abraham Lincoln.
But the image is actually a composite because the body is actually statesman John Calhoun with only the head belonging to the president.
And three different images were used to make-up the portrait of Ulysses S. Grant, the Commanding General of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The picture was given to Union soldiers to boost their morale.
But it is actually a composite of three images showing troops and tents, the horse and body of Major General Alexander McCook and only the head belong to Grant.