The Power of Photography in the media

During our lecture with George Abdilla, we were given a query about an explorer and a writer. So the explorer and writer go to a new land and the explorer says he saw a red dragon and took back with him a painting of what he saw, on the other hand the writer says she saw a blue dragon and took back with her a photograph. So, who do you believe? The explorer has a reputation to say the truth, but his evidence is a painting that could be fake. The writer has a reputation of lying to make the story interesting, but her evidence is a photograph. Because the photograph is more believable, we believe the writer.

My take on this is that nowadays an image can also be manipulated but I would still believe someone who has a photograph, especially if it would be in an article. As Susan Sontag said in her book ‘On Photography’, “Photographs furnish evidence. Something we hear about, but doubt, seems proven when we’re show a photograph of it.” (Sontag, 1977). Sontag argues that a photograph is proof of something that occurred, and I agree with her. Take for example the protests that are going on in Catalan, there are a lot of images showing us what is happening. The images are also proof of the events.

I think we depend a lot on photography when it comes to the media whether it is for gossip or to share information. The first thing you see when something big happens is the photographs that prove what happened. The thumbnail of an article is usually an image. Therefore, a photograph can go a long way in the media, it’s the first thing we look for.

Screenshot of the thumbnails

Lying through Photography

(Bayard, 1840)

We were asked during our lesson to research Hippolyte Bayard’s self-portrait as a drowned man taken in 1840. Bayard was ignored when he found a way to take photographs and in protest, he took this image. In this image, you see what looks like a dead man, or as described at the back of the photograph, the drowned body of Hippolyte Bayard. As the video by the company Vox goes to explain, this image has a lot of metaphors like the way he is dressed, mentioning that he has been left at the morgue and in the photograph, he is surrounded by his belongings.

This image is widely known as the first ‘fake’ image where the artist is lying by using the medium of photography. Even from the very beginning of photography, a photograph was used to tell a lie. If this photograph didn’t have context behind it, which would be the note on the back, we wouldn’t even notice that it’s ‘a lie’. The image alone simply looks like a photographer posing for a photo. I think that the context is what creates the lie.

In conclusion, photography is a medium for lying but not the lie itself because a picture doesn’t lie.

Target Audience

Target audience is the people you want to get the attention of when conveying a message. This is usually determined by gender, age, marital status and more. So why do you need to have a target audience when photographing?

When doing a project or exhibition I think it is important to consider your target audience. There is a difference between doing work, for example, a tourist company or a school. Even when doing an exhibition, I think you need to choose to whom you want to communicate your idea. Writers Photler (2016) and Sarah Jacobs (2013) also says that it’s very important to first determine what you want to do. From there you create your target audience and work on a solid portfolio so when a client does approach you, they would have a clear vision of what you offer. If you don’t have a specific audience, you might confuse the client on what you are good at. Sarah Jacobs (2013) goes on to suggest that when working for a company it would be best to do research to see who the company is targeting.

To sum it up it’s important to determine a target audience, whether it is you have your own business or working for another company.

(Chabot, 2019)

Emotions and Photography

It is said that emotions play an important role in our life; it determines how we go about our day and helps us choose from the good and the bad. Kendra Cherry (2019) has argued that there are three parts to an emotion and one of them is the expressive component, which is what we do with that emotion and in this case, you could express yourself using photography.

(Baldwin, 1963)

What does Photography have anything to do with emotions? During our lecture we discussed how emotions help us outline something on how we feel about, in this case, a photograph. An image can easily change the way we feel and I think a pertinent example is the “Hang in there, baby” poster created by Victor Baldwin in 1963. It is meant to inspire when someone is in a bad mood, which is why it has been recreated multiple times and mostly found in clinics and offices.

Photography can be used to express our emotions or show a process. I personally think a way to do that is by using a raw image because it captures the true feeling of the moment. This is not a technique that can only be used by a photographer anyone can visualize their emotions by photographing them. 

In conclusion emotions play an important role in a photographers’ life, whether it is to express themselves or change inspire others. Everyone has their own way of way of expressing themselves but it’s important to remember to be yourself. As Eric Kim said, “Don’t censor yourself, by being worried: 'What will others think?'” (2018)

(Kim, n.d.)