In today’s world, there has been a noticeable increase in the public’s use of photography. The catalyst behind this trend can certainly be traced back to technological advancements that allow more people to participate in photography. For example, the inventions of smartphones have reduced the need of an actual camera to take photos, and because smartphones are easily accessible for the public, the action of taking photos have also become accessible and thus popular among the public. With that being said, society’s increased uptake in photography has revealed a lot about both photographers and their audiences. The photographs themselves reveal the subconscious interests of photographers and their audience.
It’s easy to assume that photographs reveal the photographer’s interests because people tend to take pictures of subjects that cause strong emotions for them whether it be a feeling of awe or disgust. However, the specific elements highlighted in the photograph of the subject provides a closer look into the subconscious interests and priorities of the photographer. Author Susan Sontag summarizes this idea perfectly in her book On Photography which states, “Even when photographers are most concerned with mirroring reality, they are still haunted by tacit imperatives of taste and conscience” (Sontag 4). In other words, photographs reveal a world that’s subjective to the photographer. Even if five different photographers were tasked with taking a picture of the same subject, the pictures would be different because each photographer would choose to highlight something that peaks their own interest. This is suggested by Sontag as she mentioned a group of photographers tasked with photographing a sharecropper ended up taking pictures where their subjects’ facial expression “supported their own notions about poverty, light, dignity, texture, exploitation, and geometry” (Sontag 4). As you can see, even though the main subject was a sharecropper, it wasn’t necessarily what they were interested in photographing; you can see the photographer’s subconscious interests by understanding the small details that were taken into consideration while taking the photograph. Photographers who were primarily interested in today’s poverty issue would try to highlight that aspect in their photograph of the sharecropper, while those who may prioritize the daunting conditions of life as a sharecropper may highlight the blazing sun behind the sharecropper.
Apart from revealing the photographer’s subconscious interests, photographs also reveal the subconscious interests of its audience. Sontag touches on this topic as she mentions, “A photograph that brings news of some unsuspected zone of misery cannot make a dent in public opinion unless there is an appropriate context of feeling and attitude” (Sontag 12). How I chose to interpret this line follows: when you view a photograph, the photograph itself cannot enforce emotions onto the viewer unless the viewer already has an established connections with the subject of the picture. For example, “photographs of ill-clad, skeletal prisoners held at Andersonville inflamed Northern public opinion—against the South” (Sontag 21). As you can see, the depictions of prisoners who were malnourished and weren’t properly dressed for the weather ignited a strong fury among Northern public viewers. This is particularly because the Northern public were interested in the Civil War fight, and upon seeing these horrendous images, it made them feel angry because they realized how inhumane their enemies, the South public, were towards their fighters. To come back full circle, photographs are very vulnerable because, to viewers, they can either ignite strong feelings of awe or disgust depending on the subject portrayed. To have a strong reaction, emphasizes how the subject of the photograph is of interest to the viewer because people react nonchalantly to topics of insignificance to them. All in all, photographs have the power to reveal the subconscious interests of both the photographer and viewers. With the continuous advancement of technology, there have been updates made to allow AI to generate photographs. As to what AI generated photos reveal about the “photographers” subconscious interest is still subject to questioning, but perhaps the interests among the audience will still remain apparent.
I found your understanding of Sontag’s article to be really interesting because it speaks on the idea that each person interprets and experiences an image completely different. This is because the image itself isn’t able to force a viewer to feel a certain way, but instead induce a prexisting emotion that the viewer is able to connect with the presented image. Thus, I find that photography is a very subjective art that is impossible to define.
Great writing! I agree with many parts of your response in regards to the emotions evoked by photography since its power cannot be understated. Especially when it comes to your point about the availability of photography, I agree that more sentimental photos are taken back then due to the lack of accessibility compared to now when there is an abundance of photos.
I really like how you spoke about how technological advancements have affected the public’s use of photography and how it has increased over time. You also made great points on how when looking at a subject in a photograph you subconsciously see and create this idea in your head about the photographers interest.