Category: Reading Responses (Page 7 of 10)

Cameras are devices for one to capture a moment in time, a milestone, or an adventure. Through the creation of cameras, photography became a medium for art and journalism. The easy accessibility of photography gave photographs the ability to reveal aspects of our world that we would not have seen otherwise.

Photographs capture slices of our reality and can be used as evidence to show that events occurred. As Susan Sontag stated in On Photography, “Something we hear about, but doubt, seems proven when we’re shown a photograph of it” (Sontag 3). We often learn about events but fail to realize the extent to which people are affected by them. Russia’s attack on Ukraine seems so much more real to us after we see photographs of destroyed homes and shots fired. When events of injustice are happening in places far from us, photographs help us to acknowledge them. Photographs make us better at sympathizing with others and understanding their circumstances. 

Furthermore, photographs help us to learn about each other and reveal people’s stories. Photographs are often taken at every milestone of one’s life: graduation, marriage, and starting a family. “Through photographs, each family constructs a portrait-chronicle of itself—a portable kit of images that bears witness to its connectedness” (Sontag 5). In family pictures, you can see the relationship between family members and all their memories together. Photographs help us to remember people that we met and people that are no longer with us. Photographs of trips and accomplishments reveal where one has been and what one has done. Photographs show us both one’s past and one’s growth.

Moreover, photographs allow us to better understand the past. In On Photography, Sontag gave an example of photography deepening our understanding of history, “Jacob Riis’s images of New York squalor in the 1880s are sharply instructive to those unaware that urban poverty in late-nineteenth-century America was really that Dickensian” (Sontag 17-18). Photographs of unsafe and unsanitary living conditions in New York during the 1880s allowed the viewers to understand the social state of the city and picture what it was like living in New York during that time. Photographs provide valuable insight into past events and allow us to better understand the state of a place during a specific period of time.

Photographs are a way for one to learn about the past and the present. Since photography is easily accessible, people from all walks of life can share their unique perspectives on the world through photography. Thus, photographs reveal aspects of our society that allow us to form a better understanding of the world around us.

Photographs, once aimed at capturing the world around us as it appears to the eye, have now assumed a new expectation: to be picture-esque. Ever since photography transitioned into a mainstream and readily accessible medium, its primary function has been to document the essence of our world in a tangible way, allowing us to look back on for our own sake or for the sake of sharing our experiences with others. But is it even possible to capture the whole essence of our experience through a single frame, and can this inability potentially lead to a false reality? The exploitation of photography in the realm of social media further complicates this question as photographs begin to take on a much different role. They became tools of curation motivated by likes and follows. They paint an altered reality that romanticizes the “aesthetic”, favorable moments—which it puts into the spotlight—all while concealing the less appealing, unattractive aspects. But when did a picture become synonymous with perfection, as suggested by the word “picturesque,” and is social media completely to blame?

In the first of her essays in On Photography, Susan Sontang reveals this nuanced complexity embedded within the simple act of capturing a photo. On one hand, she argues, we wish to hold on to the present moment, but on the other, we are “refusing it—by limiting experience to a search for the photogenic, by converting experience into an image” (Sontang 6). This dual desire leads us to miss out on capturing the genuine experience as we are too engrossed in the quest to photograph it flawlessly, and this has only been exacerbated by social media. We assume specific poses, coax smiles to convey inauthentic feelings, and manipulate camera angles to present ourselves or our surroundings in a more favorable light, forgoing the organic experience itself. By seeking this portrayal of perfection, social media and photography “alter our notions of what is worth looking at” (Sontang 1), as appearance trumps everything else.

Harnessed by this need for perfection, photography has become not only “the device that makes real what one is experiencing” (Sontang 6), as Sontang and the commonly used remark “But If You Didn’t Post About It, Did It Really Happen?” point out, but also a device that makes real out of what is not. The “Instagram vs. Reality” trend, in which users show an idealized post alongside a not-so-perfect shot of the same subject, brings awareness to the incomplete reality crafted by selective posting. For instance, stunning images of New York City’s skyscrapers often exclude the less glamorous, littered streets that plague the city. While influencers that always appear flawless in their posts share moments in which they didn’t feel as confident and faced self-doubt. Through the photos that we choose to post and exclude, we craft a portrayal of reality that isn’t complete and is sometimes even fictional. This forces viewers into a false sense “that time consists of interesting events, events worth photographing” (Sontang 8), as they see influencers living glamorous, exciting lives through their instagram feeds, when in reality there are more mundane, imperfect moments behind the camera that fail to be documented and seen online. However, this trend also started a separate movement to foster genuine and unfiltered content, bringing back the beauty and essence of photography. In doing so, social media is taking a huge step in a positive direction, where reality once again shapes photos.

The art of photography is fascinating and includes numerous aspects, and it has developed quite a bit since it first emerged. The art of utilizing a camera to record and preserve particular events, feelings, favorite moments, and experiences Photography has the ability to express a message, generate emotions and motivate viewers, whether it’s breathtaking surroundings, an unposed portrait, or an effective documentary image. Nowadays, almost everyone owns a camera, regardless of how expensive or affordable it is. But in today’s world, everyone has a smartphone with a camera. People used to need to go to a studio to take a picture and would have to wait months to get it. Now, everything is as simple as “click and upload”. Photography is now known as a trendsetter in the era of social media.

A new generation of social media influencers that create visually appealing posts has grown because of photography. These celebs have significant followings and frequently have a specialized specialty in a field like fashion, cuisine, or travel. Their expertly produced and visually appealing images influenced buyer attitudes, fashion, and ways of life. The terms “aesthetic, filter, and no filter” are frequently used on social media platforms. Language restrictions are irrelevant because photography is a universal language on social media. Cross-cultural respect and understanding can be promoted by the exchange of cultures, traditions, and experiences among people from various nations.

Susan Sontang states in the book “On the Photography”, “Photography has become one of the principal devices for experiencing something, for giving an appearance of participation.” (Susan 7), where the narrator explains how virtually everyone may access photos in the current digital era. The ease with which people are able to generate and purchase these “miniatures of reality” has changed how we record and share our lives, adding to the rich weave of visual storytelling that surrounds the modern world. This actually relates to a recent social media craze where photographs altered how we view our lives. A new and popular concept involves an artist painting a scene from a wedding ceremony or reception in real time. This implies that an artist is actively producing a piece of art that captures the spirit of the wedding as it takes place. Usually, the finished painting is given to the newlyweds as a treasured memory.

A sense of involvement in the community is created by the posting of photos on social media. To create a virtual connection to the lived experience, friends, family, and acquaintances can like, comment, and engage with the photographs. They enable people to share their memories with others and aid in helping people recall and reflect on important events in their life. The way we interpret and share our real experiences is greatly affected by the use of images, particularly live wedding paintings, on social media platforms. These pictures act as illustrations that emphasize certain details of things that happen, inspire strong feelings, and make experiences more powerful than mere physical presence. Nevertheless, it’s essential to understand that these depictions are frequently selective and edited, which shapes how we see the world.

The images posted on social media are essentially subjective interpretations of reality that have been influenced by the photographer’s decisions, modifications, and intent to express an idea. While these photographs provide a window into people’s lives and experiences, it is important to keep in mind that online content is sometimes chosen and romanticized when viewing it. By realizing this, people can use social media more thoughtfully and keep a more balanced perspective on their own lives as well as the lives of others.

If you click Instagram or Tik Tok, you will see a post of a bunch of photos that seem to give the viewers a look into their seemingly perfect lives. There is an impression that the creator casually just threw a bunch of random pictures from their camera roll onto social media yet still remained to be aesthetically pleasing. This trend of having every photo, no matter how seemingly random, be aesthetic has created a pressure for people to perceive their lived experiences as dull and looking to the ‘perfect’ lives that are seen on social media as what they have to achieve, even though most of the time the life that is seen on those photo dumps, as these posts are called, are not achievable or true.  

This trend of creating these casual yet aesthetic instagram posts has stemmed from the fact that with the advancement of technology and the constant availability of a camera that our smartphones offer us. In Susan Sontag’s essay, “On Photography”, it describes the evolution of photography from when it was hard accessible to the modern times where it is practically always accessible, and has changed the meaning of photography. “Recently, photography has become almost as widely practiced an amusement as sex and dancing—which means that, like every mass art form, photography is not practiced by most people as an art.” (Sontag 5). That may be true as we use photography for things as simple as taking a picture of a grocery list so that we don’t have to physically carry one around. However, with the increasing popularity of the trends of curating aesthetic photo dumps, it has become more of a type of art. Each photographer has a specific meaning or idea that they want to convey to their viewers and that is what causes it to become art. In “When Staged Photography Becomes Art,” Elena Martinque mentions that staged photography has emerged as an art form. “Rather than capturing the moment, artists make specific choices when staging their images. By consciously placing elements and arranging compositions, they create the events, environments or emotions.” (Martinque). 

When people post on social media, they only want to post what makes their lives look shiny and perfect, not about the hard realities that life can actually hold. Even though what these creators photos may look as if it was just hastily taken with no serious care, the photos has a specific meaning or outlook that they are trying to put out and in turn showcasing an unachievable and romanticized aspect of their lives, while trying to make it so that it is as natural as possible. The fact that it looks so natural causes people to grow misconceptions on what reality actually looks like rather than this flawless, curated aspect of one’s life.

In a world where online sharing has become incredibly popular, feeling essential to most, photography is widespread and performed frequently, even by those amateur to the art. This abundance of sharing, or oversharing, forces everyone to ask the question: What purpose do these photos serve? While every individual may have their own answer to this imposing question, Susan Sontag’s collection of essays On Photography provides a response; Photographs reveal significance.

As stated by Sontag in her essays, in the history of photography, family events and shared occasions hold an important role in the spread and rise of the art. Photography memorializes events and helps people hold onto the moments in their lives that can easily feel fleeting: “As photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possession of space in which they are insecure”. The desire to capture and immortalize something comes from the fear that it will one day be lost, creating an impulse to capture the things that are important to us. Often, when we know that something is not easily accessible to us, or that it will not be in the future, we take photographs and substitute them for memories and connection.

Also, taking photos provides comfort that you will not lose what you have in that moment, at least in one sense. Thus, those who have dealt with loss frequently feel an out-of-the-ordinary compulsion to photograph their experiences: “People robbed of their past seem to make the most fervent picture takers, at home and abroad”. This craving comes from a desire to hold onto things that hold some importance in that person’s life. Similarly, photography is often taken up by those with an intention to persuade others.  Sontag explains “Like sexual voyeurism, [photography] is a way of at least tacitly, often explicitly, encouraging whatever is going on to keep on happening”. In other words, when events are significant to a person, they may attempt to have these movements persist, and one way to encourage that is by sharing their message through an image that depicts its value.

Photography also serves to capture what is important to a generation, not just individuals. When times and ideals begin to shift, photographs shift with them. Whether through changes in style or subjects, photographs can reveal overtime the things that feel most significance to an age of people, especially when viewed together. For example, when revealing that the current age feels “nostalgic”, Sontag mentions that photographs do as well. Even when representing a larger movement as opposed to an individual, photographs capture what is most valuable to their creators.

Throughout time, photographs may have served tactical purposes, such as documentation, but photographers have never ceased to capture the things in life that are important to them, revealing, through their images, the most significant items and events they have experienced. Though each photographer may have a different motivation in capturing these meaningful moments, every image can be connected to the purpose of showing what is most important in life, as supported by Susan Sontag in her essay.

In her article On Photography, Susan Sontag states that photographs “do not seem to be statements about the world so much as pieces of it” and also describes them as “experience captured” (2). Whether it be an interesting cloud, a beautiful landscape, or a fun moment with those around you, photographs are meant to capture the world as it is, its natural beauty. However, with the emergence of social media, less emphasis has been placed on natural beauty and more on acquiring perfection. Social media culture has created pressure to only post pictures that are “aesthetically pleasing” or that “match your feed.” But sometimes you only realize after a moment has passed that your image isn’t picture perfect. That interesting cloud you saw may have an unappealing colored sky, that beautiful landscape has a person blocking a part of it, and the fun moment may be ruined when you dislike your physical appearance. The only way to make imperfect pictures social media worthy would be to edit them. Sontag mentions the notion that photographs can alter reality when she writes that they “get reduced, blown up, cropped, retouched, doctored, tricked out” (2). From editing lighting to body shape, “Photoshopping” has become a common practice and many celebrities or influencers have been exposed for “Photoshop fails”.

One recent example of a “Photoshop fail” is LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, or @livvydunne. She’s become a Sports Illustrated model, gained some of the biggest NIL deals, and has a large social media presence because of her gymnastics talent and physical appearance. However, fans and followers have recently noticed large discrepancies between her Instagram posts and stock photos of her. In this picture, the most prominent differences are the size of her torso and her jawline. She’s shown to have edited gymnastics action shots and red carpet pictures and has been publicly criticized for editing when she already fits the “beauty standard” and for the negative impact this has had for other women with more athletic, muscular builds.

Instances like this have created a lot of insecurity for social media users, feeling the need to compare themselves with popular creators even if they can’t tell what is real and what is edited. This relates to the issue Elena Martinique brings up in her article “When Staged Photography Becomes Art” of if staged photography “would result in an ethical as well as an aesthetic crisis” and “photography’s loss of credibility”. Can edited photographs still be considered art? If so, should there be editing rules or an editing limit? If we “cite” an editing platform as a resource used does that make it morally correct? While I think these are all important issues to address, the bigger issue is social media culture. Platforms created with artistic purposes have turned into mathematical equations. What do I post to gain the most likes and followers, how do I get more users to interact with my profile, all of this effort just to see a number increase. The amount of likes or followers you have should never be an indication of self-worth. Social media was created to inspire and share creativity, but instead it has become a popularity contest where we must create illusions of perfect realities in order to win.

Throughout human history, we have documented everything and anything we could, ranging from simple ideas that evolved over centuries, to detailed historical accounts of events from many different perspectives. Our methods of documenting these things have also varied, from simplistic wall drawings to complicated texts written, interpreted, and modified in various ways. We have developed the arts from this: literature, visual art, music, performance, dance, and most recently, photography. It is an art practiced every day, by nearly everyone with access to a digital camera, and is shared across all sorts of platforms. Photographs reveal not just our desire for the arts, but our strong desire to take part in it.

Ever since the camera became a tool just about anybody could use, the number of photos that we have taken has grown seemingly exponentially, revealing that we all have a desire to take part in the arts. When we look at the content of the photos many people take, we see this desire taking shape, “Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs… Most tourists feel compelled to put the camera between themselves and whatever is remarkable that they encounter.” (Sontag 6). Tourism takes up quite a large number of photos that are taken and shared across mediums like social media, which happens because of people’s desire to take part in such an accessible art as photography. It becomes a driving motivator for why many people travel, they want to find amazing things to take photos of, even if thousands of others have done the same. It often doesn’t matter that many others have done the same type of photo because people end up satisfied with the photos they take anyway. This is proven as Sontag further explains that taking photos is a relaxing activity, especially for tourists on vacations from places with intense work ethics, which is significant due to art often being referred to as a way to express our emotions (6-7). Perhaps a more interesting reason why people desire to partake in photography so much could be that its accessibility makes it a necessity to capture things before they are gone, “All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability.” (Ibid 11). We often take photos of our loved ones, because they will inevitably be gone, similarly, we take photos of them throughout their lives because the separate stages of life eventually end as well. We take pictures of places because they could disappear, we photograph the world around us because we may never see it the way we did again, and we capture significant moments because they only exist for that period of time we will never have again. It is clear, then, that we all desire to take photographs because it is an art form that can be participated in with the click of a button, and often drives our motivation to explore the world and enjoy life, as it will eventually end.

The prevalence of photography in our world is a telling sign that we have discovered an art form not just capable of contributing to society and our shared reality, but also to our own individual realities. While the photos taken to invoke emotions from people all over the world stand out more than most others, the photos that we take ourselves stick to us and motivate us to take even more.

Works Cited:

Sontag, Susan. On Photography. RosettaBooks, 2005.

Although photography is an incredibly mainstream art form which does not require much skill or talent at an amateur level, it is just as capable in terms of telling a story and evoking emotions through a simple image as other art forms. To be able to capture a moment in time, no matter how significant, is a very convenient kind of art that can then be used in a variety of ways to either tell stories or just to keep for ourselves. Photography can also be used to reveal a moment that someone has experienced, or at the very least mimic it, so that others can share that moment as well.

As stated in On Photography by Susan Sontag, “Photographs, which package the world, seem to invite packaging. They are stuck in albums, framed and set on tables, tacked on walls, projected as slides” (Sontag, 2). These images can reveal only that which the person behind the lens wishes for it to reveal. It is because of this that photography is an incredibly personal art form which makes it easy for the photographer to convey their desired result. The ability to tamper with such photos also adds a new dimension to the ability to express exactly what it is the photographer aims to do. We can take out certain aspects of a photo that we may not like or play with the lighting setting to add to the mood we desire to portray.

For those who put thought into the way that their photos align, it is the beauty and precision behind taking photos that allows it to be as expressive as it is. We can easily hide moments that we do not wish to include, and replace them with smaller visuals that add to what we wish to make the audience feel. On some level, I do agree with Sontag’s standpoint where photos can be seen as the “objectification of the subject”, since we take the view for ourselves and make it our own to keep, remember, or share. On the other hand, I would not look at that as an inherently negative thing.

Seeing the evolution of photography as a whole since its was invented also gives us insight as to what people viewed as worthy of taking photos of. The style and types of photography that were used changed overtime as more and more people gained access to cameras. After digital cameras and later smartphones became easily accessible, people began to take more photos of everyday moments since they had the means to do so. I believe that the photos that someone takes can let the audience know what was on in their minds at that moment. The photographer must see beauty or value in that which becomes the subject of their photo, which is why it is worth looking at and discussing.

After reading both the first chapter of On Photography by Susan Sontag and Elena Martinique’s “When Staged Photography Becomes Art” I feel like photographs always reveal something, regardless of if they were meticulously composed or if they were “natural.”

Sontag’s essay includes various ways photographs can reveal, and one way is by giving us a path to the past. Photographs freeze moments in time, allowing viewers to access and engage with those moments anytime they want. In this sense, photographs reveal a different kind of reality, presenting the past in a tangible form that can be revisited and shared with others. They reflect the values, norms, and ideologies of the society in which they were taken in, so they have the capacity to serve as historical documents, offering insights into the context in which they were produced. Martinique adds onto this notion, sharing how although some photographs throughout history have been staged, they are still able to convey “the events, environments or emotions” of the time they were taken in.

Sontag also shares, “Photographs furnish evidence. Something we hear about, but doubt, seems proven when we’re shown a photograph of it” (Sontag, 12.) This underscores the power of photographs to reveal the visual truth of the world, because people believe much more than what they hear. I can’t think of a historical example, however through more advanced photographs, we’ve discovered new kinds of stars are able to determine the position of different planets, and more. At the same time, however, Martinique argues that photographs are selective, because they frame and isolate elements within a limited visual field. Some may argue that that creates a superficial sense of reality, and hides authenticity. However, this just makes photography equivalent to any other form of art. There is a reason why photographers choose to conceal certain things, and by analyzing that, we learn more about them and the time period they lived in than if all pictures were family portraits. Martinique herself asserts that we should understand photographs “as we read the world around us… [one] full of uses, values and meanings.”

Essentially, photographs are selective by nature as they capture not only events and environments but also emotions and values. They are, as both authors propose, a medium to be read and interpreted, whether staged or spontaneous.

Photographs are ways of preservation of what is valuable to us. Photographs capture the moment and lock all the precious memories in place. We often refer back to photographs to help us recall past events and preserve interesting experiences. Although it might seem like a thin, mass-producible object when it’s in physical form or a file that takes up space digitally, photographs are flexible and valuable.

As Sontag states in On Photography, “To collect photographs is to collect the world” (Sontag, 1). It’s like we are treasure hunters, journeying around the world and collecting different puzzle pieces of this world and of ourselves. She mentions how we often write about the history of an event or a person but those are just “printed words” but photographs are what give us knowledge. She says that photographs provide “the look of the past and the reach of the present” (Sontag, 2). Words can be interpreted in many different ways but a photograph provides a guide that opens up more direct conversation.

Photography is the documentary of history. Although much of Earth’s history still remains undocumented, ever since the invention of cameras, most of it has been. It also provides evidence. It’s like when people say “I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes”. Most of us like it when we have solid evidence because it proves a point. Sontag mentions how photography is used in the same way in criminology that helps with police investigations (Sontag, 3). But also, photographs are proof of existence. Everyone dies in life, some earlier and some later in life but it’s all part of a person’s life. Photographs are proof that you exist and give people a chance to remember you. During funerals, they also leave a clear picture of the deceased, so that people can remember most of you before they continue on with their own lives.

Personally, I believe that there is a story behind every picture that the photograph doesn’t fully cover so most of the story is concealed. A photograph might show some of the simplest things like a blank white wall but still have meaning behind it. A photograph doesn’t have to be eye-catching or follow a certain set of guidelines, it’s flexible and open to every and any type of story. When I take photographs, my ultimate goal is to be able to capture the most memorable moment of my life, from my smile to my clothes, to my pose, or from the position of the object to the specific angle at which the sun shines on the object. All of them tell a story…my story.