Photography Hides More Reality than They Disclose - Essay Example

Photographs hide more reality than they disclose Photographs hide more reality than they disclose The photograph shows an image of three seated women. The women have beautiful hairstyles and smart dresses. Although they have a perfect dressing style, their outlook seems exaggerated by the amount of make-up on their bodies. There is an awesome match between their dresses, make-up, and hairstyle. As the photograph reveals, an exceptionally good-looking image forms the greatest objective that the women intend to achieve. One of the women comfortably sits on the seat while the other two seem uncomfortable. Two of them are dressed in two long dresses that do not reveal any part of their legs or thighs in the photo. The third woman has a dressing style that exposes parts of her open thighs. Besides, her outlook is sexy and suggestive. Exposing some parts of the body can be a unique fashion, but people can translate it differently depending on the environment. The image does not reveal the identities of the two women. It is difficult to figure out the faces because they are not clear. There are many assumptions that viewers deduce regarding clarity and exposure of the face of one woman but the other two. The women are sitting on a chair that is still wrapped and clear; a viewer can interpret that the chair is new. Interpretation of images and photos takes place according to the environment (Sarva & Frohlich, 2011). The woman who reveals parts of her body sits comfortably while the rest feel disturbed apart from not exposing their full images. In emphasis, the woman at the middle does not sit on an upright posture and seems fatigued. Furthermore, she appears pissed off with the photo-taking moment. The photo does not show a common understanding between the three women despite having the same hairstyle. According to Sontag (1979), “The camera’s rendering of reality must always hide more than it discloses.” Photographs create effects in the minds of viewers using well-organized images. The construction of ideas in our minds when viewing photos has to go beyond what is visible to cover what we think and expect. Color creates a binary relationship with the thoughts in order to construct an image into the minds of viewers. Photographs are instantaneous. It leaves viewers with an opportunity to speculate what could be the intention of the photographer. Unless one has good skills and consciousness of interpretation, understanding the meaning of a photo can be difficult. Photographs use a combination of effects and images to bring out the message o its intent. How can viewers distinguish the photographs of hairstyles? The reality that viewers build on a photo depends on the reality that the individual builds on the mind. In as much as life and events are continuous, a photograph only portrays the reality of an instantaneous moment leaving the audience with a range of suggestions that they can build in their minds. The ability to create several different illusions about photos implies that they have deceptive aspects (Sarva & Frohlich, 2011). It is impossible to construct an actual impression of what happens before or after the instant of taking a photo. Interpreting images depends on many factors both in the personal and environmental perspectives. Therefore, there are details that photograph hide than the reality they disclose. We can interpret the photograph above with the help of several elements. The photo creates an impact when one views it for the first time. Impacts occur when an image compels the viewer to be proud, angry, happy, joyful, laugh, and express other emotion. The photograph above creates an impressive emotional appeal because the three women portray a beautiful outlook (Kelby & Kloskowski, 2010). However, one fails to understand the reason behind the lack of understanding that the photo reveals. The audience would have a wide range of speculations in order to fit emotions. The case implies that the photo hides much that it reveals. There is much more affects that it fails to explain, especially regarding the setting of the photograph. Photographs have the element of technical excellence, which refers to physical outlook and the presentable nature of images. There are items of photos that speak about its quality. The items include correct color, exposure, manipulation, printing, exposure, and sharpness. For instance, viewers can realize the distinct features of the hairstyles among other features of the image (Sontag, 1979). The image has high quality of technical excellence. Viewers can easily distinguish the intensity of the black colors of the dresses in the photo. The make-up on the faces of two women in the image functions to hide the identities of the women. However, the technical excellence is only able to reveal the front view of the images. There is much that the audience can only speculate but not confirm. The photograph incorporates creativity. Creativity achieves to bring out the fresh, external, and original imagination of an individual by the use of thought, message, or idea. The maker of the photograph successfully enables the audience to figure out the message in it. One can clearly identify distinctive features of the image. However, the messages from the images are merely imaginations of what to expect and whatever exists in the surrounding. The meaning of the photo would be complete if the photographer were present to give more explanations about it, hence, enabling the audience to develop accurate imaginations. However, the audience might misinterpret the meaning of the photo (Kelby & Kloskowski, 2010). For example, one might imagine that the three women in the photo are sisters, which could be true. The horizon of creativity implies that the photo hides more than it reveals. Composition is another element useful for analysis of the image. Composition may also refer diverse ways in which the design of the image emerges with the help of visual elements. The photograph of the three women has a proper composition that attracts the attention of the viewer and enables it to understand the intention of the creator. However, the composition of the image does not fully hold the attention of the viewers and leaves them hanging (Mitchell, 2010). Another element is the presentation, which functions to give the image a finished outlook. In much as the creator successfully incorporates the items of presentation, there is still a wide gap that can mislead the viewer to misinterpret the photograph. Photographs, like any other art, do storytelling to the audience. Viewers can build stories out of the images that they see. The three beautiful women sit on the black chair. A colorless cover wraps the chair, probably, suggesting that that chair is new. It is also possible to conclude the woman in gloves is more superior that the rest. The other two seem not to be comfortable. Viewers can also see the dressing styles of the women. Whereas one exposes some parts of her thighs, the other two have full dresses. `The photo also discloses that the make-ups of two ladies hides their faces and may not be effective. However, it is impossible to predict some aspects of the photo. For instance, it hides the full hairstyles of the images of the women. Sontags (1979) assertion that “The camera’s rendering of reality must always hide more than it discloses” is justified. The statement is relevant to different environmental perspectives that people use to interpret photos. Photographs have the abilities to both reflect and mask the reality. Otherwise, from the analysis of the photograph above, it is evident that images do much more of hiding than reflecting reality (Cash, 2008). The suggestion that viewers build on a photo depends on many factors that could be environmental or personal. Viewers can only deliver a range of speculations about an image but cannot be accurate in establishing the intention of the creator. Bibliography Cash, T 2008, The Body Image Workbook: An Eight-Step Program For Learning To Like Your Looks, New Harbinger Publications, Oakland. Kelby, S, & Kloskowski, M 2010, The Photoshop Elements 8 Book For Digital Photographers, New Riders, Berkeley. Mitchell, H 2010, Image Fusion: Theories, Techniques and Applications, Springer, Berlin. Sarvas, R, & Frohlich, D 2011, From Snapshots to Social Media - The Changing Picture of Domestic Photography, Springer, London. Sontag, S 1979, On Photography, Penguin Books Ltd, London Read More