Modes of Photographic Construction.
- Natural/Controlled/Constructed/Studio.
- Retouching.
- Point of View.
Selection of story
Fragments of time-what happens next
- Fiction.
- Omission- what you don’t see
1.- Natural– Natural images are easily explained as point and shoot concept, images which are shot out and about for example a paparazzi style photograph which has no editing or post-production work performed on it.
Controlled– A controlled image is based on the surrounding effects which result in the image outcome, these effects are set-up to give a specific result for example lighting at a main-stream event i.e. a movie premiere where the stars/celebrities are all in view of the photographers and a lighting set-up is placed above the photographers to provide a flattering look to the celebrities been photographed.
Constructed– Constructed images are a series of photos which are all created by either the photographer or a group i.e. photographer, stylist, and/ or an art director. These images are usually created as a method of publicising the subject, showing their perfect side with flawless skin, perfect blue eyes, stunning hair, and sought after looks.
All created after the image is taken using post-production techniques in a variety of different software programs.
Studio– Studio produced photographs are all created in a perfect environment, everything in the studio is set just how the photographer wants it, the images produced are more often used for modeling purposes and/or advertising i.e. trying to sell perfume products or items of a similar nature clothing, technology based products, or fashion brands.
………………………………………………………
2. Re-touching
Re-touching is a key part of photography which is constantly in the public eye, with so many images forced into the limelight re-touching is used to glamorise the subject area.
Images related to a fashion brand used for advertising purposes are the more likely subject area to be re-touched to give the look of perfection making their products more desirable.
………………………………………………………
3. Point of View
Image point of view provides a wide variety of opinion about photographs, the angle in which photographs are shot at means all kinds of people have a varied opinion on the image and what the believe it says.
The photographer provides his/her point of view on an image by altering how he/she see’s the image and what they want the outcome to be, for example-
the above image captured in New York City during the 9/11 attacks is a clear representation of what happened and where, however the below image captured on the same day gives a different point of view to the extent that it could just be another photograph captured elsewhere in the world and have no link to 9/11.
The image gives the point of view more on the side of the survivors rather than the tragic attack itself.
…………………………………………………………….
4. Fiction
Image’s constructed on fiction are an intriguing balance on reality, images which are fake can be so close to reality that it create’s a staggering amount of what-if’s.
Now in some cases fiction photographs are not always fake,
the above image was taken of Barack H. Obama after his speech addressing the nation on the death of Osama Bin Laden, however the image above taken of the speech was taken after Barack H. Obama had already informed the nation of the death.
The image below shows the staged set-up for the photograph of The President.
…………………………………………………
5. Omission
Photo journalism can cover such a wide variety of worldwide events that sometimes these events may not always produce the action that photographers need to sell the story to a paper/magazine/website.
The above image was taken in Palestine during the riots, the image n the left is the final published photograph whereas the image on the right is the set-up taken by an out of shot camera showing a group of photographers working with the rioters on creating the photograph.
Below is a link to a video showing the events of this staged photograph and several more just like it.
video link- http://vimeo.com/29280708
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Workshop task.
Find an example of ONE of the following in a photographic journalism context:
1- Staging of a photograph as “news”
2- Selection of a point of view to tell a specific news story
Research the background of the image.
Create a blog post of up to 200 words with notes on the following:
* How was the image constructed
* What meaning was communicated?
* Is this the “true” meaning
* Are there any signs in the image of construction?
* Include links to any sources or discussions you use.
………………………………………………………………………..
Staging of a photograph as ”news”
How was the image constructed?
The image taken by Charles Ommanney is of Barack H. Obama taking a moment to reflect on days events in a purpose built tour style bus used by The President.
Constructed on a one-to-one basis with Obama and the photographer and based in a more private setting giving the impression there was only the two of them there at the time the photograph was taken.
What meaning was communicated?
In my opinion the meaning that the photograph communicates is that of hard work, showing Barack H. Obama taking some time to relax and think over the days events.
The photograph does communicate the look and feel of tiredness extremely well showing him reclined in his chair with his feet up on the desk and the fact that his suit jacket is not in the scene gives the idea his strolled in and threw it over the chair like any other business man.
Is this the “true” meaning?
The true meaning of the photograph is not an easy meaning to decipher, however in my opinion the meaning gathered from the photograph of hard work, reflection on the days events, and relaxation is the true meaning which the photographer wanted to get across from the image.
Are there any signs in the image of construction?
I believe the main clue in the image of construction is the fact that there is no one in it apart from Barack H. Obama, given the fact that he is the President of the United States the man has constant protection, and the fact that there is no body guards or personal assistants visible in the foreground or background of the image gives the impression that the photograph was well thought out and planned by the presidents public relations team prior to the shoot.
Links.
http://photo.net/business-photography-forum/008CZ7 – Link to description on editorial photographers (Charles Ommanney)
http://charlesommanney.com/#/index – Link to Charles Ommanney’s website
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Reflection.
Modes of photographic construction has been an extremely interesting subject to cover, it makes you think in detail a lot more about how the images you see published on a day-to-day basis in the media are not always what they seem to be. Looking at how some of these images are produced shows how simple it can be to turn a low-key event into a mainstream media frenzy with just the help of those involved a simple image taken at the correct angle with the right amount of light and drama can have great appeal over a photograph taken of the more subtle nature of the event.
Working through different articles from published story’s highlights the photographs published in them, we see these images as they appear, however we do not look deeper into them and their creation. The majority of published images are never as they were taken, with the publics views and opinions on what is acceptable changing everyday the media corporations are able to push the boundaries more on the items they publish, for example the acceptable nature of war photography.
This then brings to light in my mind that the action packed images we see in the news are not always the genuine article and are more than likely staged to improve sales and the publics reaction to the story.