Photography’s Functions

In my opinion there are multiple functions/ uses of photography it can be used to capture memories and events in someone’s personal life, or on the other hand it can become very general and varied, such as pictures of natural events in the newspapers. Furthermore, it can be used to communicate everything that is occurring all around the world at one time, although photographs only capture one point in time and sometimes don’t show the whole story, pictures can communicate important issues such as climate change, mental health and the pandemic. Personally the main function of photography is to capture memories such as holidays around the world and growing up in my childhood home.

Photography as an art form

Photography can be viewed as a from of art and self expression as it can portray someone’s emotions through an image or a collection of images, people can manipulate their images to emphasise specific parts of the image. However, this makes images untrustworthy and misleading, for example when celebrities use photoshop to make their images look more aesthetically pleasing. Photography contrasts with other visual art forms as in my opinion its the most misleading, but can have the most influence other other opinions, mostly because a whole story sometimes cant be told through one photo. Photography as an art illustrates how the work is done by the photographer/ artist rather than jus the camera itself, this allows famous photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson to explain the thought process and development behind his images.

The study and practise of photography

One of my favourite thing about visual arts in general is the many ways in which it can be used in very serious situations such as finding out what a criminals face looks like on CCTV or illustrating how many children starve in third world countries. The practise of photography is very important as even though we might not know it we need it to show evidence of everything from school work, to the discoveries of new planets, as some of my favourite high resolution images are of earth from thousands of miles away. I think that the main benefit from the study of photography is how it can change your perspective on things, anything from the angles and the lighting to the way in which situations are viewed. For example, the famously controversial image that Kevin Carter taken had a serious message behind it, not telling the whole story, whereas if he had included the food bank in the background of his image then maybe it would not have bee as controversial in a negative way, this demonstrates how easily images can be manipulated.

Technical Elements

The lighting within this image is more underexposed, rich and dark towards the bottom of the image, but towards the top of the image the lighting is harsh and artificial. In the area of windows in the middle of the image, there is an area of high overexposure. The white balance is warm, and there is an orange tone to the image. This shot is shot in portrait, with a slightly blurry texture, and slightly fine grain. This means that the light sensitivity was higher, creating this grain.

Visual Elements

The tone in this image is rich and dark, however with high light points in the middle section of windows. The angle in which the photo is taken creates a triangle shape leading towards the background. This creates natural leading lines within the image, drawing the eye from the subject of the mage to the background of the factory. The doorway above the subject’s head creates a natural frame for this dramatic portrait. There is slight shadow on the subject’s face, but deep underexposure, and tones of black and orange on the middle of his face. The use of repeated rectangle and square shapes in the construction of the factory creates a sense of a uniformed and rigid environment, and creates an organised composition.

Contextual Elements

Alfred Krupp, the subject of this picture, was a factory boss in WWII. He was very controversial figure in post war Germany, due to his encouragement and use of forced and child labour in his factories during the war. He sourced his workers from concentration camps, and forced these victims to work in horrific and dangerous conditions, making weapons for the German army. He was charged with crimes against humanity, in 1951, and died in 1967.

Conceptual Elements

I believe that the idea behind this image is to showcase the power of money and industrial strength that was behind World War II.

Photography’s Functions

Photography is medium that allows news to be spread, and new ideas to be shared eg: Photojournalism, documentary photography, and ways of advertising: fashion photography as well as product photography. Photography is important for this reason: it allows voices that would otherwise silent to ber heard, and different perspectives and points of view to be voiced.

Photography can be used to tell stories, as well as provoking memories. People make photographs to capture memories as well as to document a time, or place. The passing of time is a common idea that photographers seek to portray: for example age, or historic moments. To be a good photographer, you need lots of patience, as well as an eye for different shapes and symmetry.

Can photographic images be trusted?

Unfortunately, in today’s digital age, images can be heavily manipulated, as well as only telling one side of a story. Tools such as cropping, photo manipulation and different angles allow photos to be twisted and changed to show only one view, or be made to look older / newer than reality. This can cause issues in the world of politics and social media, as well as current affairs and news.

Kevin Carter took this photo in 1993 of a starving Sudanese boy (who was initially thought to have been a girl hence the photo name), who collapsed on his way to a feeding centre whilst a vulture waited nearby. This photo sparked controversy because people wondered why he had taken the photo instead of helping the boy. However just out of the frame was the child’s parents and the feeding centre. Carter took them out of the frame in order to to draw more public compassion.

The angle the photo is taken at presents the vulture as superior and makes the viewer anticipate what will happen next. The fact there is no second frame adds to this, which is why it is such a well-recognized image. The contrast between the kneeling child and the towering vulture represents how different the life of these photographers are compared to the people they are taking photos of.

Carter was working in a time when photojournalists were told not to touch famine victims for fear of spreading disease. He estimated that there were twenty people per hour dying at the food centre. The child was not unique. However, he wanted to photograph the child in a way that would cause controversy to bring attention to the amount of young famine victims, not just in Sudan, but around the world.

This is one of Kevin Carters most “iconic”, but “controversial” images which was published in the New York Times in 1993. The image of the collapsed Sudanese girl and the vulture leave the viewers in suspense because they don’t get a second image leaving them to image what happened next. The image is cold and depressing because the little girl was on her way to a feeding centre when the picture was taken and because of the vultures stance it seems like he thinks the little girl is there prey. This image shows the real struggles which people who live in these parts of the world experience and it shows what many people don’t see in everyday life.

Carter got a lot of backlash for this image and was scrutinised for not helping the little girl which led to his unfortunate suicide due to being blamed, but what the public didn’t see was what surrounded the girl. The child was just outside the feeding centre with her parents but unfortunately collapsed when Carter took the picture.