What Are The Differences Between Photographs That Are Windows And Mirrors?
Mirrors and windows, windows allow the viewer/audience into distant settings, experiences which the viewers have not yet experienced. Mirrors do the opposite and reflect personal identity and emotions. Both mirrors and windows represent two key aspects of life: Internal discovery, finding out about yourself and the other is exploring your surroundings. Every photograph, whether using a window to capture a outward experience or a mirror to get personal emotions, they both tell a story or message. Both windows and mirrors allow photographers to balance storytelling with expression of emotions and themselves.
The concept of windows an mirrors was heavily researched by John Szarkowski, who is a photographer born in 1925 from Wisconsin, United states, Szarkowski created a book in 1978 called: Mirrors And Windows, American Photography since 1960. In this book he argues that photography normally falls into two categories which reflects the photographers personality (mirrors) or work that captures the world outside their own experience (windows).
What are the differences between photographs that are windows and mirrors?
Window
Definition: Window photography focuses on observation and perspective. It captures external subjects from a specific vantage point, often suggesting a barrier between the viewer and the subject.
Purpose: This approach allows the audience to observe life as if peering through a window, fostering a sense of distance and sometimes curiosity about the lives being depicted.
Examples:
Street photography capturing candid moments of everyday life.
Images taken through windows, highlighting the separation between the viewer and the outside world.
Techniques:
Framing compositions that emphasize the window or barrier.
Utilizing depth of field to draw attention to subjects outside the frame.
Incorporating reflections of the photographer or environment in the glass.
Words to describe window photography:
authentic
objective
public
visually restrictive
single perspective
Mirror
Definition: Mirror photography emphasizes reflection and self-examination. It often involves capturing images that serve as a mirror to the viewer, reflecting their experiences, emotions, or societal issues.
Purpose: This style invites viewers to see themselves in the image. It can provoke introspection or prompt them to consider their own identities and circumstances.
Examples:
Self-portraits where the photographer is both the subject and the observer.
Images that depict universal themes of struggle, identity, or emotion.
Techniques:
Use of reflections in mirrors, water, or glass.
Close-up shots that capture personal details or intimate moments.
Contrast and light manipulation to enhance emotional depth.
Words to describe window photography:
self expression
romanticism
subjective
candid
naturalistic
Conclusion:
Mirror and window photography are vital concepts in understanding how images can communicate complex ideas about identity, society, and perspective. Whether used individually or in combination, they offer rich avenues for exploration and expression in the art of photography.
Both styles can overlap. A photograph can function as both a mirror and a window, reflecting personal experience while also observing the outside world.
Both approaches can serve as powerful tools for commentary on societal issues, identity, and the human condition.
In storytelling, mirror photography often explores the internal landscape of characters, while window photography may depict their external circumstances.
What are the differences between photographs that are WINDOWS and MIRRORS?
Photographs that are considered MIRRORS:
Mirror photos are usually called this when the photographer is trying to demonstrate or reflect something that they feel about themselves. John Szarkowski in his text, said a mirror is “reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it” and “a mirror- a romantic expression of the photographer’s sensibility as it projects itself on the things and sights of the world”
Photographs that are considered WINDOWS:
Window photos are usually called this when the photographer takes images where they try to demonstrate their opinion and how they feel about the outside world. John Szarkowski said a window is “through which one might better know the world” and “through window which the exterior world is explored in all its presence and reality”
¡Example of MIRRORS
I chose this image as a Mirror image as it seems like a more personal image since it’s a photo of the photographers private home life. They have simply opened their fridge and taken a photo which makes it a reflection of something personal.
Example of WINDOW
This image was taken on a photographers trip to India. I considered this a window image as the photographer is not from there so they aren’t ‘mirroring’ their own life but instead showing a representation of something else. The image is very real and factual as it’s showing their environment and life through the image. The focus is on the two boys however the boys juxtapose their surroundings. The boys are seen to be quite happy and excited to be involved in the image but in comparison to that their background seems like an unhealthy environment to live in.
How can photographs be both ‘mirrors’ and ‘windows’ of the world?
In the 19th century, the art of photography started to develop into what it is today. Louis Daguerre was a French artist and photographer who became known for his invention of the daguerreotype – a process of photography which is done with a silver-plated copper plate transferred to the camera after going through a particular procedure. After exposure to light, the plate was developed over hot mercury until an image appeared. Not long after this process was invented, William Henry Fox Talbot came out with the calotype which is a photographic process done by iodising a sheet of writing paper by applying different solutions under candlelight before washing and drying it. Then, you would sensitise the same surface and dry the paper and load it into a camera obscura, exposing it to light. After, you would remove the paper and use the same sensitising solution to develop the image. Lastly, rinse the negative with water, wash it with a solution of potassium bromide, and rinse it again before laying it out to dry. The difference between these two photographic ways, is that the calotype process first produced a ‘negative’ in the camera which many ‘positive’ calotypes could be made, whereas daguerreotypes were a one-off image. According to John Szarkowski, the images produced from both of these processes would be considered windows. This is because, the photographs would depict views of the outside world, trees, houses, hills etc. which is then giving the viewer another way to look at this view, causing it to be a window as the only thing you are seeing are external factors. They would also be portraits, continuing to make these classified as a ‘window’ as portraits portray a person (or people) in their state, peering into their life. John Szarkowski wrote, ‘The distance between them is to be measured not in terms of the relative force or originality of their work, but in terms of their conceptions of what a photograph is: is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?’. I think this view of photography can be considered a good one however, photography is so subjective and without context, it can be hard to surmise whether a photograph is a ‘window’ or ‘mirror’.
– Nan Goldin
This image above, would be considered a ‘mirror’ image as it is a staged photograph of Nan and Brian in bed. As the photographer is in the photo, this image is reflecting her in, what we would assume, her natural environment. It is a subjective photo, there are different ways in which someone might observe this image, for example the story and meaning behind it can be interpreted different.
Jed Pearl’s review of Mirrors and Windows suggests that Szarkowski’s view of photography, ‘windows and mirrors’, is a binary theory which Szarkowski claims isn’t a fixed pattern but a “continuous axis”. Although he says this, his thesis still suggests that photographs only fit into these two categories. Photographs can be a ‘mirror’ reflecting the artist, who they are, what they stand for etc. and they can also be ‘windows’ – a way to show the world in another view and to document the external environment. But, photographs can also be a mix of both, photographers all have different intentions for their photographs and why they are taking them or why they are photographing their subject, making them fit into one category, both categories, or neither.
– Garry Winogrand
This image presented above, is what would be viewed as a ‘window’. This is because the image is capturing a real moment in time, including many different people and their different lives. The focal point I would say, is the three women walking in the centre of the street, the centre of the image. Our eyes are drawn straight to them and from this one image we can make assumptions about their lives and who they are. We can see the three women looking to the left of the image where we see a young man in a wheelchair, however with him, there isn’t much for the viewer to learn about him, leaving us wondering about his life. The last group of people in the foreground, is what appears to be a family sat on a bench although we can only see the little boys face and none of the others. This image isn’t portraying the photographer, it is a raw moment experienced by all of these different people, looking into their own lives.
To conclude, Szarkowski’s view of photography, ‘the distance between them is to be measured not in terms of the relative force or originality of their work, but in terms of their conceptions of what a photograph is: is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?’, could be a nice way to look at photography as it is able to group images together or differentiate between them. However, I think that we should use this viewpoint as photography is such a subjective concept, even when images are objective, they can be taken in and interpreted differently from person to person. If a photographer wants to present their image in a certain way or in either of these categories (windows and mirrors) then it is a good way for them to do so but that isn’t always the case.
For this photoshoot, I experimented with a variety of different poses, which I thought somehow reflected me and my emotions in that moment. I don’t like some of the photos I created, as I felt they were a bit rushed and could’ve been improved through the angles and lighting.
I did like this project because I felt like it was different to my other ones, but I think it was quite difficult to successfully produce images which shows a clear story within it.
Edited images:
Cropping:
After experimenting with many different facial expressions, as well as different lighting, I am happy with these final outcomes as I like how there is a variation of different moods. We used soft lighting and a black background to create a dramatic affect, so that all the focus is on the subject.
With Photography originating through the use of the camera obscura, a tool believed to have been used since 400BC, this brought about this instantaneous form of ‘drawing with light’. As this optical phenomenon filled rooms of light with images, many pioneers of photography attempted to find more practical ways to invent processes that could fix the image on a surface.
One of these pioneers was Louis Daguerre in 1839, creating the visual experience now known as the Daguerreotype, creating ‘people on the edge of being present’. This would be done initially by polishing a metal plate and laying silver grains upon the surface of it due to them being light-sensitive. Then, this would be placed inside a large format camera and exposed to light from hours to days in order for the light to be reflected back through. After this, the plate would be heated, then cooled with water with extreme caution. This was because if the daguerreotype was touched in the slightest, the image would melt away and be destroyed, wasting the many tools that had to be used. These had high monetary value too, meaning that if the Daguerreotype had been melted away, the artist would have missed out greatly. Due to the fragile element of this photographic process, these would typically be placed into special housing such as wooden boxes, an open model or a folding case which included red velvet too for protection and luxury.
Then came the salted paper and Calotype production of Henry William Fox-Talbot. Talbot first began by applying “silver salts” onto salted paper, creating silver nitrate reactions from the light-sensitivity. This was then exposed to light for many days and then darkened producing negative images. These appeared like shoebox sized cameras and were named mousetraps and were very difficult to use because if it was disturbed it may just get darker and darker so that its only experienced momentarily. Overall, calotypes were better than Daguerreotypes due to it being easily distributed, reproduced and were much cheaper. Whilst they both used light sensitive silver salts, the Daguerreotypes required a lot more tools and metal plates which would have been extremely difficult to find and afford back in the 19th century.
In my opinion, I believe that Daguerreotypes should be categorised as mirrors, due to the fact that they are fictional and staged, with the subjects within the image sat posed in a tableaux-style. I feel that from a certain perspective, however, this can be perceived as a window due to it looking objectively and as if it is documenting someone of importance, yet I think that the loss of candidness makes the Daguerreotypes more of a mirror. I also think that the formal tone of these images pushes the Daguerreotypes to be categorised as a mirror because they can be interpreted in a subjective way, for example the people in the images pretending to be someone of importance and wealth when that’s not what actually defines them.
On the other hand, Calotypes can be majorly categorised as windows, due to these paper negatives documenting the landscape, for example, in an objective and truthful manner. These images identify with realism because their entire concept is external to the photographer with no personality behind it.
In accordance to John Szarkowski’s thesis, he states that ‘The distance between them is to be measured not in terms of the relative force or originality of their work, but in terms of their conceptions of what a photograph is.‘, which stood out to me as it looks at what photography actually is from a different perspective, being that photography isn’t defined by how original your images are or what is within the image, but focuses on the different perceptions of photography and the different associations made. I think this quote is really important because it shifts the narrative of photography from being technical and critical, and instead towards a more conceptual, intentional and meaningful form of expression.
Mirrors
For my example of photographs as mirrors, I chose this image by Gregory Crewdson named ‘Untitled’. Crewdson’s image of a girl in a unclean room followed by a trail of scattered, picked apart roses portrays themes of suburban anxiety, disorientation, fear, loss, and longing. Using a wide-shot angle, Crewdson paints this storyline of vulnerability and abnormality, with the image looking slightly disorientated. A woman sitting in her nightgown on the edge of the bed, emulating a child with her slumped demeanour, followed by piles of roses and thorns. This image is a mirror due to his use of teams of riggers, grips, lighting specialists, and actors in order to create a scene that looks like a film still or a tableaux vivant. The subjectivity in the image is immense making it open to interpretation, for example the roses and thorns being a symbol for the hard journeys that Crewdson has had to go through in his life to get to where he is now. The ambient lighting placed strategically around the room gives the walls a tone of grey and navy in order to emphasize the woman’s distress and lonesome, however this is also tactical in making the viewer feel the same emotion as her. With the final story of this woman remaining elusive and concealed, this image has its roots in Romanticism because of the fairy-tale like aesthetic it has and how it becomes affiliated with the classic horror aesthetic; something terrible has happened, is happening, and will likely happen again. The use of artificial lighting makes it evident that this is shot in a studio, with the lighting being dramatically centred around her like a spotlight, drawing the viewers eyes to her initially.
Szarkowski idealises that his thesis is not a rigid pattern, but a ‘continuous axis, the two poles of which might be described by the terms proposed above’ whilst on the other hand, Pearl’s review criticises this, arguing that ‘its very nature, presupposes a “generous and inclusive acceptance of fact, objective structure,” and that the selection among these facts is the romantic, personal opposite built into any photograph of merit.’. To an overall extent, I agree with Szarkowski’s viewpoint of mirrors and windows being a continual categorisation method because not all photographs can be defined by subjectivity or objectivity, and may sometimes be both. This is because some images can vary, being personal and idealising a romantic expression of the photographs own perspective on the world whilst still being documentary.
Windows
Henri-Cartier Bresson’s photojournalism is a key example of realism photographs, especially this one entitled ‘Baghdad1950’. This image stems from how, in 1950, Iraq was undergoing significant changes, transitioning from a monarchy to a more modern state. The emotional resonance that this image gives the viewer through documenting the great poverty among the people of Baghdad at the time evokes nostalgia, curiosity and contemplation on the privilege that we hold within our own lives in comparison to the overpopulation that this image reveals. Bresson’s success in showing the exterior world that goes unbeknowst to us is incredibly moving because it captures a truthful story in a raw and real way. The monochromatic palette that Bresson has included has emphasised the contrast and texture, the dry and cracked walls from the hundreds to thousands of people passing by everyday, in order to draw attention to the subject matter and the emotions of the people.
The importance of photographs categorised as windows is evident here, forcing their viewers to resonate with themes of community, connection and existence of these underfunded places. Additionally, this enables us as the viewers to learn visually about the cultures, architectures, attires and customs in places that would go unseen otherwise, embodying a tension between modernisation and tradition to show a distinct civilisation. This realist viewpoint archives a pivotal moment in a city’s history that would have been missed or forgotten without this reflection of unique culture and universal aspects of human life. Without images such as these, activism and awareness would not exist, whereas with window photographs, we can get rich insights into the reality of others lives. Through Szarkowski’s thesis of ‘a window, through which one might better know the world?’ and Jed Pearl’s review stating ‘It is the realist view that the world exists independent of human attention’, I feel that these both can define not only Bresson’s image above, but define the meaning being the category of windows on a whole. They outline how the form of photography within windows can spread messages of crisis, hardship and difficulty better than words can describe, and provide evidence to richly detail this.
Conclusion
To conclude, photographs construed as windows, such as Cartier-Bresson’s objective approach into the lives of the people of Baghdad in 1950, reveals the innermost complexities of the varying cultures around the world and ensures that the opportunities of activism are given. Without images such as these, the world would be unaware of not only the difficulties other face in order to appreciate their own, but also enables people with less to gain higher opportunities and gives them the chance for their stories to be told through a lens. Alternatively, these images classified as mirrors allow photographs to envision a story and produce it in order to share private things in their lives of which they may have not been able to find the words to explain. Additionally, due to the subjective nature of these images, viewers can interpret the photographs into their own lives and apply it in realistic situations as a form of comfort. Along the lines of fictional storytelling, this allows exploration of intimate and personal experience and allows us to connect with one another through fictional stories that may resonate with our own personal beliefs and matters.
These opposing concepts of photography; the subjective and objective; the public and private; the fact and the fiction; realism and romanticism, provide alternative perspectives of not only what a photograph is but concurrently reflect the personal experiences that we all uniquely inhabit within our lives and contextualise the wider social issues and conditions. Crewdson’s image resonates with Szarkowski’s explanations of mirrors being that they ‘largely reflected the subjectivity of the artist’ and Pearl’s review of ‘Romantic is used here … as a term that suggests the central and indispensable presence in the picture of its maker, whose sensibility is the photograph’s ultimate subject, and the standard against which its success is measured.’. Additionally, Crewdson’s representation of fictional tableau in a personal format can also be defined by Szarkowski’s thesis of ‘work largely sought to seek outside themselves’ and Pearl’s review disclosing ‘ a generous and inclusive acceptance of fact, objective structure, and the process of logic and system.’ because they highlight the dynamic and potentially controversial aspects of externally documenting the alternating experiences of everyday life. By establishing the connection between photographs and the views of windows and mirrors, this allows people around the world to connect and enhance understandings of different realities.
Szarkowski, J. (1978), Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since 1960. Museum of Modern Art: New York
I want to use all my artists study’s as a reference but i have my own plan of reality that I want to express, such as sexism, sexual assault and depressing life as a teenager. I think through windows and mirrors I can show this very well, I also want to show the positive side.
After choosing my photos for my zine, I created the pages I wanted using the settings: width: 148mm, height: 210, pages: 16, orientation: portrait, columns: 2, column gutter: 5mm, margins: top, bottom, inside, outside: 10mm, bleed: top, bottom, inside, outside: 3mm. and then experimented with the layout and where each photo was going to go. I had to find a few more images as the structure I was going for didn’t work for the amount of images I had.
I began adding writing which was focussed on the history and development of Jersey’s harbour which I thought was a good choice of topic as every picture was taken at the harbour. I used writing on a previous blogpost for this. I made sure to add the writing in empty spaces such as the one above where its positioned in the sky which means the image doesn’t look too busy or confusing. I made sure to keep the writing to a minimum so it doesn’t disrupt the image any further. In this particular page, I only wrote on one photo as it was the largest and the other images would’ve been too small to add writing and the image would be ruined and the writing probably would be lost.
After choosing each photo and making my final decision on them all, I chose where to arrange the photos and which ones worked well next to each other. I decided to keep a pattern of 3 photos on one page then 1 photo then 3 photos etc. I think this worked well because then the layouts were switched up a little and not completely the same throughout. I added two more photos at the end as I hadn’t completely filled up all the pages. I printed the booklet using the correct settings and then folded it over in the order it came out the printer in. After flattening the edge, i stapled the sides twice and then used the trimmer to get rid of all the white boarders around the booklet.
Evaluation
Overall, I think my zine turned out well however I think I could’ve improved it a lot more. I liked the selection of photos I chose and I think I did well will picking my best ones. I liked the layout that I picked as it did as isn’t just stay as a continuous page spread of one photo or 2 instead I alternated the layout by keeping a 1 photo then a 3 photo design. I made sure to keep my favourite landscape photos on the 1 photo page so that they are noticed more. I think keeping all the images in their original colour with some editing was a good idea as it makes the images pop more and draw more attention. However, I think I could’ve been more creative by adding som emote advanced editing to some of my images to make them more interesting and unique. I also think I could’ve tried to get more images that would work together to create a story in my zine as I don’t have much of a story for the images I chose. Each page has similarities but there isn’t an obvious story to it.
