Blog Promps #5, #6 & #7

# 5

“ I just think it’s important to be direct and honest with people about why you’re photographying them and what you’re doing. After all, you’re taking some of their soul.” – Mary Ellen Mark

I think the way Mark describes photography is quite interesting— stealing a piece of someone’s soul. To some degree I really agree with this quote. When you shoot a picture of someone, you are not only capturing his or her facial expressions, their locations and the rest of the environment, but also you are recording a moment with their emotion, thoughts, feelings in the person’s life. It is these thousands of hundreds of moments that consist one’s whole life, one’s history.  Within those moments, one develops his or her characters, personality, and his or her way of living. I feel those are very significant elements influencing one’s soul. Therefore, something spiritual and private is taken from somebody when you press down your shutter.

#6

In your opinion, when is it beneficial, ethical, or appropriate to digitally alter photographic portraits? When do you think it is inappropriate or ethically wrong?

I personally think that slight adjusting to the portraits for the visual effect sake is acceptable, such as wedding picture or senior portraits. But when photographying portraits for news or identification, even slight altering of the picture may cause huge misunderstanding. The altered portraits convey incorrect information, or even incomplete information, which is not ethical or objective for news release.

#7

Pay close attention to the types and number of photographic portraits you see in one day. Where did you see them? What’s the difference between the portraits on facebook vs. on news/ websites? What’s the different viewpoint of photographer in each situation?  What are their different “intents”?

Every day we see portraits on facebook, newspapers, magazines and other printed ads.  The portraits on facebook are usually more personal and unprofessional. Those pictures are mainly aiming at sharing personal life, usually the fun part. The photographer may not think too much before they press the button.  However the portraits on websites and news are more focusing on public events and creating buzz.  Photographer may focus more on the controversial and popular subjects trying to catch the tension, the unexpected and the attractiveness.