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I am not sure I agree with this original hypothesis - does anyone really believe a photograph is a perfect recreation of truth? From most people I talk to they

I am not sure I agree with this original hypothesis - does anyone really believe a photograph is a perfect recreation of truth? From most people I talk to they understand that it is somewhere in between art and documentation. I am big into photography myself and it would take a lot of conscious effort to actually take photographs that were as close as possible to what the average human brain is perceiving from their own eyes. It is certainly possible with the right tools and mindset but would require careful lens selection and conscious choice of angles/perspective. TLDR: Ceci n'est pas une pipe

lancesells 5y ago
To me a photograph is far from the truth. It's a fascimile of the world through a mechanical / chemical / digital process. The camera is not comparable to human vision and the trend on smartphones with their post-processing gets it even farther away. Not to say I don't like photographs.
jcynix 5y ago
Photos can try to document a partial truth. But as soon as you compare a photo with the real world where it was taken, you might realize subtle or not so subtle differences. For example, I always wonder what was behind the photographer who took an image of a beach for a hotel. Maybe a four lane road? Or a construction site? ;-0 Or without such obvious attempts to "photoshop" reality: when I take photos of funghi, for example, I often remove stuff like leaves or grass which would detract the viewers eye from the subject I want to portrait. Is this art? No. Is this truth? It's a facet of reality.
the_af 5y ago
> does anyone really believe a photograph is a perfect recreation of truth? I did, in my teenage years. As far as I know, my parents still do. And I'm pretty sure N > 3. Hey, you asked whether anyone believes this, not whether it makes sense or whether they can be disabused of this misconception.
eyelidlessness 5y ago
I think it’s an interesting topic for aspiring/developing artists (whether photographers or otherwise). Behind the lens, there may be a temptation to portray “what is” (whatever your perspective) rather than “what you want to show”. It’s the same for other visual arts, and even for developing musical or writing style. I’m definitely not a particularly artistic photographer, but learning to focus on what I want to convey rather than the actual content that’s conveying it has helped me immensely as a musician and (more pronounced on a smaller scale) as a poet.
asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
I think photographs can make an effort to convey the perceived, visual reality of a moment. It is still not real, and it is still not "objective" -- there is no absolute objective. But it is a particular purpose that is more unique to photography and videography than most media. And it is very different from most art, where conveying visual reality is rarely considered important. Of course this is not the only valid use for photographs, but it is a genre of photography that is a not insignificant part of the whole discipline, both in terms of production and consumption.
grumbel 5y ago
> does anyone really believe a photograph is a perfect recreation of truth? While people might be aware at some level that photography isn't truth, photography is certainly used a heck of a lot to present "truth", even when it's not. News media is assumed to at least try to stay closed to the truth and is full of photographs, and more often than not, it's completely fake. Be it due to framing, subject selection or just plain use of stock photos that have nothing to do with the subject of the article. What I find frustrating is that you absolutely can use photos to present truth or at least try to get close to it, but that means using lots of them, different angles, time lapse, tagging them with date and time and so on. No news media ever does that. They all use singular photos. They don't show you video of the same event even when it exists. They don't show you multiple angles. And they don't even show you all the other photos the photographer made at the event, only the prettiest ones, all the rest goes into the archive or trash bin. Given that we are no longer limited by the space on a paper newspaper it's frustrating how little we actually use what modern technology offers. This goes of course beyond just news, even product photos could use a few more camera angles. They never show you the full thing you are actually buying (packaging, accessories, backside, etc.), but only some very limited view on it.

lancesells 5y ago

To me a photograph is far from the truth. It's a fascimile of the world through a mechanical / chemical / digital process. The camera is not comparable to human vision and the trend on smartphones with their post-processing gets it even farther away. Not to say I don't like photographs.

jcynix 5y ago

Photos can try to document a partial truth. But as soon as you compare a photo with the real world where it was taken, you might realize subtle or not so subtle differences. For example, I always wonder what was behind the photographer who took an image of a beach for a hotel. Maybe a four lane road? Or a construction site? ;-0 Or without such obvious attempts to "photoshop" reality: when I take photos of funghi, for example, I often remove stuff like leaves or grass which would detract the viewers eye from the subject I want to portrait. Is this art? No. Is this truth? It's a facet of reality.

the_af 5y ago

> does anyone really believe a photograph is a perfect recreation of truth? I did, in my teenage years. As far as I know, my parents still do. And I'm pretty sure N > 3. Hey, you asked whether anyone believes this, not whether it makes sense or whether they can be disabused of this misconception.

eyelidlessness 5y ago

I think it’s an interesting topic for aspiring/developing artists (whether photographers or otherwise). Behind the lens, there may be a temptation to portray “what is” (whatever your perspective) rather than “what you want to show”. It’s the same for other visual arts, and even for developing musical or writing style. I’m definitely not a particularly artistic photographer, but learning to focus on what I want to convey rather than the actual content that’s conveying it has helped me immensely as a musician and (more pronounced on a smaller scale) as a poet.

asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago

I think photographs can make an effort to convey the perceived, visual reality of a moment. It is still not real, and it is still not "objective" -- there is no absolute objective. But it is a particular purpose that is more unique to photography and videography than most media. And it is very different from most art, where conveying visual reality is rarely considered important. Of course this is not the only valid use for photographs, but it is a genre of photography that is a not insignificant part of the whole discipline, both in terms of production and consumption.

grumbel 5y ago

> does anyone really believe a photograph is a perfect recreation of truth? While people might be aware at some level that photography isn't truth, photography is certainly used a heck of a lot to present "truth", even when it's not. News media is assumed to at least try to stay closed to the truth and is full of photographs, and more often than not, it's completely fake. Be it due to framing, subject selection or just plain use of stock photos that have nothing to do with the subject of the article. What I find frustrating is that you absolutely can use photos to present truth or at least try to get close to it, but that means using lots of them, different angles, time lapse, tagging them with date and time and so on. No news media ever does that. They all use singular photos. They don't show you video of the same event even when it exists. They don't show you multiple angles. And they don't even show you all the other photos the photographer made at the event, only the prettiest ones, all the rest goes into the archive or trash bin. Given that we are no longer limited by the space on a paper newspaper it's frustrating how little we actually use what modern technology offers. This goes of course beyond just news, even product photos could use a few more camera angles. They never show you the full thing you are actually buying (packaging, accessories, backside, etc.), but only some very limited view on it.