One of the things that stand out in the reading was the skeptic eye towards photography as an objective truth. So often we see photography used to portray a specific position. The article mention the example of the Time and Newsweek‘s portrayal of O.J. Simpson. Time was accused of altering Simpson’s mug shot by making him darker and more menacing. A recent example of altering photography is the Iranian missile test in which Iran added an additional rocket to “enhance” the photograph. With the increased usage of Photoshop and digital photography, people are increasingly skeptical at photography as an objective truth.
However, photography—and images in general—still provide a way of communication. The subjectivity and presence of the creator in photography gives the images a more personal touch. Photographs are not just images that a machine created but an image someone else wants to share. Instead of reading the Photoshoped image of the Iranian missiles as “the truth”, we can read it as what Iran wants to share with the world. The image expresses Iran’s desire to impress the world with their military advancement and show off their power.
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