Homeless – © John Neel
Photography isn’t always about what makes you feel good. It can be more about what it makes you feel.
While good can be one of the effects, there are many other sentiments that can be had. It all depends on the photographer, their subject and what they want us to see, feel or think about.
In fact, those who make images have many choices in what the image might convey. As it should be, feeling good is only one of many possible side effects of most great photographs.
The primary purpose of an image is to communicate. Some do a better job of it than others. As with the author of a book, the photographer uses a number of tools to show us something beneath the facade or the first impression. To read a photograph usually requires the photographic equivalent of reading between the lines. At times the viewer needs to pry the elements loose from the foundation in order to contemplate the reality of the image. It usually requires a second look, a deeper awareness and a different way of looking.
One of the most rewarding aspects of looking at images is in the understanding of what you are looking at. The reward is in many ways, similar to reading a book and realizing the story’s deeper meaning. Like the book, the deeper meaning is what the photographic image is about. That is true in those images where the photographer thought to make it so.
A good photographer utilizes his/her skills to produce a puzzle of sorts that will open the image to a new meaning. In fact, it is that new meaning which is the actual subject of the image. It is the real subject that the artist/photographer wants us to think about.
Thinking about an image also requires that the viewer understands that such a thing can happen. As with a book, over time, the reader learns to see the underlying details, which reveal the truer nature of the writings (images). It is also similar to the underlying messages found in music, theater, and film.
The great images of photography are great because of their power to expand our thinking. They give us new insight into a photographic subject. They make us think about what we see in the image.
Target – © John Neel
In general, the difference between a mere photo and a great photographic image is in the way the details elevate thought. The method in which an image is created has a lot to do with what the photographer intends us to see. However that is not to say that the photographer has all of the answers. It is very possible, that the viewer thinks very differently about what he/she is seeing. The photograph can have different meaning to different viewers. This is in part due to what the viewer brings to the image and how open the viewer is to what is in the image.
In any case, the experience of looking at great images opens the door to a heightened awareness of your world. While there are many images that have nothing to offer, the good ones have plenty of insight to give. The good images are the ones that you will know when you see them. They are like the people you meet.
To look at images requires that the viewer have an open mind. To realize the message, to learn from the image, and to see the world in a new way, is what will bring you back.
Feeling good is what you get when the image makes you think. You feel good about solving the puzzle or maybe from understanding the question or the concern. You feel good for having had a new experience. You meet the image with an open eye and an open mind. You feel good perhaps because you agree with the image-maker or that it hit a note. You feel good because you get it, it makes sense, and it expands your thinking. You begin to feel better because it elevates your understanding, awareness and your way of seeing. You become more aware of what the image is expressing, you see its implication and you walk away in a new light. You are rewarded even if the message of the image is of the unthinkable.
BTW – Truth by-itself is not always a happy experience. It is not always warm and fuzzy. Nonetheless, it is important to give it a chance. It beats the alternatives that are perpetuated by ignorance, falsehood, denial and fantasy.
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Read about my book Rethinking Digital Photography.
Please have a look at some of my other posts here.
NOTICE of Copyright: THIS POSTING AS WELL AS ALL PHOTOGRAPHS, GALLERY IMAGES, AND ILLUSTRATIONS ARE COPYRIGHT © JOHN NEEL AND ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT FROM THE WRITER, THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR lensgarden.com. THE IDEAS EXPRESSED ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND THE AUTHOR.
