Lecture 3: The Power of Pictures

Week 3 Lecture's of Pictures in Journalism was very insightful. Today, news is best described with the use of pictures - without them we would not have that closer access to the story that only pictures can provide.

I really liked how the lecture began with the history of pictures. It was very interesting to see how they evolved from drawings (very detailed drawings, I must say) to the digital photos. Although this may seem like a great leap, I think that there is a danger to the use of digital photos. It is not a danger that is harmful to our health but more of a harm to our morals. Yes, I am talking about the dangerously increasing use of photo manipulation or "Photoshop" in the news. This software had changed from making slight adjustments to photos to creating impossible images of what people term "beauty". Sadly, many models photographed in news articles or magazines are being photoshopped to appear skinnier, taller and even lighter in skin tone. The Dove video showing how an ordinary (who is quite pretty) girl is transformed into a supermodel just by using this program. It is when they start adjusting where her eyes are and then enlarging them does it really hit you - is this really beauty? I think that we should start re-evaluating our definition of beauty into something more realistic and that magazines should start to really decrease their use of Photoshop. We should start to accept people's natural beauty, because at the end of the day - that is real.  Even today, I found an article which had badly photoshopped Kate Moss and her daughter. The fact that they photoshopped her daughter, a child, makes me quite angry. Here is the picture:

 Photoshopping the hand of a child.
Source: http://jezebel.com/5830983/

What are your thoughts on Photoshop in the media?

Nevertheless, pictures are very powerful. They can say so much without the use of words. In the news, they can really add depth and detail to the story. I also think they also give you a closer connection to the story - pictures can make you emotional. For example, today I read an article on the recent disaster in Japan. Check out the article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/japan-quake-2011/. They have used pictures in a very new way - I have not seen this done before. They have taken pictures of Japan before and after the tsunami and you can see quite clearly just how devastatingly disastrous it was. These pictures had an unbelievable reaction from me - I could not believe how the tsunami could just wipe away houses and buildings like that.

Another great point from the lecture was how to take a photo. This may seem simple - we all take a photo, whether its using our webcam, mobile or digital camera; but it's taking the "perfect" photo that is hard. It was interesting to note that there is "the rule of the thirds - the golden mean" which specifies on what would make a good photo. I was very surprised to note that this rule shows how a better photo can be produced when the object of focus is not in the centre. By placing the object on the side, a different but far better photo is shot. Here is an illustration of the rule:

The "Golden Mean"
Source: http://www.mywisewife.com/composing-better-photograph-rules-of-the-thirds.html

The lecture finished with a great quote, which meant quite a lot to me.

"A picture has no meaning at all if it can't tell a story"

                                                                                   Eetu Silanpaa

Today, we are just surrounded with all these pictures everywhere. In news especially, pictures just add a whole new dimension to the story. My emotional reaction from the Japan article is evidence of this. So if we cannot get a closer feeling from a picture, then it really has no value.