a good read:Should Photographs say something?

[mattlock]

another discussion from abit back has good debate on a topic which is worth exploring in more depth in our own work
take a look
http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00B23n

 

[ortega]

the image should at least say,

"Hey look at me!"

 

[espion]

It depends whats the photo for: if it is to say something to someone than it ought to.

There are of course good and bad photos - and good and bad means different things to different people - memorable and forgettable ones, meaningless and meaningless ones when seen with or without a context.

 

[TheQuestion]

of course they should say something. otherwise what's the point?!

 

[Zohan]

It depends whats the photo for: if it is to say something to someone than it ought to.

There are of course good and bad photos - and good and bad means different things to different people - memorable and forgettable ones, meaningless and meaningless ones when seen with or without a context.

if i may add, both good and bad photos also say something about the photographer's intention (or lack of it). a photographer usually knows:

1. what he wants
2. how he wants
3. when he wants
4. where he wants

but most don't know WHY they want to take a picture. if the photographer can understand the 'why' then it's a great 1st step to understand motivation, which invariably leads to understanding one's own intention. and by knowing that intention, the photographer will have more clarity in taking pictures. btw, this doesn't mean that more people will like the images when the message is clear. liking a picture is not indicative of the clarity of the message. we can still appreciate the message of the picture while disliking it personally.

an example: a photographer likes to shoot xmm shots (like the ones in the portrait section). sure, he takes photos of other stuff like vacation shots, etc but maybe he likes xmm shots the most. if he takes the time to understand his motivation (maybe he appreciates beauty, or maybe he is trying to revisit his youth, or maybe it's just lust) then he will be able to clarify and fine tune his image because he understands himself. that way, image will be clearer in its message.

 

[Sion]

the image should at least say,

"Hey look at me!"

My photo always says:

"Hey I'm your XMM!"

 

[hongsien]

The fact that this seemingly serious thread disgresses into a 'XMM' thread says alot of the Clubsnap posters :bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie:

 

[hongsien]

The fact that this seemingly serious thread disgresses into a 'XMM' thread says alot of the psyche of Clubsnap posters :bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie:

 

[leews2001]

recommend these two books:

"Camera Lucida" by Roland Barthes ( skipped the first chapter. it is horribly infected by Jacques Lacan's bad writing virus)
"On Photography" by Susan Sontag

 

[hongsien]

The fact that this seemingly serious thread disgresses into a 'XMM' thread says alot of the psyche of Clubsnap posters :bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie:

 

[Zohan]

The fact that this seemingly serious thread disgresses into a 'XMM' thread says alot of the psyche of Clubsnap posters :bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie:

sorry. didn't mean too. but it's very interesting, no?. i remember seeing an archival photo (probably 1980s or 1970s) of a photo society group outing in singapore. it had 20-25 photographers shooting 1 bikini model in a park. in fact, some of the xmm photos bear a resemblance to the photos from the 70s in image content.

but seriously, the xmm photography phenomenon is not a new thing, it's a continuation from the old days. and it does reflect on the psyche of amateur photography in singapore, whether we like it or not.

 

[Parka]

of course they should say something. otherwise what's the point?!

Precisely what I'm going to say also.

:bsmilie: