Photo Journal 5

In my photograph, I hope to make a necklace look appealing. By using soft lighting and a short aperture length, the necklace looks desirable and more beautiful that it actually is. The lack of focus hides any blemishes on the necklace and adds mystery and glamour to the photograph.

The article Photography Changes how we Shop inspired me. An interesting point made was that over history, viewers have presumed photographs are more truthful that other visual media. However, today the medium is a shameless tool to sell, promote, and persuade the viewer. I was interested in whether photographs can be put into separate categories, truthful or less biased photographs and photographs used as a tool. I found that while my photograph is a straight depiction of a necklace, not manipulated by computer software, the way I took the photograph still manages to idealize the object. These types of photographs are everywhere. Even though it is now obvious to us that photographs are never really truthful and more often than not they are highly manipulated, it is easy to be seduced by them. In my photograph, the clasp on the necklace is broken but the viewer cannot see that because of the way I photographed it. The overall quality of the necklace is poor, but the lighting conceals it. As the article concludes, the author says many of us are drawn to shop as a result of our image driven world. While we are aware of the untruthfulness of photographs, they continue to be a powerful and persuasive tool. Often photographs are subtle in their attempt to sell something and so they catch the viewer by surprise.

Roxanne Bates