How often do you hear someone say, “It’s all a matter of
perspective!” (Usually when their perspective on an issue differs from yours).
A camera is a powerful instrument for making a point
about your own perspective. Often when a
photographer takes a very different point of view, it dramatizes the subject,
whether the subject is nature, a wedding, a portrait or a social issue. Some students in this course have presented
images from very unusual points of view and their images “pop” accordingly.
Liz Moore shared with me these two images of the same cars
taken from different perspectives. Above they look like real cars on a real street; on the right it is revealed that they are tiny models. They certainly
make the point about perspective nicely. (More of the same here.)
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| What is the message intended by this image? |
Using a similar technique, compelling social commentary can
be made without uttering a syllable. This collection of images on flickr addresses the notion that you can
make effective social commentary simply by creating an image that brings
together the elements of your insight and put them in the perspective you wish
to portray. It’s extraordinarily
powerful.
Surely that power should bring with it a responsibility
– so another big question is the degree to which both mainstream and social
media use this awesome power to act in a socially responsible fashion. Many people objected to Rolling Stone Magazine portraying the Boston Marathon bomber like a rock star – of course the editors insist
it is simply journalism. What do you think? What perspective could the editors have had? |
| click to see larger image |
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| click to see larger image |
On the other hand, the German government has combined the
great use of clean, simple images on the sides of vending machines with a
wonderful sense of humour to make the point that education is the gateway to
better-paying and more satisfying jobs. No
one could find fault with that social message. In some countries it is hard to imagine a government with a sense of humour.
Perspectives on Beauty
One of the most obvious false perspectives is one that greets our eyes everywhere. Beautiful women are a delight to behold, so we rarely complain when we see them. The problem, of course is that the image of beauty created in those images is non-existent in nature, and it sets a standard impossible for any woman to meet. Take a look at how the most ordinary-looking young woman is transformed into a
fictional image of beauty. This unrealistic portrayal of beauty cannot help but suggest to all women that they
are falling short.
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| Same girl after Photoshop |
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| Ordinary girl before Photoshop |
It is hard to believe it is the same woman in both pictures, but you can see how the transformation is made in the short youtube video. Yet again, we see how photography is used to create an unusual perspective -- this time striving to create a fantasy perspective on female beauty that stirs the kind of anxiety that will sell cosmetic products (other than Photoshop).
A Beautiful Perspective
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| click for full size |
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| click for full size |
And for your visual pleasure here is a page with many more delicate and beautiful snowflake pics as well as an explanation of how you can make your own.
There such a thing as ice cream vending machines?! anyways i find it neat how different perspectives can completely change the outcome of the photo and also how photoshop can create such detail and really make a photo pop more than it was before
ReplyDeleteThe photoshop girls are really interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe way the cars were shot is really cool. When I first saw them, I thought they were real cars and not just models.
ReplyDeleteI think it's eye opening, to see so graphically, how a picture can change your perspective. The two photos that struck me the most were the photo with the toy cars and the picture of the family at the beach and the homeless man. In the first one, I love the fact that the artist forces you to change your perspective, making you see something that is less noticeable but that was there all along. The second picture, the one at the beach, is really powerful too. The author could have easily avoided that man being in his picture, that way, only showing a family enjoying a day at the beach. However, with his decision to include such a harsh contrast, the artist forces us to see the situation differently.
ReplyDeleteThe images of the cars is really cool, i'd like to try something like that and see if I could make it look real. Pictures like the one of the people at the beach and the homeless man could deffinatly make people think about what really matters in life. I also think that the pictures of the photoshopped girl are interesting, but I have to wonder how it made her feel. If it was me that had that done, it deffinatly wouldn't have helped my self image improve any. However, they are very interesting images though.
ReplyDeletePerspective is a very interesting thing. Even what one person views as an incredible photograph to what another sees in the picture varies considerably. Our eye chooses to see what it wants too. I agree with Gabrielle when she talks about the interesting addition the homeless person was to the beach photo. That person chose to expose a different perspective to that beach shot than most people would. Saying that though I also love how you can choose to show a false reality using the camera and photoshop. You can create beautiful images sometimes nicer than they actually appeared to be through the work of the camera. For example the extreme contrast of the photoshopped girl.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the beauty one. So true
ReplyDeletePerspective is very interesting, and fun to capture in a photo. When I have a camera in hand I always look at everything in a way where I can capture different perspectives.
ReplyDeleteIf only we could see women like a snowflake, no two women are alike so no two women have the same beauty standard, so there shouldn’t be one beauty standard. When I describe my point of view on photoshop, the photographer has a blank colouring page and when they give it to the photoshop editor, the editor fills it with colours and makes it ‘’beautiful’’. Like Josh Rossi, his photos are just editing and that is the beauty of it. But when you change a persons body to become the social standard of beauty it is not naturally possible for any women to reach that.
ReplyDelete