Tag Archives: staging

Photographer Ethics: Photo Opportunities and Propaganda

By DSLRBlog Editors | Published July 20, 2006

An interesting piece from photo journalism professor Dennis Dunleavy about the photographers dilemma when photographing staged events

something that I have encountered many times in my own career – is that many photojournalists forget about how the event is “staged” for the camera before hand. Many photojournalists, myself included, tend to get caught up with “getting the picture” and do not generally indulge in evaluating the moral complexities or consequences of a particular event unfolding before them and for them.

How many photographers, who are obviously relying on the sale of their photographs to put food on the table, are going to turn this down on moral grounds? As Dennis says, the event happened, and was obviously done to get a certain result. The photographer is “reporting” but is also an active participant in a manipulation of the media consuming public.

It’s an interesting issue, well worth reading Dennis’ thoughts about it.

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Making versus Taking Photographs

By DSLRBlog Editors | Published January 17, 2006

What is the difference between making a photograph and taking one? It seems some photographers do not like the idea that an artist might stage a scene before capturing it, like the genre should be about recording what is there rather than “creating”.

NPR : Gregory Crewdson’s Photo Alchemy

Gregory Crewdson doesn’t so much take pictures as make them. Some critics say the photographer and artist is reinventing the genre by using film techniques to stage pictures.

I think the idea is fascinating and so obvious I can’t believe it is a new idea. Why is it ok for a cinematographer to do this and not a photographer? Where is the law that “photographs shouldn‘t lie”?

I have to agree with this post from Painted Raven

Some of the earliest photographs were staged, and the idea of ‘staging’ a picture has always been around, and part of photography to some degree… As for photos leaving unanswered questions? Do we ever know the full story behind a photo? While the photos are interesting, and it’s nice to see the arts in the public eye…

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