Luisa Frances S.

Fernandez
155680
Sci10 Section L
Sir Ian Navarette
Feb. 20, 2017

Essay instruction: Name one kind of technology and explain how it changed communication.

Photography and Communication

According to David Frohlich and Risto Sarvas, in their book “From Snapshots to Social
Media ‑ The Changing Picture of Domestic Photography”, the camera works through a very simple
process: light that is reflected passes through a hole and touches a surface, which then creates a
“copy” of what it originally reflected from. This principle was practiced by ancient philosophers, who
invited the camera obscura, a dark chamber with a hole in the wall. The camera obscurae produced in
the nineteenth century were small boxes holding a mirror at the back of the front hole. These mirrors
produced an image, whose size, focus and proximity was adjusted through a lens or an instrument that
can bend light rays. Any camera follows this principle: “by the use of a lens and changing aperture, to
make a clear and focused image on the back of the camera” (Frohlich, 2011).

The camera obscura was the onset of the photographic camera. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce,
who attained the first positive image recorded on a medium, particularly a pewter plate coated in
asphalt and lavender oil. Through time, the developing technology of photography involved a more
advanced partnership among chemistry and physics, particularly optics. However, chemically
produced photographs went downhill, as digitalization arose as a more convenient process of
photography. The advantages of digitization was that photos occupy minimal physical space when
stored, photos may be captured with less costs, and lastly, photos may be reproduced without
degrading its quality. With the ease of digitalization, photos were edited and manipulated more
immediately and rampantly. In an age dominated by technology, digital photography remains a vital
element in visual communication. It “gives power to the written world while at the same time being
supported by the text by the art direction” (Ang, 1996). Through the advancement of technology,
photography has become so widespread, to a point where almost anything relies on a ‘good photo’-
publications, print materials, broadcasts, reference books etc.

Tom Ang in his book “Picture Editing”, enumerates the main practical reasons for using
photographs over other forms of communicating ideas visually such as artworks or typography. These
are: credibility, depiction, immediacy, evocation, stillness, style and consistency. For credibility, this
means that photographs are the nearest alternatives to its subject. People proceed to a reference photo
to learn more about something in its absence. An example I could give to illustrate this one may be
catalogues of clothing items. The appearance or design of a pair of shoes can be best/ most effectively
shown through a picture. For depiction, this means that photographs are more detailed in terms of
illustrating the characteristic of an object. For example, most people today opt to send photos of their
vacation when reaching out to people in farther places. For immediacy, this is the “property of a
photograph through which a viewer may feel present at the time the photograph was taken.” In news
broadcast for example, regardless of the risk in documenting a typhoon, a stampede, a fire incident,
and the like, photographers would still aim for a good shot because through it, he will be able to
engage and involve the recipients of the news. For evocation, this means that photographs have the
ability to generate emotional responses through an illustration of idea. Subjects of a photo may be
directed in such a way that they become symbolic of something else. An example of this would be
photographs in magazine covers, which are always highly scripted to ensure that the photo
summarizes and encompasses almost the whole content of the magazine. For stillness, this means that
photographs have the ability to “freeze” time. Through the recording ability of a photograph,
moments and action stay in place. Take for example a manual or a step-by-step instruction guide.
These are heavily infused with photos to increase the clarity of a specific action done at a specific
time. For style, this means that photographs can control the overall approach given to a certain text or
publication. Take for example Instagram, a rising photo sharing application. The photographs on
one’s profile often become diaries of people, since Instagram been popularized and utilized as a
platform for scripted photos. Lastly, consistency refers to how “similar-looking” a set of items may
be. To some degree, similarity is a necessity in conveying a message visually, and this could be
achieved with minimal effort through photographs.

After having described how photographs are credible, accurate, immediate, symbollic, still,
flexible in style and consistent, I could conclude through the technology surrounding the process of
photography, the advantages unique to photographs have considerably changed communication.
Technology has made it possible for a photo to be more easily produced and manipulated, which in
turn has photographs the more favorable means of communication. In the age where information is
more ‘desirable’ in visual form, photography and picture-editing is an activity in which almost
everyone participates and relies on.

Ang, Tom. Picture editing : an introduction. Oxford Boston: Focal Press, 1996. Print.