Individual research

Use of narrative

Some may say that every picture tells a story and some say that only a few can do it right. I believe that you can choose either way as long as the image/s can draw out an emotion in us and leave us with a lasting memory. The viewer's interpretation is largely considered when referencing these images. The descriptions vary wildly and can be used in numerous different ways.

Narrative used in documentary/staged photography

Documentary can be considered narrative due to the fact that the story is left to the interpretation of the viewer. An American living in Paris for more than 30 years, Jane Evelyn Atwood follows a reporting and documentary style. For more than thirty years she has been exploring and discussing the dark side of humanity. 

She very empathetic and respective toward her subjects, she is like immersing herself in their lives. Her works are full of humanity. The photographs that she created are narrative in the sense that her images shows what the people ignore in the daily life of a world that is too busy. E.g. social and cultural issues.

Here are some examples of her work and an interesting article about her extensive project on women in prison that I've found: http://prisonphotography.org/2009/10/07/women-behind-bars-jane-evelyn-atwoods-too-much-time/

In addition, I came across with another great narrative image, where I found many of the signs that we've learned about. I think this single images uses the visual grammar effectively to transmit the message to the viewer. 

I really like this image because it evokes various different emotions and thoughts in you as I look at the different parts of the image. It has a great effect on the viewer due to the text on the wooden board and the gestures, expression on each of the characters' faces. As I focus on one part, then another, I come up with various ideas about what the story could be behind this image. So, it is still left to the viewer how they determine the story that is being told. 

Actually this photograph is the remake of a famous historical photo from 1948. Redone in 2013 to put focus on the tragic case again because things didn't change very much. Human trafficking is still around in many countries.

Here is the link to read about the story: http://www.reinfriedmarass.com/4-children-for-sale-famous-historical-photographs-remake

It's not exactly sure that the above images are staged or not, therefore it might not be a pure documentary photograph, however they're not massively staged as for example Gregory Credwson's images. 

So, as the documentary photos generally candid shots of unsuspecting subjects, I have looked at the work of a key practitioner in narrative street photography called Elliott Erwitt. He produced lots of candid shots and most of his work can be considered narrative. But again it doesn't give a definite story, therefore a variety of stories can be derived as with any narrative image.

Here are some examples of his works that clearly have defined stories, but not one specific story is confirmed to be true: 

  Narrative used in advertising photography

Advertisements present a great opportunity for the application of ideology. Ads oftentimes produce unintended meanings that may or may not be picked up by an observer. They can also be used to draw attention to a particular image of the world, i.e. gender roles, sexualization of women, racism, etc.

I recently came across an interesting “Axe” advertisement (see attached image). Pictured in the ad is an assumed couple walking down a sidewalk with window displays to their right. In one of these window displays, the man’s lower body is staring at a female mannequin laced in lingerie, while his upper half continues walking with his girlfriend. The text in the bottom right corner of the ad reads: “Part Good. Part Bad. That’s Man’s Essence.”

The intended message of the ad appears to be that if men use Axe Essence body spray, they will attract sexy women, and will lust for those women over their ordinary girlfriends. By being able to attract such beautiful women by using the Axe Essence body spray, men will feel better about their self image, have better relationships, appear to be more successful in life, and therefore be more happy and content.

An ideological analysis of this advertisement reveals that there are unintentional cultural messages embedded throughout the ad, one such being the sexualization of women. This Axe advertisement shows the sexualization of women by emphasizing the extreme sexuality of women and how it attracts all men. As seen in the ad, the lower half of the man’s body is caught behind, staring at the mannequin dressed in red lingerie. The scene here suggests that men desire kinky, sexually appealing women, as compared to ordinary, casually dressed women. The lust this man’s lower half is displaying towards the mannequin in red lingerie shows that women are viewed as sex objects in society’s cultural norm, which in turn places a negative connotation on women.

The Axe advertisement also engages gender stereotypes for men as well. By its display of the man’s lower half staring at the mannequin in red lingerie, the ad shows that all men desire sex. The text in the bottom right corner even reads: “Part Good. Part Bad. That’s Man’s Essence,” suggesting that all men have a sexual side to them. A cultural idea that can be taken from this scene is that men “look with their penis.” In the ad, the man’s lower half is seen staring at the mannequin in red lingerie, but why is it his lower half that stayed behind? And with what is his lower body looking with? The only thing the man’s lower half can look with is his penis, insinuating that men look at women as objects of their own sexual desires.

Through ideological analysis, this Axe advertisement contains cultural norms and societal stereotypes through its depiction of the scene. The intended message may be clear, but beneath the surface are unintentional cultural messages inserted throughout the advertisement that portray both men and women as sexually appealing beings. It stereotypes women as sex objects, and even stereotypes men as always desiring sex. Analyzing advertisements using an ideological “looking glass” aids society in becoming more aware of the cultural messages in those advertisements.

Here are some other images of advertising the same product: 

Extra...

When looking into photographers who specialised in narrative image making, I came across a french artist named Richard Vantielcke (Conceptual and narrative photography). His self-portrait images caught my attention as some of them telling a story by 2 images placed next to each other, which had remind me of a technique that has been showed by my tutor. It's called - Object,action,effect - It's a really simple way of telling a story successfully. I really enjoy the style of these images and possibly this would be the style that I intend to use for my narrative.

The difference in these images and in the technique that i mentioned is that he missed out the middle 'action' element of the narrative. But for example on the first image, the milk on his face let us know that he made the 'action' - drunk the milk out of the that glass just not showing it us. So actually because these images are so simple we can nearly guess 100% what's the story behind each image. Obviously we couldn't be that exact about the story if he didn't make those great gestures on his face with connection to the objects. Considering the way he created these images, I can say that it's in a studio, stood in front of a white background. Using soft boxes with a possible camera setting of ISO100 F8 1,125 and 5 seconds timer. The images are in colour taken by a digital SLR camera placed on a tripod.