Decoding Objectivity: Manipulation Techniques in Photojournalism

Photography, among many things, is a medium used to further the connection between a reader and the story. It does this by drawing the reader into the world of the photograph, and allowing them to experience the realism of the scenario. This connection has amplified the level of communication between humans, namely, in the field of journalism. In the article “To Tell the Truth: Codes of Objectivity in Photojournalism” written by Donna Schwartz, she discusses the methods employed by photojournalists to manipulate photos in order to give the desired effect, or connection. These methods, along with others from “Critical Media Studies” written by Brian Ott and Robert Mack, will be used to analyze the following photo to show how they create the

Naturalism in this sense refers to “a communicative strategy which seeks to obscure the articulatory apparatus utilized in the production of a message”, meaning it focuses primarily on dissolving the notion of a photographer from the viewer’s perspective. Initially, this concept seems somewhat abstract, but it is extremely common, especially in spot news. In Figure 1, naturalism is created by the photographer through the use a variety of methods, but mainly angle choice. Although a photographer might be interested in capturing the faces of the celebrators, the photographer chooses to instead angle the camera away from the direction of their faces, and instead points the camera towards the fireworks. This creates the illusion the viewer is among the crowd, being engulfed in the commotion while staring at the fireworks. This perspective can also be used to instill into the reader the emotions and opinions captured within the picture. In a sense, it can be said that the photographer was trying to make the viewer agree with the viewpoints of Egyptians in the photo. As such, it can be deduced that the photographer is employing the method of naturalism to create what the viewer perceives as the