significance of photography

anything you synth · Nov 17, 2008

Hi everyone! I have to write a 5 page paper on photography for school. It can't be a history or how-two, and i feel I'm left with little to no options. Any thoughts? I dont even know where to start.

table1349 · Nov 17, 2008

http://www.afplweb.com/cms/

Adour · Nov 17, 2008

I would look at a situation where photography had a dramatic affect on an outcome.

An example would be the US in Vietnam 65-75. You could examine how images brought back from that war affected public opinion. you could look at how the US army integrated photo journalists into combat operations to try and PR for them etc...

Another idea might be to look at how and why photography is so popular, what makes it different fro other art form, why do stunning photos grab peoples' attention, why do some cultures consider a photo to steal part of the soul etc....

I will think some more on this but hopefully that will help you get your mind away from history or how-to...

Adour

DRoberts · Nov 17, 2008

Another option might be the uses of photography. Its artistic value, business, forensics, personal, etc.

ann · Nov 18, 2008

how about starting with the topic of this thread.

Village Idiot · Nov 18, 2008

Kids today.

I see a lot of post with "I have an assignment for school, help me out."

I mean, if you guys are seriously going to school for photography, which would be an art degree, you should start getting creative. Unless you plan on hopping on a forum and asking for help everytime your boss gives you an assignment or a client asks you to do something for them.

Photography & the terrorism scare
Psychology of photography
Is it worth personal harm to take a picture (as in, journalist, war journalist, etc...)
The power of the photograph (how it can sway popular opinion and not even be based on truth, even though it's an accurate portrayal of the moment. Say a photo of a soldier shooting a child, even though it doesn't show explosives strapped to the kid.)
How believable is a photograph (especially with today's crop of photo shoppers around. AKA, Palin in a bikini with guns.)

Those are some topics I came up with off the top of my head.

lockwood81 · Nov 18, 2008

A picture is worth a thousand words....just put 3 storytelling pictures in a folder. Done!

usayit · Nov 18, 2008

VI is right.

Asking for direction, sparking discussion, or simply asking for opinions is one thing but asking for someone to suggest a topic? If fine art/photography is in your future, will you ask someone for suggestions on what to shoot for a portfolio?

library, newspapers, magazines, even the internet are full of topics... Heck, even a search in the discussion forums here will even yield some possibilities. Gryph himself has given good insight into a thread that discussed Law Enforcement versus the rights of photographers.