The photographic Message

Decoding the image as 'fact.'



In a lot of imagery there is more than what just meets the eye, a lot of images have a deeper meaning. aspects of the image are often purposely included to get something across to the viewer. Propaganda is a good example of this. For example if a photographer is capturing an image of a person, a celbritiy perhaps and they want the viewer to see the person in a certain way or feel a certain way towards towards the image, the photographer can do so.

Photography: A critical introduction
liz wells
page 210


Weve introduced to Ronalds Barthes theory. He wrote an essay called the photographic message. In this he explains a theory in which he believed could be applied to the decoding of an photographic image. This theory consists of the 'dennoted' and 'connoted' message.


denoted; what we see infront of us
connoted; what this is telling us.


Example

The denoted image, what we see in front of us, is two people; priminster of the united kingdom and the president of th united states, stood in front of flags, by the looks of things, having a discussion.

The connoted image can be hard to read without the use of text with the image. This image was actually used in a newspaper so had a heading and article accompanying it. just by seeing what type of paper the image is in can say a lot about the deeper meaning of the image.