I came cross a really interesting series from the Globe and Mail, of daily photos from around the globe. Here are a few but I encourage you to take a look at some of the incredible photographs and read the stories behind them.
Media can be used not only simply to tell stories but to tell the story that the photographer or publisher (if selecting photos for a news article, for example) wants to tell.
In particular, the captions used along with pictures can contribute to creating a bias or distorting a viewer's interpretations. Without a caption, the story behind the image is left up to us, open for interpretation. Captions, however, while often being descriptive and effectively explaining the photos, can also put a bias in terms of their word choice, in order to send out an intended message, tell a certain story, or elicit a certain emotional response.
Photos also leave things out; they are only a small element of a greater picture, so to speak, capturing a single moment or piece of action. Just outside of the frame could be an important element that might give further insight into the story or detail more accurately what is actually going on.
The photo to the right (click to enlarge) has a caption that is descriptive, giving necessary insight into what is occurring in the photo. This photo demonstrates the importance of considering the context of the photo outside of the frame. To many viewers, it could simply be a puddle reflecting children walking, but if one could see the surroundings, the apparent direness of the situation may become apparent. The caption aids in telling a story to elicit an emotional response, though it is not biased. Still, without the caption the viewer likely cannot know or understand the story behind the image.
So, not only is the photo and its context important, but the caption is as well. Both must be considered in assessing the true message that the photographer or publisher is wishing to sell, and we must be careful to not succumb to the bias that either one may be attempting to convey. By recognizing and looking beyond any bias, we are able to properly enjoy a photograph for its artistic merits and write our own uninfluenced narrative.
For photography, it seems like the medium is not the message (as Marshall McLuhan claims); rather, the medium can distort the message.
In light of this, I think it is necessary to take everything we see for more than face value - while pictures can be worth a thousand words, are those a thousand words really telling the whole story?