How do captions and cutlines re-frame the meaning of an image?
Photography is a device for recording an image of an object on a light-sensitive surface; it is essentially light box with an aperture to admit light focused onto a sanitized film or plate.
Different people have different own motivations for taking pictures. Some is to capture things that have inspired them, to capture perspectives and moments others will miss. People mostly take, and keep, pictures of happy times. You take a photo to capture a present moment, and instantly it becomes a record the past.
Mostly, the aims of photograph for majority of people were mostly taking pictures to document their lives that later on could help us to recall back our experiences of our lives. This is because memory is impressionable, and as time goes the details become vanished, or changed. And what we remember before may not actually the same as it before.
Photos are also as a tool of communication for us with the others to share our experiences or to capture and relive shared experiences. It allows understanding better the surrounding world and gives precious moment into everyday life. In other words, pictures help us memorize. The pictures would allow us to go back and experience the feelings we had, and remember.
Last week, I have already told that every picture tells a story. Different person would have different perspective and interpretation when looking of an image. Therefore, with the help of writing caption on the picture, that would improve the people in understanding more what the image are trying to illustrate and create a meaning. A bit of explanation could shaped more their interpretation.
For example, the figure below, what do you expect?
Maybe some of you would think, there is a guy who shut the girl mouth with his hand. Maybe look like that guy is trying to kidnap the girl. Maybe the guy was hide from someone else, then girl is come across then the guy had to kidnap him and let her be as his ransom. Hence, there are many assumption of meaning towards the single image above. How about the image gives some caption and cutlines, such as “Ben Whishaw in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, based on a novel by Patrick Süskind (Europeanfilms)”? Then, it would be affect the reader or viewers mind on the story that are they create before this.
Therefore, text caption provides information that the photo cannot give. Although it is short but it is informative.
References:
- Malone, J. (1983). Read about photography. Grolier International, Inc.
- Photo captions & cutlines. Retrieve on October 2, 2011 from http://web.ku.edu/~edit/captions.html
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