The Reality of Photographs

This week we read a section of On Photography by Susan Sontag.  In this piece, Sontag writes that photographs are for "consumerism" and do not depict reality at all.  I agree that most photos with people smiling and posing don't represent reality, but staged photographs can reveal a truth about society.  For example, consider the image above.  The photographer obviously positioned these girls to sit and act the way they are.  Most teens aren't always on their phones when they are with their friends, but the purpose of this picture isn't to represent reality; it is to illustrate how attached teens are to their phones.  Many teenagers are relying on their phones to communicate that it is limiting their ability to be able to have conversations face to face.  Having these girls sitting next to each other on their phones without talking to each other effectively reveals this flaw in society.

Another example is this photograph to the right.  I feel that this image, although staged, represents how women feel the need to look perfect.  She seems discouraged because she has one minor imperfection.  Although this isn't a candid picture, it still has some truth to it.  I know I have felt like this at one point or another.  I do not agree that photographs are "mental pollution."  Even though most images these days are edited or staged, they don't fill people's mind with useless images.  They reveal an underlying truth that is beneficial to society.