This video comes to the question of what is truthful photography? Watching Errol Morris explain his take on what is truthful photography to him and to the rest of the photography world, really made me think about what I thought about photography and how I see photography. Some of the ideas that he mentioned in the video that I liked the most were about photography not being about posing a picture, but it is about what is observed at a distance and what the photographer can catch with their eye and camera. He goes on to talk about the fact that no matter what the subject of a photograph is it is always going to be posed no matter what, even if the photographer did not touch the subject. So if all the other photographers say that posing a picture makes it not truthful, then every picture ever taken is going to be false.
What makes a photograph truthful is about the story that is behind the photograph and why the photographer decided to take that picture. So many times when people view pictures they just think “oh that is pretty” and then they move on, but what people really should be thinking is what is the motivation or meaning behind the picture and what is the story. Once the story becomes clear it is easier for the viewer to truly enjoy what is in front of them. In the end the question is not how truthful is the photograph but how truthful is the world that is in the picture?
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