The Impact of Digital Technology on Photography

Digital Society by Futurist Digital Media Images.

How Digital Technology Changed the Role of Photography in Society?

• Personal photography was popularized in the 19th and 20th century. It emerged as a social tool that was used mostly by families wanting to capture their memories and experiences in a tangible medium, for future reference, and remembrance sake. Photography also acted as a tool for communication, and a way of sharing personal experiences.
  
  

• The social and cultural impact of personal photography has rapidly increased over the last two decades. In the past people would have to stand for hours in front of photographic equipment to have their picture taken. It was also a costly endeavour, and regarded as a privilege and honour to have a photograph of yourself.

• There has been a change in the roles of photography in society beginning in the 1990's and early millennium, since the arrival of digital camera’s and digital photography. People’s focuses are changing more;

“Self-presentation – rather than family representation– is now a major function of photographs. A significant shift from personal photography being bound up with memory and commemoration towards pictures as a form of identity formation; cameras are used less for the remembrance of family life and more for the affirmation of personhood and personal bonds”.

(Barbara Harrison. 2002. p.107. Narrative Inquiry)

• More and more we can see that digital photography is being used as a form of documenting everyday experiences other than rituals, or ceremonial experiences. This shift in interest is partly due to technological advancement.

• Younger generations such as teenagers have grown up with digital photography, where as older generations have had to make the transition from analog to digital technology.

• Studies have proved that older generations are more likely to still view photography as a primary memory tool, particularly focused around family life. Teenagers and young adults are using digital photography as a means of communication, conversation, peer-building, and social networking. Through applications like; Facebook, Mysapce, Twitter, Skype, and Google Earth. The popularity in other technologies which act as multi-functional appliances, such as; Blackberry’s, Cellphones, Laptops, MP3's players, I-pods, I-phones, and global positioning devices have changed the way society communicates with one another.

This cover of Life magazine pictured on the
right, from 2005 depicts a famous photograph
by Alfred Eisentadt that appeared in a 1945

edition of Life magazine. Originally

documenting V-day celebrations

across the country.

The 2005 cover has been
manipulated to include a hand holding a
cellphone camera with the caption,
“The Cameraphone Revolution-
How This Little Gadget Will Change Your Life”.

(Photograph and digital imaging by Davies & Starr/original photography Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time Life Pictures /Time Inc./Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

• Camera phones and portable satellite links increasingly allow for mobile transmission of images from almost any point on earth. Below is a Google Earth image of George Brown College, St. James campus. Google Earth is a virtual globe, map, and geographic information program. It maps the earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe.

Image provided by Google Earth. 2009

The Digital era which has changed and shaped personal photography has not only been affected by rapid technological advancements, but also a change in culture and attitude.

“The shift in use and function of the camera seems to suit a more general cultural condition. This cultural condition has definitely affected the nature and status of photographs as building blocks for personal identity. Even if the functions of capturing memory, communicative experience and identity formation continue to coexist in current uses of personal photography, their re-balanced significance reverberates in crucial changes in our contemporary cultural condition”.
(Van Dijck, 1995)

What Has Been the Impact of Digital Photography on Photojournalism?

• Digital Photography has influenced photojournalism in many positive and negative ways. Are these views subjective? To many yes, and to others the facts are only black and white...
  
  
• Digital Camera's are much smaller and lighter then most analogue camera's. Photojournalists no longer have to be burdened with the hassle of lugging large heavy equipment with them to their shoot.

• With the invention of digital memory cards, photojournalist don't have to be concerned with film roll length. They can now store thousands of images on a single memory card.

• Now, if a photojournalist is equipped with a digital camera, or mobile phone, a laptop, or access to a computer they can send high quality digital images in minutes, or seconds from a remote location to a news office for printing.
  

• Photojournalist's more than ever have an assortment of tools and applications at their disposal, to document and edit their images.

• Some people worry that the profession of photojournalism is suffering due to digital technologies. There has been an increased need for ethical standards and guidelines to preserve the reliability and reputation of the profession.

• History proves that photographs have been manipulated since the 1860's, long before the invention of digital camera's and technology.

This portrait of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (below) is a combination of Lincoln's head and the body of southern politician John Calhoun.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Portait. 1860

The new official portrait for President Barack Obama (above), is the first time that an official presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera.

Photo by: Pete Souza. 2009

Photojournalists of today have been influenced in some way by the latest technology in such a way that the equipment that they use affect the outcome of their photography

Obama Hope Poster Photo digitally manipulated by: Sheapard Fairey. 2009

Work Cited:

Digital photography: communication, identity, memory. Jose Van Dijck. University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. C. 2008. Sage Publications.

Sontag, Susan (1973) On Photography. New York: Delta.

Sontag, Susan (2004) ‘Regarding the Torture of Others’, The New York Times
Magazine, 23 May: 25–9.

Van Dijck, José (1995) Manufacturing Babies and Public Consent: Debating
the New Reproductive Technologies. New York: New York University
Press

Harrison, Barbara (2002) ‘Photographic Visions and Narrative Inquiry’,
Narrative Inquiry 12(1): 87–111.

Photojournalism in the Age of Scrutiny, Kenneth Irby. Sept. 15, 2006 Online.

http://www.life.com/image/53456245

http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_official_portrait_released/

http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2009/07/28/a-look-back-at-apple-s-first-digital-camera-the-quicktake-100/

http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering/

http://earth.google.com/

Project By: Ashley Giesecke, Natalya Sikorsky, Shirley Yang, Sheng Zheng, Joannah Del Rosario