Vail Academy and High School

How Photography Has Had An Impact On Our Society

Karim Willmeh

Senior Exit Project

Eva Peters

14 November 2018
INTRODUCTION

Life’s most precious moments are caught on camera. Today, everyone has a camera, but

of course it was not always like that. Many people cannot imagine life without having a camera.

Cameras have had a massive impact on the world, and in many cases, they may have changed

history itself. Cameras have made the world much smaller, and have exposed people to events

happening thousands of miles away from them. Today, iconic photos can be used to perfectly

encapsulate different eras of history, and can be used to educate about different times in history.

Cameras are one of the most important inventions in history, as it has connected the world, and

through that connection, has changed the course of history.

HOW CAMERAS WORK

Despite all the different types of cameras we have today, they all create photos using the

same basic method. It all starts with the lens, the piece of glass or plastic takes in all the light to

create an image within a camera. There are many types of lenses, the most common are standard

lens, fisheye lens, wide angle lens, and telephoto lens ( “Camera Lenses.”). The standard lens is

the most common lens, and when you buy a camera a standard lens is almost always equipped

with it. The fisheye lens is used for skyscapes and artistic photos. The wide angle lens is used for

landscapes and architectural photos. There are many types of telephoto lenses, they are used for

sports, wildlife, and even astronomy. Lenses are categorized based on their focal length, which is

the length between the center of a lens and its focus.

For light to be captured through the lens, the aperture in the camera must open to let light

in. ​Nasim Mansurov, author at Photography Life, states that the aperture is the most important
part of a camera, “Simply because it affects so many different variables... It can add dimension to

your photographs by blurring the background, and it also alters the exposure of your images by

making them brighter or darker.” Aperture works just like a pupil, it expands to let in more light

and shrinks to let in less light. Aperture effects how dark or bright a photo is, and it is important

to know how to change aperture when taking a photo at night or in a bright room. Aperature’s

other function is changing depth of field, which is how out of focus the background is. This

blurry background effect is used to highlight the main subject of the photo. The aperture is

described by its f-number which can be changed on the camera to control the aperture size.

Two other important aspects of taking photographs are the ISO and the camera shutter.

ISO is a setting on the camera that can be adjusted to affect a photo’s brightness, with the risk of

decreasing image quality. The camera shutter is used to set how long the camera should take to

capture an image. Camera shutter is very important when taking photos of motion. Setting the

camera shutter to a high speed can freeze motion, while a slower speed creates the perception of

motion with blurs (Mansurov). The lens, aperture, ISO, and camera shutter are the most

important aspects of taking an photo, and although they can all be adjusted to fit the

photographer’s liking, many modern cameras have auto-settings that work well in most

situations. Although this is how cameras work today, there have been many different methods of

producing photographs over the nearly two centuries that photography has existed.

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

First photograph ever taken was in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce; it was a blurry,

black and white view out of Niépce’s window in Le Gras, France (hrc.utexas.edu). Although the

photo wasn’t very clear, it was the beginning of something that humans cannot live without.
Niépce was the first person ever take a photo, but the first camera designer was Johann Zahn.

After Niépce’s death, his assistant Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre revolutionized photography

by cutting exposure times from one day to thirty minutes (Nicéphore Niépce House Photo

Museum). As cameras grow in popularity more people wanted them. Up in until 1925, cameras

were big and hard to carry until the invention of The Leica camera. By 1975, Kodak released the

first digital camera, and by 2000, cell phones had cameras on them. Today almost everyone has a

camera at all time on their cellphones.

One of the most important components of a camera is a camera’s flash. The flash

illuminates pictures so that they can actually be seen, and the use of flash has an interesting

history of its own. The first technique of flash was known as flash powder (​Archambault).​ Flash

powder created a bright flash using a metallic fuel and some oxidizer, the fuel would burn

extremely fast and create a bright flash. This technique was quite dangerous, and injured many

photographers. The next iteration of flash was the flashbulb. Flashbulbs created their flash by

lighting magnesium with oxygen, usually inside of a sealed light bulb. Flashbulbs worked well,

but were fragile and needed to be replaced frequently, which led to the desire for more technical

advancement. Eventually, the electronic flash that is found in all modern cameras was developed.

Electronic flash is created by sending xenon gasses through tubes. Although electronic flash is

used in most cameras, smartphone cameras utilize LED lights. Flash, at least in many situations,

is just as important as the camera itself.

As soon cameras were widely available, they had a massive impact on the world.

Americans Civil War was the first major war to be photographed, with those photographs being

included in newspapers across the United States. The images of the dead, injured and warworn
soldiers gave people a view of the war they could have never imagined before as, “​for the first

time in history, citizens on the home front could view the actual carnage of far away battlefields.

Civil War photographs stripped away much of the Victorian-era romance around warfare,”

according to American Battlefield Trust. After seeing these photography’s, war went from being

glamorous and captivating to atrocious and horrifying. However, for girlfriends, wives, and other

family at home, photos of their soldier helped them through the war. For rest of history,

photograph and war would go hand-in-hand.

Even though television was on the rise, photograph was never was more important in

shaping public opinion than in Vietnam War. The amount of shocking, iconic Vietnam War

images is immeasurable whether it be the burning monk, public executions in Saigon, or the

Vietnamese children who suffered from napalm attacks. Photograph and video helped make the

war in Vietnam less popular ​with Americans than it already was. Although the higher-ups in the

American military tried to cover up what was happening in Vietnam, photographers made sure

the American public knew the truth with their photographs. Many American soldiers were open

and friendly to photographers, as Alex Burmaster states, “​The US soldiers wanted the public to

know what was going on; hence the photographers were often able to talk their way into the last

seat on the helicopters that were their lifelines for seeing the serious action” (Burmaster).

Photography, as well as video and good journalism, helped sway public opinion which

eventually ended the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.

Photographs can be used to preserve history, especially history where no one still alive

lived through it. Candid pictures of daily life can give us the purest, unbiased view of what life

was like when and where that picture was taken. Pictures of the miserable, homeless, hungry
families during the 1920s show us just how devastating the Great Depression was for millions of

people. More positively, photos of Martin Luther King Jr. giving his speech at Washington DC

and the hundreds of thousands listening show just how powerful the Civil Rights movement was.

For sports fans, one of the most iconic photos ever is Scottie Pippen holding up Michael Jordan

after his famous flu game, which may have solidified Jordan as the greatest NBA player ever.

There are many, many iconic, influential pictures that define the eras they were taken in, and

photos that will define the current era are taken everyday.

HOW TO TAKE A GOOD PHOTO

Taking pictures is easy, but being a good photographer is not as simple. There are many

ways that a photographer can assure that their pictures come out as best as possible. One of the

most important ways to ensure pictures come out well is to study and know the different settings

a camera has and what these settings affect. Some tips of taking a good photos are use flash

during the day, framing, knowing when is the golden hour is, always keep your camera on you,

look for the best backgrounds, shade, and knowing the rule of thirds.

Most people think to turn the flash on only during night, but by turning the flash on

during harsh daylight, it creates extra light to person or subject to remove ugly shadows, or

create new, intriguing shadows. Framing is key to taking good photos, because framing draws

the attention of viewer's eye to a focal point, or where the photographer wants a viewer to look.

The golden hour is after sunrise or before sunset, shooting at golden hour creates softer light and

makes colors more vibrant. A photographer should always keep their camera on them at all

times, because you can always miss something amazing that you could of took a shot of. It is

important to find an interesting background so the subject or person pops out. The background
should add to the subject, and not take away from it. Shade is important, because when you take

a photo of a object or person, shade can block harsh light, leading to better quality pictures and

better looking pictures. The rule of thirds is also good to know because it is a guideline for

almost all pictures, and states that a subject should not be in the direct center of a photo. This can

make the photo more interesting. Using all of these tips, photos can come out looking clean and

interesting.

PHOTOGRAPHY IN UNITED STATES LAW

Like any other form of media in the United States, even photography has a lot of law on

it. Possibly the most important photography law is copyright law. In almost every case, when a

photographer takes a photograph, that photo belongs to them. This is even the case if the

photographer has an employer, such as wedding photos or senior pictures (Brenke). The

ownership of these photos must be legally transferred in writing. Even if a photographer dies,

their photos are treated as their property and ownership transfers based on the writing in the

photographer’s will. Copyright is automatically applied to any photographs taken as well.

Photographers have many protections under US law. Any photograph that is taken of

anything that can be plainly seen while standing in a public is completely legal, even if the

subject is on private property while the photography is on public property. However, there have

been different rulings on court cases regarding zooming in extremely far onto private property,

and there is not conclusive law on it. It is important for photographers to remember a golden rule

if they are asked to stop photographing in public, which is that there is no privacy in public.
PHOTOGRAPHY AS A CAREER

Although many photographers consider taking photos a hobby, there are many

opportunities to turn photography into a career. One of the most obvious photography careers is

becoming a photojournalist. Photojournalists take the photos that accompany news articles, and

in some cases their photographs are the most important parts of a news story. As long as the

news is around, photojournalists will always be necessary, but the field of photojournalism may

put some constraints on photographers. Since photojournalism has to do with reporting news and

journalism, there are many ethical standards that are involved with it. For example,

photojournalists have to be careful when editing their photos. A photojournalist cropping out

pieces of their photos that are put in the news could be seen as unethical, because it is not

showing the whole picture that was taken. Photojournalists cover a wide range of subjects, such

as sports, disasters, politics and anything else in the news, and have been responsible for many of

the most iconic photos seen throughout history.

Another common career for photographers is photographing portraits. Portrait

photographers are the photographers that take wedding pictures, senior pictures, maternity

photos, modeling photos, family portraits, and many other kinds. The main focus of portrait

photographers is to make their clients’ photos look as nice as possible, and have their clients be

happy to hang their photos in their house or show them to other people. A lesser known career

path for photographers is a commercial photographers. These photographers are extremely

important in the marketing industry. Commercial photographers’ work are the photos found on

billboards, advertisements online or on television, and anywhere else advertisements are found.

These are also the photographers that fill catalogs and other commercial magazines. This career
can be very secure for a photographer, especially if they work for a large corporation. Though

some may consider photography an unrealistic career choice, there are definitely opportunities to

take photography from a hobby to a career.

CONCLUSION

Without cameras and photographs, the world could be a drastically different place today.

Not only would certain wars have played out differently, but many would lose their connection

with certain memories and history itself. Without cameras and photography, there would be no

yearbooks, wedding photos, baby pictures, or any photo albums. Not to mention, no cameras

means that there would be no movies or films, and the important economic place of Hollywood

would not exist. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter would be much more boring

without any photos, while Snapchat and Instagram would probably not even exist. Since almost

everyone is carrying around a camera in their pocket, it can be easy to forget just how big of an

impact cameras have had on the world.

 Works Cited

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Archambault, Michael. “A Brief History of the Camera Flash, From Explosive Powder to LED
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led-lights/.

Brenke, Rachel. “Photography Copyright Laws.” TheLawTog®, 9 Nov. 2018,

thelawtog.com/copyright-laws-for-photographers/.

Burmaster, Alex. "Shooting both sides." New Statesman, 16 July 2001, p. 46. Academic
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“Camera Lenses.” Camera Lenses | Photography Mad,

www.photographymad.com/pages/view/lenses.

Mansurov, Nasim. “Understanding Aperture for Beginners - Photography Basics.” Photography

Life, photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography.

Mansurov, Nasim. “Understanding Shutter Speed for Beginners - Photography Basics.”

Photography Life, 1 Oct. 2018,
photographylife.com/what-is-shutter-speed-in-photography.

Nicephore Niepce House Photo Museum. (2018). The History of Photography - Nicephore
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