Outsiders In Photography

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Pages: 5

In photography, the outsider position is considered the negative view, which produces an alienated and voyeuristic relationship. This in turn separates the subject and the object, which is opposed to the inside position which implies a positive view, knowledge, and engagement (Solomon-Godeau). Both photographers of Tereska Draws Her Home and Tank Man execute their photography as outsiders through perspective and angles, however their photos differ in range of space, which in turn affects the two photographers, Seymour as an invader and Widener as a visitor. Political photos such as these are almost always taken from an outsider perspective, since they are mostly taken to document and report to the public that which cannot be described fully …show more content…
Seymour is an outsider that invades the subject’s personal space, as the photo has a strange claustrophobic approach to it coming from the perspective, the angle and the expression on the subject’s face. Seymour’s invasive outsider position as a photographer is symbolized through the expression on the subject’s face, the position she is in, and the position at which the camera takes her photo. Unlike Tank Man, Seymour takes Tereska Draws Her Home from a forward and slightly above perspective from the subject Tereska. In addition, the photo appears to be very close to Tereska as she is close to the corner of the room and facing the black board, making the atmosphere of the photo claustrophobic. As Seymour captures Tereska Draws Her Home, he startles Tereska as she draws her scribbled home on the black board and Tereska looks directly at Seymour with a furled, distraught, and unexpected look on her face. Although Seymour lived through the Holocaust, it is important to note that Seymour has captured Tereska in a personal moment when she is illustrating her personal thoughts and interpretations, giving this photo a feeling of …show more content…
Although Tereska is supposedly not unsupervised in the classroom (such as teachers or other children present in the room), her facial expression and her posture with her hand and piece of chalk still clutched onto the board certainly makes her seem as if she is not happy with Seymour’s presence. And, in addition, she seems to be more concerned with his presence than the camera’s presence. Perhaps she is unaware that the camera is taking her photo. Although this photo contradicts Solomon-Godeau’s point, Tank Man certainly does express the photographer’s presence as visitation. This aerial shot makes the range of space is so large and the subjects so small, revealing to the audience that there is a wide range of perception by focusing on numerous