Composition & Manipulation Response

The slideshow refreshed my memory about the elements and principles of design along with the power of a composition and just how much the composition affects the photo in many different ways. Something from the slideshow I found very interesting is the use of image manipulation throughout history and the power that it holds. Image tampering alters the denotation of the image, what the image literally is, but more importantly, it can alter an image's connotation, what the image conveys. In the picture of Lewis Powell before his execution in the slideshow, the cropped and uncropped picture also create different stories depending on which picture you look at. In the first, he could be any young man during a work break or relaxing outside, resting against a building. With the added context of the chains, however, this illusion is dispelled and the previously neutral, nondescript man takes on a sinister, unnerving character. The photo tampering of Mussolini riding on a horse helps to paint the image that he is a powerful, heroic ruler who can do anything. With the added information of the woman helping to handle his horse, this perception is weakened and changed by making Mussolini into an ordinary man who needs assistance. I also looked through the other examples of photo tampering linked in the slideshow. In the photo of Stalin from 1930, for example, erasing one of his political enemies helps to legitimize and reinforce the strength and solidarity of his rule. The example of Oprah Winfrey's magazine cover from 1989 is very important, especially today, because her actual body has been replaced with a "better" body in the hopes of attracting more attention and appealing to the male gaze. Composite images like those of Andreas Gursky, show a more positive side of photo manipulation. As explained, his photos are made up of several other photos to create one large image. Not only are these photos pretty cool, but I think they are also to convey a powerful message about facts using fiction like Gursky said. All in all, the presentation teaches us just how powerful image composition and editing are, and I hope that I will be able to show that power in my movie poster.