America Seen Through Photographs Darkly Summary

Reading Response
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Susan Sontag has discussed different features of photographs and photographers. She stipulates that a photographic portrait signifies the formality, importance and it also discloses the essence of the subject. It is for this reason that the author believes that frontality is essential for ceremonial pictures such as wedding photos but it is less appropriate for photographs used in billboards for advertising purposes. Sontag analyzes Diane Arbus’s photographs outlining the features that make her photographs exceptional and outstanding.
I agree that frontality is critical in photography and it determines the quality and the success of a photographer. What makes Arbus’s use of the frontal pose excellent and outstanding is the nature of individuals who she convinces to surrender themselves and appear on camera amicably. It is clear that Arbus is skilled in ways of winning the cooperation of the subjects. Most importantly, getting people to pose is always a tedious process as it m...