Truth in photography

I had a really hard time find a picture that captured that same sense of unreality as the one used in the example. The example had me questioning the scene, what was going on and why the young girl was dead with no one around but photographers.

Then I came across this picture. It had a false sense to it, but I couldn't place why other than the odd slightly off kilter smiles of both the mother and child. I found myself just staring at them wondering what I was missing.

I followed the link and discovered that it was false in how it represented the family. The child had been freshly washed and then both mother and child plastered on the fake smiles. You can almost hear someone in the background saying 'Smile for the camera!" It was at odds with the background and the obvious poverty that they are surrounded. If you see the image taken earlier in the same photo shoot, it has a completely different feel.

This one rings true just looking at it. It was obviously taken during the Great Depression. You find out the baby has been sick and the family has been on the road for a month. They just arrived outside the Employment Office before the opening of the potato season. You can see the weariness in the mother's expressions and the unhappiness in the child's. The postures, expressions, and surroundings all come together to make a complete image.

It was not a lie by omission, but rather trying to change facts as they were presented. By changing the child's appearance and than plastering on the false smiles that did not match the rest of their faces it created a false reality.

Both photos are by Dorothea Lange, 1939
Source: http://johnedwinmason.typepad.com/john_edwin_mason_photogra/2010/03/how_photography_lies.html