Is it really real?

Topic 2

"In the Photograph, the power of authentication exceeds the power of representation" (Barthes, 1980: 89)

In considering what Barthes means by this statement let us first identify the dictionary definitions of the words "Authentication" and Representation".

Authentication is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as; "The action or process of validating, approving, or authenticating something".

Barthes refers to the "Certificate of presence"(Barthes 1980) which suggests a photograph is of something therefore the something had to exist when the photograph was taken.

Tagg clarifies this further when he writes: "What the photograph asserts is the overwhelming truth that 'The thing has been there': this was a reality that once existed, though it is 'a reality one can no longer touch' Tagg 1988).

With this in mind, we look at the authenticity of an image, can we trust the image?

Price put this nicely when he states: "Perhaps the simplest and most obvious test of authenticity is to ask whether what is in front of the lens to be photographed has been tampered with, set up, or altered by the photographer". (Price 2015 p90)

With the advent of the digital age, it is now easy to manipulate images to an unprecedented level, every phone now has image-editing apps that can alter the original image beyond recognition.

Photographers have always made adjustments to their images, in the days of the darkroom

I used to select the time of exposure, dodge and burn, choose the grade and contrast of the paper etc. and even before the printing stage the photographer selects viewpoint, what is and is not included, camera settings etc.

These adjustments were very basic in comparison to the vast array of editing and image manipulation software and apps available today.

Ceaser Romero, the actor probably best known for his role as the Joker in the original Batman TV series was attributed with the quote: “They say the camera never lies. It lies every day.”

Can we trust the authenticity of any image we see today? I would suggest that for a long time now we have had to question the reality and authenticity of every image we see.

How many of us have friends that we could not recognise from their Instagram photographs?

Some areas of photography require an honest representation of the subject, such as photojournalism, but even in this field images can be created or edited to suit a specific narrative.

Such is believed to be the case with Alexander Gardner’s post-Gettysburg image: “A Sharpshooter’s Last Sleep.” The famous photo features a corpse strangely similar to one that appears in another shot taken on the same day entitled: “Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter.” Experts maintain that Gardner used the same fallen soldier for both pictures, reportedly dragging the body more than 40 yards between the two locations.

Let us now contemplate representation, here is the Oxford English Dictionary definition:

The action or fact of expressing or denoting symbolically; (also occasionally) an instance of this, a symbolic action.

Representation, about subjects, whether a group, individual or even an idea deals with the way the subject is portrayed in photography and, of course, other media.

Representation can suggest the image is open to personal interpretation, the photographer and subsequently the viewer can place their interpretation on a given image.

This, as we have learned in previous modules, depends upon the context the image is seen in, the background, history feelings etc of the viewer play a massive part in the contextual reading of the image.

In conclusion, my interpretation of the statement is that Barthes is alluding to the fact that the authenticity or reality of the subject can be misrepresented it is undeniable that the subject, at least at the point the image was taken, actually existed.

Do I agree with Barthes?

In some aspects yes, the traditional forms of photography would require that the subject had existed at the point the image was taken. In 2024 (The year of ) however, with the onset of AI and the vast amount of editing tools available the subject no longer needs to physically exist for us to obtain a photographic image of it.

The world has changed since Barthes made this quote and not all for the better.