Whatever it Takes

In the captured photograph of Aline Marie praying outside St. Rose of Lima church in Newtown Conn, the photojournalist sneakily captures a photo of a woman in great trauma of grief without her notice. This would be considered a strong shot that could speak many words for the family and friends related to the mass shooting in Newtown Connecticut but in no way shape or form should someone going through a grieving process have their photo taken if they do not feel comfortable, especially if they are praying at the time. If the roles were reversed and my photo was being taken while I prayed for my loved ones that I may have lost due to the shooting or praying for friends and families that lost loved ones, I would not be able to handle someone taking my photo at this time of sadness. In this specific situation, I do not believe anyone should be able to capture a photo of someone praying, kneeling towards a higher power, looking for guidance through this breathtaking times. No one should have access to an image of my grief without my consent. 

The photo that might seem as a pitty taken photos for money or ability to make a statement could have been staged at the time for the publicity of the person to get something to supply themselves and their child with. This photo also could not have been staged and if so I would not see the benefit other than publicity to seek help but more of an embarrassment to the two on the cover of the photo. Unfortunately, when being at the lowest of lows, begging becomes the only way to find help from a world that provides nothing but unwelcoming options. In my eyes, I would not see myself coming to the point where I would want to publicize my face and my child's face globally through a photojournalism perspective. Understanding as I would be seeing the benefit of the photo being taken at the time to provide a look for plenty of other people starving in the world trying to get the word out to make a change, I still could never put myself in that position due to the pride of myself. 

 Photojournalist paychecks depend on the appeal to the public's eye and whatever needs to be done will be done unless it is not possessing inhuman power. Some photos can be so real that it looks unrealistic and fake and the same goes for photos that look so fake due to disbelief that they are all or 100% real in reality. Whatever it takes can consist of many things but in all aspects of the job, a photojournalist will go at all limits to make a picture seem to be something that was never expected. For example, many photos have been related to dead skulls of large animals in dry, vast lands to represent death or no surviving for you if you trespass throughout these lands. Photojournalist like Arthur Rothstein provides a skull of a dead animal on a very dry, cracked land to represent the large droughts that were present in some areas at the time. The skull came from another area but was brought into this photo to create a larger meaning. A moral bias that could be taken into claimed would be a decision between capturing a picture of the last seconds of someone's life or not capturing the photo and attempting to save someone's life. There is a direct line between this in photojournalism and photographer R. Umar Abbasi was one of the largest photographers who provide a look at this line while capturing a photo of a man who was pushed to his death in front of a train. In some cases, photojournalists should be able to alter a photo to provide a positive look to the public view but photojournalists should not alter something to create false news that stirs unnecessary controversy. As stated by Henry James Sr “It illustrates how people posing for portraits in the nineteenth century tried to convey their status, character, and modernity in pictures,”  and this being said, every photo will have something taken out or put in to help provide a larger meaning towards anyone looking who cares. All that matters is if the photojournalist changes so much of the truth that it wouldn't allow them to be seen as trustworthy with a public platform.