Exploring Discourse in Photography

Lydia Perry

Language Theory

4/23/14

Exploring Discourse in Photography

What is the language of photography? Is photography an actual language? Can

photography be a tool for discourse? There’s the old cliche that a picture is worth a

thousand words. For the past several years, I have been learning and delving into the

art of photography. As I learn the basic fundamental concepts of photography, the more

I understand the art of rhetoric and discourse. The specific concepts I learn from

rhetoric, such as logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos, can be easily applied into the realm

of image production. The essence of language and discourse is to convey meaning

through a medium. The medium of language is transferred using our mouths, brains,

vocal cords, and gestures. The receiver of the message uses their ears and brain. The

main foundation of sending and receiving messages through discourse is

understanding. The speaker and receiver have to understand each other in order for the

discourse to stay alive. Can this kind of discourse happen with visual images? I believe

it can happen. Granted, the complexities of language and speaking are more direct than

creating meaning through visual aids, but I believe the foundation of discourse can

easily be achieved in photography.

Roland Barthes goes in-depth on creating meaning in photography in his piece,

“Rhetoric of the Image.” He explains that many people, including linguists, have a

difficult time looking at photography in a way that’s meaning making, This difficulty

arises from the fact that photography shows us compositions in a way that are

completely representational to what we already see. A photographer does not sketch

and color the scene, they capture a real representation of what is going on in daily life.

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Barthes writes, “there are those who think that the image is an extremely rudimentary

system in comparison with language and those who think that signification cannot

exhaust the image’s ineffable richness” (Barthes, 114).

Barthes explores an image of an advertisement that is comprised of spaghetti

noodles and canned tomatoes along with a bag of onions and tomatoes. As he dissects

the image, he classifies three types of meaning within the image: The linguistic

message, which comprises the text in the caption, The symbolic or connoted message

(what the symbols mean to the viewer),and the literal message or denoted message

(what the text in the caption actually means). The linguistic message can be used as a

relay. The anchorage function takes an image with multiple meanings and augments

one specific meaning for the viewer. A relay function, on the other hand, connects the

text and image together to convey one meaning, such as a comic strip. Barthes further

explains that the relay-text becomes imperative in motion photography, because the

dialogue itself progresses the meaning of messages within the film that cannot be

understood just by the visual image itself. (Barthes, 118).

Visual images and linguistic discourse are much more similar than we believe it

to be at times. Umberto Eco explains how people use discourse to paint images for

others to see. One example he uses is a radio announcer who spoke of a breaking

news situation in a way that was similar to a movie. (Eco, 126).

In the end, any type of discourse will result in images in our brain through memory.

When we have a conversation with someone, we replay it back in our minds like a


movie. We can imagine the setting, time of day, person you’re speaking with, and

situation. This concept is similar to the rhetorical situation, which is created by

connecting various attributes at a specific time, with specific people involved, to create a

situation involving the use of rhetoric and persuasion.

When we describe events to make a point in an argument, we are forming

sentence constructions in order to paint a visual picture in another person’s mind.

Victor Burgin takes this idea even further in his piece, “Looking at Photographs,” and

dives into the question of why images can become convoluted in their message:

“The intelligibility of the photograph is no simple thing; photographs are texts inscribed

in terms of what we may call photographic discourse” (Burgin, 131).

It is really fascinating to read about Barthes’s exploration into the meaning of an

image. This experimentation of meaning reminds me a lot of the multimodal rhetoric I

learned about in composition theory. Barthes was definitely ahead of his time,

considering this piece was written in 1964. I want to take the foundations of Barthes’s

arguments and investigate my own images with them. This may seem biased to look at

my own images, but I am not looking at them based on skill level or compositional

quality, but based on investigating my own photographic process and the messages I

tried to create based on framing, colors, and situations.

What constitutes discourse and language? In order to understand this concept,

we have to dig deep into the definition of speech, listening, and transmission of

meaning. M.M. Bakhtin gives an in-depth description of utterances and discourse in his

piece, “The Problem of Speech Genres.” He defines language as a combination of

individual,


concrete utterances that take place in natural human interaction (Bakhtin, 98). It is

through these utterance combinations that enable communication to transform human

activity. “After all, language enters life through individual concrete utterances (which

manifest language and life enters language through concrete utterances as well. The

utterance is an exceptionally important node of problems” (Bakhtin, 99). Because of oral

and written utterances, we can create intricate ways to communicate meaning. Can the

same be said for visual images? Does photography has its own version of an

utterance?

In photography, there are many more minute, technical details that play into a

message other than the subject matter presented within the frame. As I am taking the

photograph, I have to think about exposure settings. How much light do I want

captured? Do I want to capture the subjects in a freeze-frame, or do I want them blurry?

Do I want the background to show? After a photograph is developed, whether in a digital

or film format, the photographer can control how the image will look. Altering specific

textures and colors within an image can greatly change the mood of an image. Do I

want an image to be monochrome or color? If it’s a color image, do I want the color

balance to be warm or cool? To me, settings on a camera are similar to specific words I

choose and the syntax in which sentences are constructed. In discourse, I have to

frame words and sentences in a way that enables connection between me and the

speaker. If I don’t think about the way I frame an argument, then I am wasting breath.

This is the same for image production. If I do not think about the composition of my

image, then I am wasting a vital message. This is not to say that all images have to be

thoroughly prepared and organized in order be good photographs. In our technological


society today we are able to take thousands of pictures with simple telephones. This,

however, doesn’t mean that people have the ability to articulate a message through

visual discourse. This is in agreement with what Bakhtin says about having utterances

reflect individual style.

“Any utterance, oral or written, primary or secondary, and in any sphere of

communication—is individual and therefore can reflect the individuality of the speaker

(or writer); that is, it possesses individual style…various genres can reveal various

layers and facets of the individual personality, and individual style can be found in

various interrelations” (Bakhtin, 99).

It is also important within speech acts to discuss the perlocutionary and

illocutionary acts. These acts, defined by J.L. Austin, investigate the underlying meaning

behind the vocal and written utterances that are expressed. An illocutionary act is the

actual meaning behind the utterance. A perlocutionary act is the effect of the underlying

meaning by the hearer of the utterance (Austin, 62). Can visual images have

illocutionary and perlocutionary effects? I believe they can have them. We see this

concept every day in journalism. An example I’d like to use is a famous Vietnam War

photograph taken in 1972 by Nick Ut. This photograph, taken during a napalm attack,

presents many intricate discursive acts.

The locutionary act in this piece is the frame and subjects within the picture. The

children, soldiers, and background are the utterances. The illocutionary act is the

underlying meaning of an atrocious act happening to innocent children. I can see on the

children’s faces that they are in an utterly frightening situation. The nakedness of the

girl, named Kim Phuc, shows the vulnerability they are experiencing. Going back to


Barthes, the title, “The Terror of War” and context within the piece give us a greater

understanding of the meaning of the image. This image was taken when the South

Vietnamese army accidentally dropped napalm in the town of Trang Bang in 1972

(Geard). The perlocutionary act in this piece is the emotional response and opinion

formed based on the locutionary and illocutionary acts, which are intense sadness,

empathy, and anger that this situation even happened.

I would like to take a look at my own photographs and investigate my own

meaning-making process. The first image I want to show is from the Easter Vigil

ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Andrew Catholic Church in downtown Little Rock. This

composition is entitled, “Waiting.” This scene was taken right before they lit the Easter

fire, which signifies the coming of the eternal presence of Christ. The subjects in the


image are the Bishop of Little Rock, the priest at the Cathedral, and two deacons. They

were all standing outside, waiting for the sun to go down enough to light the fire.

In this image I wanted to stay with a cool composition that consisted of blue and

grey hues. These hues signify the coolness of the preparation of Easter and the

symbolic fire. The coolness of the image is in direct contrast to the warm colors that

were going to soon come alive. The priests and deacons are standing and looking

toward the sky, waiting for dusk to approach. I was intrigued by the looks on their faces,

especially the Bishop, who was staring right at me in the center. I thought their solemn

faces contributed to the cool color balance and hues. With these combinations, I wanted

to create a message specific to the Mass that was about to celebrated. The title,

“Waiting” is the denotive meaning. The

cool color balance and body language of

the subjects in the picture is the connoted

message. To contrast the picture above,

here is an image taken shortly after.


Another image I want to look at is

a photograph I took in my backyard.

This was the basketball goal I used

for many years when I was growing

up. This particular angle was

interesting to me because � the 10

angle signifies a child-like stance (at

least that was the angle I saw many times when I was young). I wanted to use a

monochrome composition because it forces the viewer to look directly at the angle and

texture of the image. If color was retained, the viewer would become distracted by many

other factors. Monochrome also forces the viewer to look at the texture in an image. The

backboard of the goal is very rough. This texture signifies that it has been used for

many years. One can assume, through the connoted message, that many memories

were made with this goal.

It would be ignorant of me to say that photographs could be on an equal level

with oral and written communication. This type of communication is the most detailed

and complex system with morphemes, speech genres, and utterances. I could not have

adequately explained my argument in this paper if I replaced letters and words with

photographs. However, I believe it is best to reach out and look at other means of

understanding, discourse, and communication. We have to go beyond ourselves and

believe we are capable of understanding in numerous ways. This progression, I believe,

must include the complexities of visual communication through photographs. As I

progress further with this idea, I can better understand how to create a better message


overall in my daily discourse practices. It will take practice for me to fully use discourse

through writing, speaking, and photography, but the more I use these tools, the better I

can become at communicating and articulating messages.


Works Cited

Austin, J.L. “How to do Things with Words.” The Discourse Reader. Routledge

Publishing.

Bakhtin, M.M. “The Problem of Speech Genres.” The Discourse Reader. Routledge

Publishing.

Burgin, Victor. “Looking at Photographs.” The Photography Reader. Routledge

Publishing.

Barthes, Roland. “Rhetoric of the Image.” The Photography Reader. Routledge

Publishing.

Geard, Tiffany Hagler. “The Historic ‘Napalm Girl’ Pulitzer Image Marks Its 40th

Anniversary.” ABC News. 2012, June 8.

Umberto Eco. “A Photograph.” The Photography Reader. Routledge Publishing.

Exploring Discourse in Photography

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