Week 8: Photography: 3) How do captions and cutlines reframe the meaning of an image?

It is suggested that typography determines every aspect of the way printed words are presented. It is significant to have the ability to make decisions about “various sizes for headlines, subheads, captions, cutlines, and the body of the text” (Lester, 1995). According to Prosser (1998), captions are used to set the photographs in their appropriate and conventional context. In other words, captions and cutlines are very often attached to provide and generate a slight knowledge but still offers understanding to viewers.

For instance, if the caption were not displayed, the possibility to this picture would make Lionel Messi a convict, with gun pointing on his face, threatened and intimidated by the policemen. However, the narrative stimulates the visual image by providing an actual story to the audience, where Lionel Messi is being escorted through a Saudi Arabian airport when one of the guns belonging to a soldier protecting him ended up near Messi’s face and for a split second the footballing maestro appeared to be stunned by the commotion.

Robert Heincken and Barbara Kruger combine images with text to make critical comments about popular culture. However, Lacey (1998) suggests that an image’s meaning can often be ambiguous. There is a proverb that goes “A picture is worth a thousand words” may be precisely accurate, but what happens when meanings of images are manipulated by changing the captions and cutlines?

In conclusion, in most circumstances, the objective of captions and cutlines is to help and assist aviewer to further understand the meaning of specified images. Although we have the ability to naturally interpret images, it is unbelievable unusual to catch or encounter any visual images without the support of captions and cutlines. However, the meaning of an image can also be vague and imprecise due to some changes in captions and cutlines.

Reference:

Barthes, R. (1977). Image-Music-Text. Glasgow: Fontana

Lacey, N. (1998). Image and Representation: Key Concepts in Media Studies. New York: St. Martin’s Press

Lester, P.M. (1995). Visual Communication: Images with Messages. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company

Prosser, J. (1998). Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers.London: Routledge