Reliability of Photographs as a Primary Source of Information

Images in history can definitely be used as a primary source of information but in my opinion, the absence of content can render them open to all kinds of interpretation and this is dangerous. The probability of this misinterpretation increases drastically with the passage of time. Such happens because, unlike a timely photograph where people normally understand the context – with time, this understanding diminishes.

Unless there is text associated with a photograph to explain it, it becomes very difficult, even in the first instance to understand a photograph. Let’s take the example of the photograph below:

Unless someone actually mentions that the respective photograph is from Auschwitz and the pattern on the wall are from the scratches of victims, who were gassed by the Nazis, it is extremely difficult to understand what the photograph is all about and this is my point. 

Such is not always the case though, if we take the example of another famous photograph – Kevin Carter’s “The Vulture and the Child”, which won the Pulitzer Prize, in itself, has a lot of meaning. 

The picture shows a vulture that is just waiting for the child to die, which would then give it an opportunity for scavenging the remains. The photograph shows a weak child on the verge of death, suggesting hunger, lack of food or famine but the same fails to give us the information about where this has been shot – until and unless, someone actually knows about the context.

If, then again, one compares print medium to photographs, the reliability of photographs as a primary source is much more as compared to any article/ write up. This is because – the print medium faces the problem of intent along with content and is most often than not biased, based on a number of factors, of which the most prominent, probably is cultural conditioning. A photograph, unless it is digitally manipulated cannot be biased – as it is only a frozen moment from reality and as such cannot be altered.

Similarly, if we talk about this ‘Tiananmen Square Incident’ photograph, it is extremely tough to gauge the circumstances of this photograph. This photograph, doesn't, under any circumstances, suggests about any of the events that led to it. Also, there is actually no clarity as to what is happening in the frame. For, someone who views this photo for the very first time, might get confused and in fact might also associate the same with a friendly military parade. Yes, of course the man on the road seems to be odd but then again there could be numerous other interpretations for that. This photograph does depict the reality but only for someone who understands the context and knows about the actual incident that took place.

In the future, historians can definitely use such photographs as a primary source for information and research. Photographs will definitely be much more reliable as compared to the print medium – yet there can never be any absolute guarantee for this.