Composition and aesthetic value in press photography

Abstract

Press photographers are rarely acknowledged as having any concern for composition or for aesthetic value in the taking of their photographs. Rather, as noted in Chapter 1, their photographs are labelled as record/proof/witness or seeing history. However, as demonstrated by the many industry awards, among them the internationally renowned World Press Photo competition, beauty in press photography is a valued component. In relation to the kinds of photographs that succeed in such competitions, World Press Photo Chair of the Jury in 2007, Michelle McNally, states: ‘it is always the pictures that incite public reaction… [that have] an aesthetic component drawing the viewer in, urging them to learn more’ that turn those fleeting critical moments that flash before our eyes into lasting memories. In previous research (Caple 2009b), I have attempted to devise a system of compositional analysis — the Balance network — that captures the ways in which the aesthetic component of a press photograph can be realized (for a simplified version of this approach see Bednarek and Caple 2012a). In this chapter, I introduce my latest theorizing of the analytical framework of Balance in composition, and apply this to the analysis of images as they appear in the multisemiotic news story. First, though, I will explore the theoretical underpinnings motivating this approach to compositional analysis.