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You might not be called upon to decipher the process by which a photograph was created, but you may need to assist others to \u201cread\u201d and research photographs. As components of the historical record, it is easy to assume that photographs are objective reflections of the past. However, photographs are documents created by individuals and institutions operating under a range of assumptions, possibly creating deliberate deceptions or propaganda; they must be \u201cread\u201d and analyzed just as you might evaluate written documents.<\/p>\n
It might be helpful to understand photograph analysis as a tiered process, beginning at a basic level, using information found only in the photograph, and ending with identifying reference sources you can consult to extend your understanding. The process is meant to take photographs at more than face value, to question assumptions, and acknowledges the multiple levels of understanding in each image. You\u2019ll note that this thought process is similar to that for films and motion pictures:<\/p>\n
adapted from Elisabeth Kaplan and Jeffrey Mifflin, \u201c \u2018Mind and Sight\u2019: Visual Literacy and the Archivist,\u201d in American Archival Studies<\/em>, ed. Randall C. Jimerson (Chicago: Society of American Archivists,2000 ), 73-97.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/locallinkages.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Module3.9_Graphic.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n3.9 Video<\/h4>\n
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