What Makes a Photograph Influential? | Kira Pollack | TEDxNashville

Summary

The speaker, a photography director at Time magazine, explores the enduring influence of photography despite an overwhelming number of images. They recount their team's three-year project to identify the 100 most influential photographs in history, emphasizing the power of a single image to impact society, provoke change, and leave a lasting impression. The talk highlights iconic images such as James Nachtwey's famine photo, which spurred a massive relief effort, and the viral photo of Alan Kurdi, symbolizing the Syrian refugee crisis. It also discusses how technology and platforms have evolved to democratize photography, making it more influential than ever.

Takeaways

• 📸 The sheer volume of photographs taken in a single year now surpasses the total from the entire history of photography, raising questions about the impact and influence of individual images.
• 🔍 A three-year project by Time magazine aimed to identify the 100 most influential photographs in history, highlighting the power of still images to imprint on our collective memory.
• 🌟 Photography has the unique ability to capture a moment in time, distilling complex scenes into a single, powerful frame that can sway public opinion and policy.
• 🏆 A photograph by James Nachtwey of the 1992 famine in Somalia led to a massive relief effort, demonstrating the tangible impact a single image can have on saving lives.
• 🏞️ Historical images, such as those by Carleton Watkins of Yosemite, have served as evidence to protect natural wonders, influencing legislation and conservation efforts.
• 📱 The advent of digital and mobile photography, exemplified by Philippe Kahn's first cell phone image, revolutionized how we communicate and share visual content.
• 🌐 The speed at which images are now disseminated, especially through social media, has accelerated the news cycle and the public's engagement with current events.
• 😢 The haunting image of Alan Kurdi, a young Syrian refugee, became a symbol of the refugee crisis and prompted a brief but significant policy shift in Europe.
• 📰 The platform where a photograph is displayed greatly affects its influence, with magazine covers, newspaper front pages, and now social media feeds acting as powerful amplifiers.
• 📈 The evolution of photography has been marked by technological advancements, from film to digital, and the speed at which images are captured and shared has collapsed the time between creation and consumption.
• 🔮 The future of influential photography remains uncertain but exciting, with new platforms and technologies poised to shape how we experience and are impacted by visual storytelling.

Q & A

How many pictures are estimated to be made in a year compared to the entire history of photography?

In the year mentioned in the transcript, over a trillion pictures would be made, which is more than the entire history of photography combined.

What was the impact of James Nachtwey's photograph of a woman in a wheelbarrow during the Somali famine?

The photograph led to the largest relief effort since World War II, saving 1.5 million lives, as it was published impactfully in The New York Times Magazine.

How did Carleton Watkins' photographs contribute to the establishment of the National Park System?

Watkins' photographs of Yosemite Valley were shown to Washington power brokers as evidence of its existence, leading to Abraham Lincoln signing the Yosemite Grant Act, which paved the way for the National Park System.

What was the significance of Philippe Kahn's photograph of his daughter in the context of photography's evolution?

Kahn's photograph, taken with a digital camera and flip-top phone, was the first instance of a cell phone image being sent out, which forever changed the way we communicate through images.

Why did the photograph of Alan Kurdi become an influential symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis?

The photograph of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned, was widely shared and became difficult to look away from, resonating with the public and leading to a brief opening of European borders for over a million refugees.

How did the Ellen DeGeneres Oscar selfie impact the advertising industry?

The selfie was retweeted more than any other picture in history, providing a major, organic advertising coup for Samsung, as the phone used to take the picture was prominently displayed.

What role did Abraham Zapruder's film of President John Kennedy's assassination play in the public's perception of the event?

Zapruder's film documented the assassination in its entirety and was published in Life magazine, becoming the first time the public saw the event unfold, significantly impacting their understanding of it.

How did the Hindenburg disaster photograph achieve influence twice?

The photograph was influential at the time of the disaster in the 1930s, ending the idea of airship travel. Later, it was used on Led Zeppelin's album cover, making it influential again through pop culture.

What ethical considerations did the Time magazine team face when deciding to publish a graphic image on its cover?

The team considered the potential impact on a young audience and the subject's well-being, as the subject might not understand the global reach and implications of being on the cover.

How has the speed of photography and its dissemination changed over the past 20 years?

The speed has evolved dramatically, from photographers using film and physically delivering it for development to digital photographers instantly uploading images to social media, collapsing the time between taking and viewing a picture.

Outlines

00:00

📸 The Impact and Influence of Photography

The speaker, a director of photography at Time magazine, discusses the overwhelming number of photographs produced in a single year compared to the entire history of photography. Despite this, photography remains influential. The speaker embarked on a three-year project with a team to identify the hundred most influential photographs in history. They interviewed various experts and found that powerful photographs have the ability to imprint on our minds and convey a scene in a single moment. The speaker gives examples of such influential photographs, including one by James Nachtwey that led to a significant relief effort, saving many lives. The talk also touches on photographs as evidence, like those by Carleton Watkins that contributed to the establishment of the National Park System, and innovative images like the first cell phone picture that changed communication.

05:01

🌐 The Role of Audience and Media in Photographic Influence

This paragraph delves into how audience engagement and media platforms contribute to a photograph's influence. The speaker highlights the rapid news cycle and how a photograph can become influential almost instantly through social media shares, as seen with the iconic image of Alan Kurdi during the Syrian refugee crisis. The speaker also discusses the viral nature of an Oscars selfie that inadvertently promoted Samsung. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of the 'perfect storm' where a powerful image, the right platform, and public opinion converge to create influence. Historical examples include the first photograph to depict a human being and the significant role Life magazine played in showing the world through photographs before the television era.

10:01

📰 The Evolution of Photographic Platforms and Their Impact

The speaker reflects on the changing platforms where influential photographs have been showcased, from newspapers and magazines to album covers. The paragraph discusses how Eddie Adams' famous Vietnam War photo and the Hindenburg disaster image gained influence through their publication on newspaper front pages and later through pop culture. The speaker also shares personal experiences, such as the ethical considerations when placing a powerful image of a victim of the Taliban on a magazine cover. The paragraph illustrates how the speed of photography has evolved, from film to digital, and the impact of this evolution on how we consume and share news and images in real time.

15:02

🔍 The Future of Photography and Its Enduring Influence

In the final paragraph, the speaker concludes the discussion by affirming the enduring influence of photographs despite the overwhelming quantity produced. They reflect on their career and the rapid changes in technology that have collapsed the time between capturing and viewing an image. The speaker ponders the future, questioning what the next influential photograph will be and which platform will introduce it. The talk concludes with a sense of awe at the speed and reach of modern photography and its potential to shape culture and society.

Keywords

💡Influential Photographs

Influential photographs are images that have a significant impact on society, culture, or history. In the context of the video, these are photographs that have the power to change perspectives, provoke action, or become iconic symbols of a particular time or event. The video discusses how certain photographs have influenced public opinion, policy, and even technology, such as the image of Alan Kurdi symbolizing the Syrian refugee crisis.

💡Quantify Influence

To quantify influence in the video refers to the process of measuring the impact a photograph has had. This is done by considering factors like the number of people it reached, the emotional response it elicited, and the tangible changes it inspired. The speaker and their team spent three years interviewing experts to assess the influence of historical photographs, indicating the complexity and significance of this process.

💡Photojournalism

Photojournalism is a type of journalism that uses photographs to tell a news story. It is mentioned in the video in relation to James Nachtwey's work in Somalia, which led to significant humanitarian relief efforts. The video underscores the power of photojournalism to document reality and evoke empathy, leading to real-world consequences.

💡National Parks

The term 'National Parks' is used in the video to discuss the role of photography in the establishment of the National Park System in the United States. Carleton Watkins' photographs of Yosemite Valley were used as evidence to convince politicians of the area's natural beauty and importance, leading to the signing of the Yosemite Grant Act by President Abraham Lincoln.

💡Digital Photography

Digital photography is a method of photography that uses digital technology to capture, store, and manipulate images. The video highlights a pivotal moment in digital photography's history with Philippe Kahn's transmission of a photo from his phone to his computer, marking the first instance of a cell phone image and changing communication forever.

💡Syrian Refugee Crisis

The Syrian Refugee Crisis is a significant global event discussed in the video through the lens of a powerful photograph of Alan Kurdi, a young Syrian boy who drowned. This image became the iconic symbol of the crisis, influencing public opinion and prompting a brief opening of European borders to refugees. It demonstrates the capacity of a single photograph to encapsulate a complex humanitarian issue.

💡Viral Imagery

Viral imagery refers to photographs or images that are rapidly and widely shared through digital platforms. The video mentions Ellen DeGeneres' Oscars selfie as an example of a viral image that was retweeted millions of times, also serving as a significant marketing opportunity for Samsung. This concept illustrates the democratization of influence in the digital age.

💡Zapruder Film

The Zapruder Film is a home movie that captured the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The video discusses how this amateur film became one of the most famous and influential pieces of visual evidence in history. It underscores the power of photography, even when not created by professionals, to document and shape historical narratives.

💡Photography and Technology

Photography and technology are intertwined concepts in the video, which discusses how technological advancements have influenced the creation, dissemination, and impact of photographs. From the early daguerreotypes to digital cameras and smartphones, the evolution of technology has allowed for faster, more accessible, and more impactful photography.

💡Ethical Considerations in Publishing

Ethical considerations in publishing refer to the moral and ethical dilemmas faced when deciding what images to show to the public. The video discusses the decision-making process behind placing a graphic image of a girl mutilated by the Taliban on the cover of Time magazine, weighing the potential impact on the subject and the audience against the need to raise awareness.

💡Real-Time Imagery

Real-time imagery is the concept of images being captured and shared immediately as events unfold. The video reflects on the evolution of speed in photography, from the days of film and slow development processes to the instant sharing capabilities of today's digital and mobile technologies. This has transformed how we consume news and experience current events.

Highlights

In a single year, more pictures are made than in the entire history of photography.

The director of photography at Time magazine embarked on a three-year project to identify the 100 most influential photographs in history.

Powerful photography has the ability to brand itself on the viewer's memory and distill a scene into a single moment.

A 1992 photograph by James Nachtwey of a famine in Somalia led to the largest relief effort since World War II, saving 1.5 million lives.

Carleton Watkins' photographs of Yosemite Valley influenced President Abraham Lincoln to sign the Yosemite Grant Act, leading to the National Park System.

Phillipe Kahn's 1997 cell phone image of his daughter marked the beginning of a new era in communication.

The iconic 2015 photograph of Alan Kurdi became a symbol for the Syrian refugee crisis and influenced global policy.

Influential photographs often result from a convergence of a powerful image, the right technology platform, and public opinion.

The first photograph to depict a human being was taken by Luis de Guerre in the early 1800s, revolutionizing how people saw themselves.

Life magazine, launched by Henry Luce, was an influential platform that showed the world to its readers before the era of television.

The front page of newspapers, particularly the upper right-hand corner, has been a significant real estate for influential photographs.

Record album covers, now a thing of the past, used to be a powerful platform for influential photographs.

Magazine covers, such as Demi Moore's provocative pregnant photo, have the power to shift cultural perceptions.

Ethical considerations play a crucial role in deciding which photographs to publish, especially when they depict sensitive subjects.

The evolution of speed in photography has been dramatic, from film to digital and now to real-time uploads from the field.

The news cycle has accelerated, with photographs now being taken and seen by the public in real time.

The future of influential photography lies in the hands of emerging photographers and the platforms yet to be invented.

Transcripts

thank you it's so great to be here what

makes a photograph influential a few

years ago I had lunch with a

photographic scholar he told me

something astonishing

that in that year ahead over a trillion

pictures would be made that means in one

year more pictures would be made than in

the entire history of photography a

trillion pictures and I'm the director

of photography at Time magazine and I

love photography but even for me that

number was daunting how is it that with

all of these pictures that photography

will still be influential and will still

rise to the level of impact this

question brought me down a long and

fascinating rabbit hole with the team of

reporters and photo editors we set out

to quantify the hundred most influential

photographs in history and we did this

over the course of three years it took

that long because we interviewed

hundreds of historians curators

photographers and subjects to quantify

the influence I believe that a

photograph a still image has an

extraordinary power it has the ability

to brand itself on the back of your

brain and to distill down a scene to one

split second powerful photography has a

point of view this picture made in 1992

in the famine the famine in Somalia was

made by the great photojournalist James

Nachtwey though this is a photograph of

a woman in a wheel barrel she had been

wheeled to the feeding center because

she was too weak to walk this picture in

addition to many other pictures that

Nachtwey made on this trip were

published in a very impactful way in the

new york times magazine upon publication

it it cat it it led to the largest

relief effort since World War two with

the ICRC and it saved one and a half

million lives some photographs on our

list were on our list because they were

proof and evidence this picture and a

number of other pictures by Carleton

Watkins were made over 150 years ago he

ventured into Yosemite National Park on

mules

he made a portfolio of 30 images all

that majestically showed the Yosemite

Valley

these pictures were brought to

Washington and shown to the power

brokers as a portfolio and it was

evidence that this place existed no one

had seen it before and three years later

Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite

grant Act which paved the way for the

National Park System some pictures on

her list were not photographs with a

capital P but they were pictures on the

list that really acted as innovation

this picture was made by the software

engineer Phillipe Kahn almost 20 years

ago it's a photograph of his daughter

that he made in the maternity ward in a

Northern California hospital he made

this picture with his digital camera his

flip-top phone he synced it to his

computer and with a few lines of code he

sent it out to 2,000 of his closest

friends and family this is the first

instance of a cell phone image and it

changed the way we communicate forever

one of the hardest parts of this project

was trying to quantify influence from

recent years the last picture on the

list picture number 100 was made in 2015

it was a heartbreaking picture and it

became the iconic symbol for the Syrian

refugee crisis I know this picture is

hard to look at and I'm sorry but it is

also hard to look away

and I think that that's what a powerful

picture does this is a picture of Alan

Kurdi

he was three years old and what I think

everyone it's a gut punch and I think

it's because we can all imagine that

this could be our own child when this

picture was published widely world

leaders went to stage and the borders in

Europe opened for just a brief second

and over a million refugees were settled

but what I find so fascinating about

this picture is that it became

influential because the audience made it

influential it was made by a

professional photographer and as we know

the news cycle is so fast the picture

was tweeted and retweeted and retweeted

and retweeted and it is that idea that

photography is like talking it's it's a

conversation and I work in the media and

literally twenty four hours later we

published that picture and so it was

almost by the time that we really vetted

it and we really you know what we're

able to contextualize what was happening

in it it was that long but everyone the

world had already seen it so it's just

an interesting example of how fast the

news cycle goes at this point another

picture that was very influential from

the audience itself is this picture and

I'm sure you're all wondering why this

is on the list and what are my

credentials for making this list this is

a picture that most people think was

made by Ellen DeGeneres pose really

Bradley Cooper and she gets all the

credit and this picture was retweeted

three million more times than any

picture in history and little known it

was an a major coup for Samsung and this

was like a this was an billion-dollar ad

placement and I mean every creative

director in the industry of advertising

would have been thrilled to have this

because it was so organic the way that

it went viral

um not every photograph on the list was

made by a professional photographer

on November 22nd 1963 a middle-aged

garment manufacturer named Abraham

Zapruder set out with his 8 millimeter

camera and went to document the arrival

of his hero President John Kennedy in

Dallas little did he know that he'd be

making the most famous home movie in

history the brooder photo documented

Kennedy's assassination from beginning

to end these were pictures that were

published in Life magazine they were

still images from his camera and they

were published in black and white

because they had missed the press

deadline for color and it's just

incredible almost a week later was the

first time that the public actually saw

the assassination and it it it was that

was the first time that they were

published take a look at this and I'm

not going to show you the whole the

whole clip but take a look at the parade

route there is not one person that has a

cell phone and not one person that has a

camera even so everyone was experiencing

the moment and I think that's something

that we've lost as we are always

recording everything is recorded and

today that could never have happened

that one man would have made that very

important document photographs become

influential when there is a perfect

storm a sweet spot where a photograph

technology platform and public opinion

collide there might be a very powerful

picture but unless it gets out there in

the right way and it's disseminated it

properly it doesn't become influential

I'm gonna go back this is one of the

first pictures on our list it was made

by luiz de Guerre in the early 1800s and

you might think it looks a little boring

but it was actually a revolutionary

picture at the time because those are

the first time it depicted a human being

and you can see on the left hand corner

a little person down there that was the

first time a human being was in a

photograph depicted instead of a

painting so the way that people saw this

picture they literally had to do a

pilgrimage to go to the studio and see

this one photograph on the wall and it

was influential because you got the

chance to see it and by word of mouth it

was so powerful fast forward almost a

hundred years later and this was the

next most influential place for

photography and when Life magazine was

launched by Henry Luce his idea for life

was that it would show you the world and

it really was the first time that we saw

the world because it was before

television I mean it's hard to believe

this right now but you saw your own town

you saw your own life you didn't get

outside of that and that is what Life

magazine did and it was such an

influential publication for pictures

another influential platform of course

is the the front page of the newspaper

and think about how much that's changed

over time eddie adams made this very

famous picture in vietnam i show this

because it was published in what i think

is the most important real estate on the

front page was which is the upper right

hand corner and it was published on the

front page of newspapers across the

country and it became an influential

picture because of the way it was

published certainly powerful but because

it was published and it landed on

people's breakfast tables and it landed

on people's front porch it became part

of the zeitgeist this was also an

interesting thing that we found which

was that the record album was a great

piece of real estate for photographs and

that no longer exists either now we have

songs we have Spotify and Pandora and

there's no like incredible art on the

record album cover this picture was

influential twice once when it actually

happened this was the Hindenburg in the

30s and it ended the whole idea of

ship travel and then when Led Zeppelin

put it on their first album cover it

became influential through pop culture

something that I've been very familiar

with obviously my career is the magazine

cover again very influential to be

putting this picture on the cover not

inside the magazine and this picture was

so provocative it was so daring Demi

Moore seven months pregnant and naked

and it was if the first time that we

changed the culture and how we saw

pregnancy think that you know everyone

kind of hid it and wore these tent

dresses and then this kind of changed it

shifted the way that we talked about it

and you know it was a very provocative

cover for a mass media to put that there

one of the most powerful pictures I've

been involved in and placing it on the

cover and the very big privilege that I

have of working at Time magazine is that

I'm on the front lines of deciding these

pictures and trying to figure out what

pictures should make the cover this

picture was made of a girl named Ayesha

she was 18 years old and her nose and

ears were cut off by the Taliban it's

horrifying and when we when we try to

figure out should we publish this on the

cover or inside the magazine there are

two things that really we were debating

and one was this would be the first time

a child might see a horrifying image and

we are responsible for that

so just ethically you know it's not just

on their newsstand it's on people's

living room table and I think that that

that was a very interesting discussion

and the second was as we always consider

what happens to the subject this girl is

living in a very remote place she

doesn't know what time magazine is and

she she's gonna become an icon what will

this do to her and you know we weighed

all that down as we do and she was safe

when we published it we knew that and it

led to it just ignited huge discussion

and it just became very powerful as it

you know as a as an idea about women

Afghanistan and the Taliban

the history of photography is a 190

years it's gonna go on for another 190

years I've only been involved in it for

this very small window of 20 years but

it's like it's like enough time I think

um but one thing that I have witnessed

in my 20 years is the evolution of speed

and what I mean by that and I'm just

gonna give you an example I worked at

the New York Times Magazine during 9/11

and I lived in New York I live downtown

and all the photographer's we worked

with worked with film cameras this was

15 years ago so not very long ago but

what that meant was at a time where it

like that it was changing every minute

and it was so confusing what was

happening in that story in real time I

was literally walking down to get the

film and bring it up to the office so

like people weren't emailing pictures to

us and we were publishing them we were

literally so and then you're editing the

pictures you're laying out the magazine

and then you know you're on deadline and

that the next news story that happened

right after that and I just remember the

so vividly because a lot of my friends

were photographers and they were going

off to Afghanistan to cover the war and

they were on the airplanes with digital

cameras which they had never used before

and they had you know their cameras an

instruction manual and a generator and

they were going off to the front lines

of a war that they had never covered

because it was a new generation of

photographers and it was it's just

amazing to think that that was so recent

and the generator was because they're

gonna be in the middle of nowhere and

they needed to file to us and as

publishers of those pictures we had no

idea how they were gonna reproduce so

it's just like again not that long ago

that that happened one of my favorite

photographers Robert Capa great great

war photographer 1944 he photographed

d-day he was there on Omaha Beach and he

made it

is it powerful pictures he risked his

life to think when he was finished with

shooting pictures that day that he had

to get his film across the channel to

London in London they developed those

pictures and there are lots of stories

about what happened but 10 frames

remained the next morning those 10

frames

went from London to Scotland Scotland to

Newfoundland Newfoundland to Washington

Washington to New York and then they

were published in Life Magazine and it's

just you know what I've what I've

witnessed in my career and like you know

just even from Robert Capa it's like the

the distance between taking a picture

and seeing a picture has collapsed today

we have photographers that work for us

that that photograph in some cases with

their cell phones and they upload the

pictures directly to Times Instagram

feed that means you are seeing pictures

in real time I mean it's not great for

my job because it kind of cuts managing

the process but what Lowood CAPA say if

he would you know it's just amazing to

think that that is how war is being

covered actually a mozole by some

photographers so it just has changed the

way that you know the way that we're

experiencing the news and the news cycle

has gotten so fast

so in conclusion obviously this has been

an amazing project and I it's been a

passion project and I learned so much

it's been like being in graduate school

and but the but the answer to the

question is can photographs be

influential with all these pictures we

made the answer is yes they can the

question is what is going to be the

hundred and first picture who is gonna

make it and what platform is it going to

be on what platform is going to be

introduced that's going to blow our ma

and thank you

you