thesis statement on photography

Photography Thesis Ideas

Micah mcdunnigan.

Graduate-level photography students, and sometimes undergraduates, culminate their program of instruction with a thesis. A thesis is a novel creation using tools the student acquired during his course of instruction. In photography, students use technical skills they have acquired, and concepts behind the form, to create a portfolio.

Explore this article

• Conveying a Story
• Beauty in Unexpected Places
• Understanding Emotions
• Photojournalism

1 Conveying a Story

Photography is not about simply capturing a snapshot of an objective reality. As students will have learned during their courses -- and probably realized before they started formally studying photography -- photography uses real-world images to convey the world as the photographer sees it. In this way, a photographer can tell a story by preparing a scene for his camera. Some photography students experiment with ways to tell stories with photographs as their thesis.

2 Beauty in Unexpected Places

Most people are familiar with conventional images of beauty: the picturesque landscape, the 20-something on the street, the touched-up photograph of the supermodel on a magazine cover. Leonard Nimoy, famous as an actor but also a photographer, undertook a project to show beauty in photographs of women who were overweight but comfortable with their body image. Students can follow in this vein to seek out beauty in unexpected places, and capture it using what they have learned in photography class.

3 Understanding Emotions

Art expresses the infinite range of human emotions. These include basic contentment and fear of the unknown, to more abstract notions such as awe and the sublime. Photography students working on their thesis can experiment with expressing emotions with photographs. Different items evoke these emotions in different individuals, just as different individuals notice different items in any given situation. Students can use what they've learned to prepare scenes, or simply photograph everyday situations, and use their technical skills to emphasize the scene's elements that evoke the photographer's emotions. By emphasizing these elements in the photographs, they can communicate what the photographer felt, and why.

4 Photojournalism

Not all photography is purely artistic. Photojournalists use their skills to capture real-life scenes that tell, and supplement, very real stories. Photojournalists -- especially those covering chaotic or violent situations -- do not always have the freedom or ability to frame scenes that other photographers could. Students specializing in photojournalism can choose to do their thesis on ways in which photojournalists can capture discrete events amid fluid scenes. Students can use protests and demonstrations as a laboratory for these techniques.

• 1 SMITH Magazine: Full On With Leonard Nimoy
• 2 Academy of Art University: Graduate Student Showcase -- School of Photography
• 3 Digital Photography School: Telling Stories With Photos

About the Author

Micah McDunnigan has been writing on politics and technology since 2007. He has written technology pieces and political op-eds for a variety of student organizations and blogs. McDunnigan earned a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from the University of California, Davis.

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194 Photography Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best photography topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on photography, 🎓 simple & easy photography essay titles, 💡 most interesting photography topics to write about, 🔍 interesting topics to write about photography, ❓ photography essay questions.

• Photograph Description: Nature The photograph reflects a marvelous landscape combining the elements of human interference in the form of buildings; it is necessary to underline the fact that the picture is to be referred to as representational […]
• Pathos, Ethos, and Logos in Photography The audience’s personal experiences affects its interpretation of what the picture depicts, it might be close to the communication the photographer had wished to convey or a totally different perspective.
• Photography Comparison and Contrast The focus on the naked parts of the body, like dirty and scratched hands, necks, and faces, allows for learning about the terror and horror of that period. In my photo, the style differs due […]
• Personal Interest in Photography Most of Cotton’s photographs were devoted to the exploration of the serenity and beauty in the natural world, as can be seen in the photographs below.
• Photography as a Mass Medium To demonstrate this fact, the study explores the works of Sontag in her article titled, On Photography, and shows how digital photography changes her analysis about the “photographic way of seeing” life.
• Reflection of Photographic Arts The knowledge influences the choice of image and the position of the subject in the photograph. The knowledge of the fundamentals of photographic arts creates a world of possibilities.
• The Connection of History and Photography Overall, photography falls under the visual sources of chronological data that historians can use to understand and write about recorded events.
• Invention of Photography and Its Social Impact Although photography was invented in its full form only in 1835, an understanding of the social impact that was a result of the invention of photography is rightly portrayed by Azoulay in his article “The […]
• Concept of Documentary Photography The purpose of composition in this case is to bring out a distinction between the different elements of a work that is being portrayed in such a manner that the elements of the work that […]
• The Development of Lithography and Photography in the Nineteenth Century For this reason, when the reproduction techniques of lithography and photography came up, most of the artists at the time viewed this as a gold mine. As to whether lithography and photography resulted in a […]
• Steve McCurry’s Photographs This approach has revealed the impacts of war on the lives of many people across the globe. McCurry had the opportunity to capture the portrait of a monk in Tibet.
• Photography’s Impact on Society The pictures taken from scenes of dying soldiers in the American civil war are some of the reasons that evoked strong emotions, which led to the end of the war.
• Eastman Kodak and Photographic Film Industry Major Changes This kind of study enables the marketer to evaluate the performance of the company in the market. Therefore, the application of the model is inevitable in case the market is to understand the performance of […]
• Sports Photography and Its Evolution The death of Niepce was announced in 1833, but the experiment was still been performed by Daguerre and he succeeded in the development of the daguerreotype finally in 1837.
• The Impact of Nineteenth Century Photography on Visual Representation and the Development of Visual Culture The essay concludes with a showcasing of a number of nineteenth century photographs that illustrate the wide range of uses, particularly in the realm of portraiture, that photographers of the nineteenth century employed the photographic […]
• Photography: Art Creation & Reflection The thematic connection between the two pieces is based on the illusionary vision of the simple scenes and experimental approach to the art of photography.
• Photography in the E-Business: Marketing Strategy Business owners or those in the photography business are now thinking of possible and probably the best way to reach a wider market in the most fashionable and quickest way.
• Photography Exhibition: Examples of the Works This is an outstanding piece of art which made me, for instance, think of our world and humanity: first of all I thought about the perfection of the both, and then I passed to contemplations […]
• Impacts of Photography on Advertising So as to discuss this topic, this paper shall: trace the development of photography on advertising; discuss the positive impacts of photography on advertising; and discuss the negative impacts of photography on advertising.
• “Tom Torlino Student File” Photograph Analysis The before and after photo of a native American student is vivid evidence of American influence on the disappearing cultural heritage. What was the impact of such boarding schools on the identity and values of […]
• Photography: An Artist Statement In the first image, I arranged the details in the composition to guide the observer through the place I captured by the camera. With the help of the play of the light and shadow, I […]
• Philosophy of Photography as an Art In conclusion, it is necessary to stress that photography is a specific form of art that involves the use of technology.
• Photography as a Career It is of essence to note that a number of variations exist in the field of photography, for example, self-employment and commercial photographing are just some of the ways one can successfully earn a living […]
• Note-Taking and Crime Scene Photography Concerning the effectiveness of notes, generally, they should contain a high level of detail, and straightforwardness and cover all areas of the crime scene.
• Dream Deferred: Timeless Relevance. Poem and Photograph Review The relevance of showcasing social inequality through voices and faces of the Afro-Americans in the United States draws the parallel between the historical and contemporary context.
• The Beauty of Photography: An Opinion However, ultimately, I leaned toward the DSLR cameras and still photography rather than the motion of the film. As a result, good photos make one look at the situation from a different angle, capturing a […]
• Photography: Critical Analysis The vertical, restive position of the pencil in each of the slides is indicative of a resort to have finished a particular task, presumably that of writing on the foolscap, with the pencil resting in […]
• Yosemite National Park and Connecting With the History of Photography By the time the Yosemite series was started, Carleton Watkins was a famous master of the so called wet-collodion technique that made use of the “mammoth” plates made of glass to allow for the better […]
• Visual Art and Photography Ice Sculpting is truly an art of its own, and even though this style of art is not permanent, unless a person were to place the item into the freezer, this would still be categorized […]
• Photographs in a Written Society Visual literature requires one to have the ability to analyze, interpret, and understand images with the aim of acquiring meaning through the cultural context in which the image exists.
• Social Documentary Photography Then and Now In the first place, he tried to inform people about the diversity of life in the city, which was a common trend for the beginning of the twentieth century.
• Andy Goldsworthy: Sculptor and Photographer Besides, the vast majority of artworks of this sculptor are installed in nature in the woods, fields, plains, at the ponds, or rivers.
• Dharker’s Postcards From God Book and Carter’s Family Photograph Human poverty might have many colors, and the worth of the chosen non-literary work is in the possibility of conveying the struggle in the face of inevitability.
• Melancholy Objects in Photography The purpose of this paper is to develop a critical evaluation of Sontag’s claim of melancholy and Photography, with reference to a photograph taken for a tombstone in a cemetery. In fact, the grave looks […]
• Lighting in Painting, Film, and Photography Due to the lack of detail and the unobstructed silhouette lighting, the viewer can witness the anguish of the photography’s subject. Finally, “The Entombment of Christ” is a famous example of chiaroscuro lighting in art.
• The “Close Enough” Exhibition of Photographs Each of the authors presents their vision of connections and relations in global moments, communities, and individual subjects.”Close Enough” deserves a lot of attention in the context of its importance and significance to the world […]
• The Photograph “Melissa Shook in a Lonely Home” by Elizabeth Hammer Munemura The presentation of the idea of malnourished flowers in the room depicts the state of homelessness in the series. The photograph was taken behind the scenes to familiarize the actors and actresses involved in the […]
• Matthew Brandt’s Approach to Photography The artist labors over the production of his images, turning the creation of his work into grueling physical labor by utilizing long-forgotten techniques acquired from the earliest photographers in the tradition of photography, making his […]
• Walter Benjamin’s Article: The Invention of Photography In “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, Walter Benjamin discusses how the invention of photography and other mechanical reproduction forms has changed how people perceive works of art.
• Canadian Regional Geography in Photographs Because of the combination of two types of climate and the terrain, there is a wide difference of ecosystems. The second image is likely Atlantic Canada, as there are fishermen on it, while the most […]
• Photography as Quick-Paced Creative Medium Photography is interesting since it helps keeps memories alive and prosperous because it freezes a scene that lasts forever. In capturing moments of importance and beauty, photography helps one revisit memories in a way otherwise […]
• The Background of Photography and the History of Racial Strife Overall, Ardizonne argues that Day’s work was destructive to the political discourse, based on an assessment of the pictures and the content of the anthropological section.
• The Visual Argument in the Photograph The photograph and the remark appeal to pathos, striving to first show the emotions of the child in the picture and then accentuating how the words shown through the hand around the boy’s neck can […]
• The Search for Truth: Early Photography, Realism, and Impressionism European colonialism led to the popularity of ethnography and the emergence of Orientalism the Western representation of the Middle East visually or literary.
• Photographs Depicting Sufferings of Real People Recording reality may run counter to the goals and ideals of the person making the recording. The dilemma of reaction to shocking photographs is often limited by the viewer’s psychological predisposition and internal values.
• Photography of Global Disasters: Violence or Not? There is a moral dilemma in people’s urge to respond to suffering photographs of others by either just looking at the pictures or doing something to stop the disaster.
• Special Features of the Photography by Luc Delahaye and Ansel Adams The above photograph is one of the works by Ansel Adams, who is recognized as a pioneer in the evolutionary field of expertise.
• Jeff Wall, a Contemporary Photographer and His Works Most of the photographer’s works are staged, depicting everyday scenes related to the problems of representation and the history of art.
• Significance of the Photographs Created by T. Simon and J. Riis In turn, Riis presents a unique perspective on the immorality of the Victorian neighborhoods serving as evidence of erroneous people’s attitudes towards appropriateness.
• Photographer Lene and The Heart Project Lene has had an opportunity to work in a large variety of creative mediums, utilizing the skills acquired in a number of projects. The use of paint, charcoal, and mosaic in her art creates a […]
• An Analysis of a Photograph By Mike Wells This spread of technology-enabled many people to document the environment around them and allowed millions of people to relate to stories of others told through photographs.”A Starving Boy and a Missionary” is one of the […]
• The History of Photography of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century They assured the recognition of photography as a kind of art. Alfred Stieglitz created a series of clouds photographs that combined the technical and aesthetic principles of his work.
• Ethics in the Age of Digital Photography by Long In his article, ‘Ethics in the age of digital photography,’ Long expresses his concern over the problem of “the public…losing faith” in photojournalists.
• Composing With Light or Color in Photography Light, shadow and color are the components of an image. The balance between each element affects the quality of the image.
• Photography, Impression and Alfred Stieglitz A striking example of this is the emergence of photography as a category of art after the invention of the camera.
• Macro Photography: Features, Techniques, and Common Mistakes It is customary to call macro photography the shooting of objects comparable in size to the size of a film frame or much smaller than it.
• Town Photography Studio Online Branding In order to convince our potential customers about the quality of our new product, we need to use attractive images of the new product which can easily capture the attention of our potential customers.
• Photographer Diane Arbus’ Creativity Analysis Therefore, Arbus showed consistency with the portrayed ugliness of the subjects in the photographs. This enabled Arbus to capture moments that genuinely depicted the feelings of the people in their environment.
• Chris Hondros: War Photographer This leads the author of the current paper to discovering the key three topics that have to be covered in order to evaluate Hondros’ contribution to war photography during the first decade of the 21st […]
• Jack Dykinga’s Photography In addition, this use of light adds to the beauty of color harmony and color saturation in the picture. Because of the duly chosen perspective and the angle of shooting along with the time of […]
• Margaret Bourke-White: A Historically Significant Photographer Among Bourke-White’s exclusive works are the photos of the First Five-Year Plan in the Soviet Union, the daily struggle of the Allied infantrymen in the Italian campaign, the siege of Moscow, and the conflict between […]
• Nikki S. Lee and Photography Considered to be one of a kind, the unique nature of this exhibition placed her in the limelight. In ‘The Seniors Project’, Lee managed to transform herself to fit the image of an old woman […]
• Julia Margaret Cameron: A British Photographer As the photographer later wrote in her unfinished memoir “Annals of my glass house”, from the moment of the first shot, the camera had become a link to the world of artists, scientists, and writers.
• History in Abbass Studios Ltd. Fonds’ Photographs The approximate creation date of the collection is mentioned as 1940 the year when the eldest of the Abbass brothers became interested in photography. George was in charge of the office and the studio.
• HDRI and Tonal Mapping in Photography The science of High dynamic range imaging has developed the dynamic range of processing, transmission, and representation of imaging photography beyond the traditional forms.
• Photography: Robin Fox’s Proof of Concept The subject and concept of the exhibition is as unique as it can be and the gallery is the best place where the photos can be exhibited.
• Horst Wackerbath and His Great Photography This mystic twist in Wackerbath’s work keeps people looking out for more of his works in a bid to try to understand not only how he manages to pull such a delicate feat, but also […]
• Knowing Andy Warhol’s Life and Photography The Post-Modernist Movement of pop art and culture in the latter half of the twentieth century was a revolutionary movement and it was started by the American artist Andy Warhol’s very amundane’ looking paintings of […]
• Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography The photographs in Without Sanctuary provide a record of the intolerance and racism that was standard in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century.
• Ansel Adams and John Sexton: World Photography The first assumption that we can make about these works is that both of them achieve an effect of optical illusion and this is one of the most difficult tasks for a photographer to carry […]
• Has Digital Technology Improved the Quality of Photographs? In the case of our apple, most of the wavelengths are absorbed with the exception of those that lie on the red end of the spectrum.
• Photograph Works by Laura McPhee This particular feature in the works of Laura McPhee impresses the viewer owing to the mastership of the photographer in playing with the background and foreground.
• Evaluating Evidence: Paperwork and Photographs The paperwork evidence is one of the main evidence, as it is the prejudicial evidence of the witness, who walked the cemetery and saw the act of vandalism of the tomb.
• Photography Exhibition “Threads” in Melbourne The subject matter of the photograph under consideration is the nature of identity or, to be more exact, the exploration of it.
• Pia Johnson’s Photography Exhibition The main aim of the photographer is to stop the time and to make people to be delighted by the beauty of the picture, as the time is the substance which flows fast and the […]
• Photo Art: Photographic Exhibition This is the photo produced by Samantha Everton in 2009 as a part of her Vintage Dolls series: The photo is installed in a frame during the exhibition to ensure the considerable attention the viewers […]
• The Exhibition “The Arlen Ness Photographic Exhibition” Watching the landscape in reality and the same view on the photo, the viewer may not notice the difference as the professional photographer, the artist tries to make his/her photos so realistic and inconceivable that […]
• Photography: Brief History of Invention At that time all images produced were in black and white and eventually all masters of the art came to believe that the only artistic way to record photographic images was in black and white. […]
• Photographic Pioneer: Paul Strand One of her eyes is a stone eye and with the other eye she is trying to view something on her left side.
• Edward Steichen in History of Photography Edward Steichen is one of the central figures in the history of photos. The astonishing sale charge of the print is, in part, featured to its one-of-a-kind personality and to its curiosity.
• Contribution of Modernity to Photography and Film Movements Modernity in visual arts and cinema is part of the ever-changing world, wherein the establishment of ideas, different people in the world of art participates in experimenting with the forms and styles of art, thus […]
• History of Photography: Brief Overview of the Most Exciting and Impressive Ways of Cultural Representation Photography is one of the most interesting and impressive ways and techniques of culture representation. For instance, photography documented the culture of the 1920s and world wars, the Great Depression-era, and the liberation movement.
• History of Photography: Road and Poplar Trees Analysis The picture artistically depicts the distance between the poplar trees making the trees on the right side to be smaller than the left side.
• Snapshot vs. Fine-Art Photography in Digital Age The scale of distribution of everyday photography is associated with the improvement of photographic technology and the spread of electronic and digital technologies, making exploring snapshot photography particularly relevant. To analyse the functions of snapshot […]
• Publishing Controversial Photographs: To Be or Not To Be? Harte took some pictures of the rescue operation, including an image capturing the moment when the rescuers found the body of a drowned boy and showed it to the family.
• Imogen Cunningham, an American Female Photographer The high contrast and neutral tones of the image bring to the viewer’s attention a variety of details, including the woman’s hair, her wrinkles, and the unevenness of her skin.
• Edward Weston’s Modernist Photographs More attention should be paid to the analysis of Weston’s photographs and the comparison of their style to my photographs. The object in my black-and-white photograph looks like a kind of tubes, which texture is […]
• ”Preferences for Photographic Art Among Hospitalized Patients With Cancer” by Hanson ET Al. The opinions of stakeholders, who are patients and nursing staff, as well as the outcomes of treatment, are factors that influence the response to the research question.
• Robinson, Emerson, and Photography as an Art Both of them viewed the newly created form of image capture as a medium for the expression of art, but their views on the nature of the movement were radically different.
• Photography Changes Who We Think We Might Be This essay is interesting and was chosen because Bergen is famous for her acting and not for photography, yet she clearly has a passion for this trade.
• Andreas Gursky’s “The Rhine II” Photography In The Rhine II, the photographer attempts to deliver “an accurate image of a modern river” and invites viewers to see the river enclosed in the deep-colored stripes of grass, concrete, and the clouded sky.
• Photography: Is It Possible to Recapture the Past? The problem of photography is twofold: the problem of representation, and the presumption of reality that the photographic images elicits in the viewer the pervasive belief that a photograph depicts a referent, a real “how […]
• Photography: A Cultural History In the middle of the 1850s, there were many photographers, whose projects caused people’s admiration, and the works of Edouard Baldus, Imperial Library of the Louvre, and Roger Fenton, Rievaulx Abbey, may be considered as […]
• A Critique of a Photographer’s Works: Matthew Abbott Matthew Abbott underlines one simple fact that Istanbul is the only place where East has all chances to meet West, this is why it is hard to predict the traditions and interests of Turkish people, […]
• Richard Drew’s Photography: Visualizing September 11 This would have ensured that I had accommodated the rights of media, clients, society, and other stakeholders while still adhering to media ethics.
• Hector Mediavilla Photographic Series “The Congolese Sape” The photographer’s decision to organize the order of photographs influences the viewer’s interpretation of the image. The photographer captures an image from a focal position; the decision to capture the image is influenced by the […]
• “Memorial Day” by Anthony Suau: Photography Analysis The background of the image is blurry, indicating that when Suau took the photograph, he had one central area of focus and opted to indiscriminately isolate the other items in the shot.
• Photography and Society Through History: Political and Ideological Functions Another example of a thoroughly politicized photo, which during the course of the thirties was meant to promote the cause of Communism, is Alexander Rodchenko’s Pioneer with Trumpet:
• Michael Lesy’s Wisconsin Death Trip: Photograph Analysis As highlighted by the focus of the light and the enlargement of the image, this makes the ribs of the horse to be the photo’s point of focus.
• Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography Duchamp and his work have a connection through the refusal to accept the views of the majority of artists and art lovers.
• Perspectives on Photography In his essay, John Berger states that the war in Vietnam was one of the most influential transformations of the world.
• “Film und Foto” Exhibition and Surrealism in Photography Surrealism is considered to be a cultural movement of the early twentieth century and is commonly reflected in the works of art and writings.
• The History of War Photography The purpose of this report is to identify basic trends in the development of war photography and determine the conceptual, stylistic, and technical changes observed in the course of its formation.
• Timothy Hogan’s Photography Taking into consideration the infinite backing from the greatest producers, retouchers, and workshops in the professional photography niche, it is quite reasonable that Hogan and his team managed to furnace the lifelong contacts that provide […]
• Photography Ethics, Reliability, and Principles As a result, it is often possible to guarantee that the photo provided in the news is not a product of Photoshop.
• The “We Are All Equal” Photography by Haley Bell In spite of the fact that the photograph is rather straightforward in its message, it is important to focus on this image of a young white woman’s hand with words saying that we are all […]
• The Photograph Description and Criticism In this picture, the foreground is where the woman is seated and the background depicts transparent window of the apartment The photograph was likely taken in a broad daylight since outside the apartment to be […]
• Photography Company’s Public Relations Campaign The accomplishment of each aim will be performed following the specificity of the targeted audience that is supposed to be composed of the middle-class population of the Seattle Area. In the meantime, they expect that […]
• Child Labor, Great Depression and World War II in Photographs The impression is of isolation and yearning for daylight, freedom, and a childhood foregone, in the midst of a machine-dominated world.
• Hine’s Indianapolis and Kruger’s Help! Photography Nevertheless, unlike Lewis Hine, Barbara Kruger chooses to combine different media, and in this way, she departs from the canons of the modernist art. Overall, this comparison indicates that the works of Lewis Hine and […]
• The Photography Gallery in Melbourne The photos are mounted on glass and owing to the fact that the setting is indoor, a lot of lighting is applied to prevent any darkness.
• Melbourne’ Keith Gallery: Photography Analysis However, at the entrance of the gallery, I took a picture that shows the entry of the gallery that has photos on it.
• The Basic Critical Theory for Photography According to Berger, images depend on the way of seeing of the person who has taken them. Berger insists that ‘publicity images’ and ‘advertising images’ have the same meanings.
• Lewis Hine’s Photography Art Being born at the age of great changes and stresses, Lewis since his childhood was interested in the imprinting of some great moments of the history of American society.
• Technologies: Amateur Film vs. Cell Phone Photography An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the two forms of photography concludes the paper. Cellphone and film cameras have apertures that regulate the quantity of light passing to the sensor and film, respectively.
• Photography in Arabic Countries New and new tendencies and fashion took over the generations of European and American photographers, while for the photographers of Arabic and Middle Eastern countries the art of taking pictures was still new.
• The Pool’ Pictures Balance in Photography Because of the unique combination of urban background and the green elements, as well as the presence of such details as the cast iron, the change in the pictures of the pool not only shows […]
• The Photography of the Arctic Ice Panoramic View The vivid play of light and color in the picture brings out the striking separation of the detached mass from the main iceberg.
• Photograph Discussion: Physical Elements and Content Telling from the photograph, the three boys were part of the group playing games in the background and were called to attention by the photographer.
• Photography: Finding Beauty in the Ordinary Therefore, the beauty that the photo represents is largely derived from the actual object. While Sontang acknowledges that the close-up is a reflection of truth, it is still subject to the photographer’s viewpoint.
• The Photographic Approaches Towards American Culture of Robert Frank and Gary Winogrand Frank practiced many forms of photography and he did photography both for the commercial and fashion purposes and was considered an influential American photographer who was also a mentor to many young American artists.
• Photographic Approaches for Manuel Alvarez Bravo and Ann Parker In this review, a comparison is made of the photographic approaches of Ann Parker and Manuel Alvarez Bravo, looking for similarities and differences in their art.
• Surrealist Photography and Experimental Photography These two techniques showcase objects in an in-depth manner, concentrating specifically on the surroundings of the image and creation of an abstract form of art that shaped the history of photography.
• Photography and Beauty Perception His resistance stemmed from the fact that in the early decades of photography, photographs were meant to idealize images and for a picture to be considered beautiful, its subject had to be something beautiful.
• Privacy and Photography in Public Places According to the protectors of privacy, it is inappropriate to take photographs and circulate them without the consent of the individuals.
• Araki Nobuyoshi and Photography He promoted a new genre of art which is up to date cherished in Japan and other parts of the world.
• Photographic Approaches Towards Landscapes: Peter Henry Emerson He insisted that science was a core part of art and photography and thus, he endeavored to prove how the two were completely dependent. He was able to capture the economical effects of the depression […]
• A Comparison of Photographic Approaches Towards American Culture Siskind, on the other hand, used photography as a skylight into the subconscious minds of Americans and a technique to react to the dirty happenings experienced in World War II.
• Photography of High-End Art However, in order to capture the beauty and uniqueness of the original artwork, as well as incorporate a range of innuendoes concerning the artist, the era that the art was created in, etc, very specific […]
• The Description of Nature in Jack Dykinga’ Photographs There are several aspects of these photographs that I would like to discuss, namely the interplay of light and shadow and structured space. This is the main lesson that I learned from the works of […]
• Jack Dykinga’s Outdoor Photography The works of Jack Dykinga have longed appealed to because this photographer is always able to emphasize the beauty of nature by paying attention to color patterns and space.
• Weegee and Goldin’s Photography This paper compares Weegee and Goldin’s photography to address the connection between the middle years of the twentieth century, when photography began to expose realities in life, and the modern distrustful era.
• Mads Nissen, a Danish Documentary Photographer He has helped in expressing the plight of the minority groups in the society and also in championing of human rights of the people all over the world.
• History of Photography Culture Thus, as a result of the credibility, reliability and realism of photography, the development of photography was closely related to the industrial revolution, the scientific revolution and advancement in philosophy.
• Critical Analysis of Barthes’s Camera Lucida-Reflections on Photography He maintained that a picture has a potential to create deceitfulness in the fantasy of ‘what is’, where the description of ‘What was’ is so specific.
• “Escaping to Reality: Fashion Photography in the 1990s” by Elliot Smedley Written by Elliot Smedley, “Escaping to Reality: Fashion Photography in the 1990s” explores how contemporary fashion photography is adopting realistic styles by using realistic activities contrary to ideal styles that had dominated art and photography […]
• Surrealism in Photography Surrealism, which started after the World War I, in photography is one of the indicators of most important revolutions that have taken place over the history in the area of photography.
• Exhibitions at the International Center of Photography Focusing on the photographs by Chim, it is possible to feel as the part of the European society between the 1930s and 1950s.
• Photographer Jeff Wall and His Paintings The room is clearly in a state of disarray as the dishes and several other things in the room are unattended to.
• Photography Art in 20th Century In its turn, this reflected the fact that during the course of the 20th century’s initial phase, the classical conventions of physics have been thoroughly revised, due to the emergence of the Theory of Relativity.
• Gordon Parks, an American Photographer After the death of his mother in 1926, Parks was forced to move to Minneapolis, where he made a living by affiliating himself with a number of odd jobs, such as the job of a […]
• Photography: Jimmy Nelson’s Piece of Art According to Nelson, the Maasai are part of the few tribes in the world that are quickly fading due to civilization and the increasing need for the world to form a global community.
• Photographer – Robert Frank This element is evidenced by Rodeo which was taken in 1954 in New York city because one can not identify the face of the guy who is leaning on the dustbin but since Robert’s photos […]
• Social Uses of Photography: Post-Mortem Photographs The art of photography was invented by Louis Daguerre in the 18th century; this invention promoted the representatives of the middle class family with an opportunity to memorize the events and people and not to […]
• The Exhibit Twilight Visions at the International Center of Photography The medium of photography in the post World War I period was almost too deliciously convenient a vehicle for certain proponents of the Dadaists and the Surrealists.
• Evolution of Photography: Trying to Seize the Moment In his book A Concise History of Photography, Helmut Gernsheim takes the reader onto a time travel, explaining the origins of photography and telling about the opportunities that photography offers.
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• How Digital Processes Change Photography?
• What Photography Can and Really Should Document?
• What Is the Best Photography Course for Beginners?
• Why Photography Is an Art?
• What Would the World Be Like Without Photography?
• How Photography Has Changed Changing Business Environment?
• How Did Joseph Nicephore Contribute to the Early Development of Photography?
• What Is the Target Market for Portrait Photography?
• What Are the 4 Styles of Photography?
• How Has Fashion Photography Changed and Developed Over the Years?
• How Did Photography Reflect the Values and Stereotypes That Underlay European Colonialism?
• Why Is Photography So Important?
• How Does Photography Affect Our Lives?
• Which Type of Camera Is Best for Photography?
• Why Is Digital Photography Better Than Traditional?
• How Are Music and Photography Related?
• What Are the 7 Principles of Photography?
• How Did Female Surrealists Aim to Subvert the Male Gaze Within Surrealist Photography?
• How Photography Works and Has Evolved?
• How Have Photography and Photojournalism Transformed Media?
• What Was the Effect of Photography on Painting in the Nineteenth Century?
• What Makes a Good Food Photography?
• Music Topics
• Forensic Science Essay Topics
• Fishing Research Topics
• X-Ray Questions
• Surrealism Research Topics
• Expressionism Research Topics
• Individualism Topics
• Cell Phone Ideas
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Photography: An Art or a Science?

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• 1 2021-03-15T18:25:33+00:00 Eric Kim, Out of focus trees at night, 2018 1 Digital Image, Boston, 2018. plain 2021-03-15T18:25:33+00:00
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• 1 2021-03-15T19:25:29+00:00 William Henry Fox Talbot, The Open Door, 1844 1 Salted paper print from paper negative, British, Dorset 1800–1877 Lacock. plain 2021-03-15T19:25:29+00:00
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artistswithavision

A list of the most interesting dissertation topics on photography.

Developing a dissertation on a photography topic can be intriguing. There are many aspects of photography to consider based on what interests you the most. There are example papers to consider written on similar topics you can read for inspiration. You should also keep project guidelines close by to ensure your topic idea is suitable for what you need to produce. Here is some advice on developing topic ideas on photography along with writing prompts to encourage your own creativity.

Start with What You Know and Research

Writing a dissertation may include completing quite a bit or research. This may include looking at other works related to your topic. In doing so you may wonder if you could do something different that hasn’t been done before. When learning more about your idea this is when it becomes clear on whether you can present something different and fresh. The best place to start looking for a topic is you and what you know.

Think about what you have learned so far and how to take it and make it into something unique. This can give leads on where to look for further insight on your idea. This could also help in brainstorming or when you need further perspective or different angle of the idea. Be open to review what you come up with to you instructor. They can also give insight on how to make your idea into a solid topic.

10 Interesting Ideas for a Potential Dissertation Topic

The aspect of photography itself can be broken up into different subjects. Thinking about how photography is used can give a number of ideas to consider quickly. As you understand more about how photography is used in daily life or through career interests it offers more insight to consider for a good topic. Think about what is trending and controversial topics related to this subject. Here are 10 possible writing prompts for developing a good photography topic for your project.

• Using an iPhone to take pictures.
• The art of Selfies.
• Popular places to take pictures.
• Most important features of a good camera.
• Technology advances in picture taking.
• High definition technology and its role in movies.
• How did scrapbooking get started?
• The inventor of the camera or aspect of photography.
• Photography as a hobby.
• Elements that make a photo ugly.

Tips For Writing

Writing the methodology, organizing the main chapters, citation formatting rules.

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How to Create an Engaging Photo Essay (with Examples)

Photo essays tell a story in pictures. They're a great way to improve at photography and story-telling skills at once. Learn how to do create a great one.

Learn | Photography Guides | By Ana Mireles

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Photography is a medium used to tell stories – sometimes they are told in one picture, sometimes you need a whole series. Those series can be photo essays.

If you’ve never done a photo essay before, or you’re simply struggling to find your next project, this article will be of help. I’ll be showing you what a photo essay is and how to go about doing one.

You’ll also find plenty of photo essay ideas and some famous photo essay examples from recent times that will serve you as inspiration.

If you’re ready to get started, let’s jump right in!

Table of Contents

What is a Photo Essay?

A photo essay is a series of images that share an overarching theme as well as a visual and technical coherence to tell a story. Some people refer to a photo essay as a photo series or a photo story – this often happens in photography competitions.

Photographic history is full of famous photo essays. Think about The Great Depression by Dorothea Lange, Like Brother Like Sister by Wolfgang Tillmans, Gandhi’s funeral by Henri Cartier Bresson, amongst others.

What are the types of photo essay?

Despite popular belief, the type of photo essay doesn’t depend on the type of photography that you do – in other words, journalism, documentary, fine art, or any other photographic genre is not a type of photo essay.

Instead, there are two main types of photo essays: narrative and thematic .

As you have probably already guessed, the thematic one presents images pulled together by a topic – for example, global warming. The images can be about animals and nature as well as natural disasters devastating cities. They can happen all over the world or in the same location, and they can be captured in different moments in time – there’s a lot of flexibility.

A narrative photo essa y, on the other hand, tells the story of a character (human or not), portraying a place or an event. For example, a narrative photo essay on coffee would document the process from the planting and harvesting – to the roasting and grinding until it reaches your morning cup.

What are some of the key elements of a photo essay?

• Tell a unique story – A unique story doesn’t mean that you have to photograph something that nobody has done before – that would be almost impossible! It means that you should consider what you’re bringing to the table on a particular topic.
• Put yourself into the work – One of the best ways to make a compelling photo essay is by adding your point of view, which can only be done with your life experiences and the way you see the world.
• Add depth to the concept – The best photo essays are the ones that go past the obvious and dig deeper in the story, going behind the scenes, or examining a day in the life of the subject matter – that’s what pulls in the spectator.
• Nail the technique – Even if the concept and the story are the most important part of a photo essay, it won’t have the same success if it’s poorly executed.
• Build a structure – A photo essay is about telling a thought-provoking story – so, think about it in a narrative way. Which images are going to introduce the topic? Which ones represent a climax? How is it going to end – how do you want the viewer to feel after seeing your photo series?
• Make strong choices – If you really want to convey an emotion and a unique point of view, you’re going to need to make some hard decisions. Which light are you using? Which lens? How many images will there be in the series? etc., and most importantly for a great photo essay is the why behind those choices.

9 Tips for Creating a Photo Essay

Credit: Laura James

1. Choose something you know

To make a good photo essay, you don’t need to travel to an exotic location or document a civil war – I mean, it’s great if you can, but you can start close to home.

Depending on the type of photography you do and the topic you’re looking for in your photographic essay, you can photograph a local event or visit an abandoned building outside your town.

It will be much easier for you to find a unique perspective and tell a better story if you’re already familiar with the subject. Also, consider that you might have to return a few times to the same location to get all the photos you need.

2. Follow your passion

Most photo essays take dedication and passion. If you choose a subject that might be easy, but you’re not really into it – the results won’t be as exciting. Taking photos will always be easier and more fun if you’re covering something you’re passionate about.

3. Take your time

A great photo essay is not done in a few hours. You need to put in the time to research it, conceptualizing it, editing, etc. That’s why I previously recommended following your passion because it takes a lot of dedication, and if you’re not passionate about it – it’s difficult to push through.

4. Write a summary or statement

Photo essays are always accompanied by some text. You can do this in the form of an introduction, write captions for each photo or write it as a conclusion. That’s up to you and how you want to present the work.

5. Learn from the masters

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Making a photographic essay takes a lot of practice and knowledge. A great way to become a better photographer and improve your storytelling skills is by studying the work of others. You can go to art shows, review books and magazines and look at the winners in photo contests – most of the time, there’s a category for photo series.

6. Get a wide variety of photos

Think about a story – a literary one. It usually tells you where the story is happening, who is the main character, and it gives you a few details to make you engage with it, right?

The same thing happens with a visual story in a photo essay – you can do some wide-angle shots to establish the scenes and some close-ups to show the details. Make a shot list to ensure you cover all the different angles.

Some of your pictures should guide the viewer in, while others are more climatic and regard the experience they are taking out of your photos.

7. Follow a consistent look

Both in style and aesthetics, all the images in your series need to be coherent. You can achieve this in different ways, from the choice of lighting, the mood, the post-processing, etc.

8. Be self-critical

Once you have all the photos, make sure you edit them with a good dose of self-criticism. Not all the pictures that you took belong in the photo essay. Choose only the best ones and make sure they tell the full story.

9. Ask for constructive feedback

Often, when we’re working on a photo essay project for a long time, everything makes perfect sense in our heads. However, someone outside the project might not be getting the idea. It’s important that you get honest and constructive criticism to improve your photography.

How to Create a Photo Essay in 5 Steps

Credit: Quang Nguyen Vinh

1. Choose your topic

This is the first step that you need to take to decide if your photo essay is going to be narrative or thematic. Then, choose what is it going to be about?

Ideally, it should be something that you’re interested in, that you have something to say about it, and it can connect with other people.

2. Research your topic

To tell a good story about something, you need to be familiar with that something. This is especially true when you want to go deeper and make a compelling photo essay. Day in the life photo essays are a popular choice, since often, these can be performed with friends and family, whom you already should know well.

3. Plan your photoshoot

Depending on what you’re photographing, this step can be very different from one project to the next. For a fine art project, you might need to find a location, props, models, a shot list, etc., while a documentary photo essay is about planning the best time to do the photos, what gear to bring with you, finding a local guide, etc.

Every photo essay will need different planning, so before taking pictures, put in the required time to get things right.

4. Experiment

It’s one thing to plan your photo shoot and having a shot list that you have to get, or else the photo essay won’t be complete. It’s another thing to miss out on some amazing photo opportunities that you couldn’t foresee.

So, be prepared but also stay open-minded and experiment with different settings, different perspectives, etc.

5. Make a final selection

Editing your work can be one of the hardest parts of doing a photo essay. Sometimes we can be overly critical, and others, we get attached to bad photos because we put a lot of effort into them or we had a great time doing them.

Try to be as objective as possible, don’t be afraid to ask for opinions and make various revisions before settling down on a final cut.

7 Photo Essay Topics, Ideas & Examples

Credit: Michelle Leman

• Architectural photo essay

Using architecture as your main subject, there are tons of photo essay ideas that you can do. For some inspiration, you can check out the work of Francisco Marin – who was trained as an architect and then turned to photography to “explore a different way to perceive things”.

You can also lookup Luisa Lambri. Amongst her series, you’ll find many photo essay examples in which architecture is the subject she uses to explore the relationship between photography and space.

• Process and transformation photo essay

This is one of the best photo essay topics for beginners because the story tells itself. Pick something that has a beginning and an end, for example, pregnancy, the metamorphosis of a butterfly, the life-cycle of a plant, etc.

Keep in mind that these topics are linear and give you an easy way into the narrative flow – however, it might be difficult to find an interesting perspective and a unique point of view.

• A day in the life of ‘X’ photo essay

There are tons of interesting photo essay ideas in this category – you can follow around a celebrity, a worker, your child, etc. You don’t even have to do it about a human subject – think about doing a photo essay about a day in the life of a racing horse, for example – find something that’s interesting for you.

• Time passing by photo essay

It can be a natural site or a landmark photo essay – whatever is close to you will work best as you’ll need to come back multiple times to capture time passing by. For example, how this place changes throughout the seasons or maybe even over the years.

A fun option if you live with family is to document a birthday party each year, seeing how the subject changes over time. This can be combined with a transformation essay or sorts, documenting the changes in interpersonal relationships over time.

• Travel photo essay

Do you want to make the jump from tourist snapshots into a travel photo essay? Research the place you’re going to be travelling to. Then, choose a topic.

If you’re having trouble with how to do this, check out any travel magazine – National Geographic, for example. They won’t do a generic article about Texas – they do an article about the beach life on the Texas Gulf Coast and another one about the diverse flavors of Texas.

The more specific you get, the deeper you can go with the story.

• Socio-political issues photo essay

This is one of the most popular photo essay examples – it falls under the category of photojournalism or documental photography. They are usually thematic, although it’s also possible to do a narrative one.

Depending on your topic of interest, you can choose topics that involve nature – for example, document the effects of global warming. Another idea is to photograph protests or make an education photo essay.

It doesn’t have to be a big global issue; you can choose something specific to your community – are there too many stray dogs? Make a photo essay about a local animal shelter. The topics are endless.

• Behind the scenes photo essay

A behind-the-scenes always make for a good photo story – people are curious to know what happens and how everything comes together before a show.

Depending on your own interests, this can be a photo essay about a fashion show, a theatre play, a concert, and so on. You’ll probably need to get some permissions, though, not only to shoot but also to showcase or publish those images.

4 Best Photo Essays in Recent times

Now that you know all the techniques about it, it might be helpful to look at some photo essay examples to see how you can put the concept into practice. Here are some famous photo essays from recent times to give you some inspiration.

Habibi by Antonio Faccilongo

This photo essay wan the World Press Photo Story of the Year in 2021. Faccilongo explores a very big conflict from a very specific and intimate point of view – how the Israeli-Palestinian war affects the families.

He chose to use a square format because it allows him to give order to things and eliminate unnecessary elements in his pictures.

With this long-term photo essay, he wanted to highlight the sense of absence and melancholy women and families feel towards their husbands away at war.

The project then became a book edited by Sarah Leen and the graphics of Ramon Pez.

Picture This: New Orleans by Mary Ellen Mark

The last assignment before her passing, Mary Ellen Mark travelled to New Orleans to register the city after a decade after Hurricane Katrina.

The images of the project “bring to life the rebirth and resilience of the people at the heart of this tale”, – says CNNMoney, commissioner of the work.

Each survivor of the hurricane has a story, and Mary Ellen Mark was there to record it. Some of them have heartbreaking stories about everything they had to leave behind.

Others have a story of hope – like Sam and Ben, two eight-year-olds born from frozen embryos kept in a hospital that lost power supply during the hurricane, yet they managed to survive.

Selfie by Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman is an American photographer whose work is mainly done through self-portraits. With them, she explores the concept of identity, gender stereotypes, as well as visual and cultural codes.

One of her latest photo essays was a collaboration with W Magazine entitled Selfie. In it, the author explores the concept of planned candid photos (‘plandid’).

The work was made for Instagram, as the platform is well known for the conflict between the ‘real self’ and the one people present online. Sherman started using Facetune, Perfect365 and YouCam to alter her appearance on selfies – in Photoshop, you can modify everything, but these apps were designed specifically to “make things prettier”- she says, and that’s what she wants to explore in this photo essay.

Tokyo Compression by Michael Wolf

Michael Wolf has an interest in the broad-gauge topic Life in Cities. From there, many photo essays have been derived – amongst them – Tokyo Compression .

He was horrified by the way people in Tokyo are forced to move to the suburbs because of the high prices of the city. Therefore, they are required to make long commutes facing 1,5 hours of train to start their 8+ hour workday followed by another 1,5 hours to get back home.

To portray this way of life, he photographed the people inside the train pressed against the windows looking exhausted, angry or simply absent due to this way of life.

You can visit his website to see other photo essays that revolve around the topic of life in megacities.

Final Words

It’s not easy to make photo essays, so don’t expect to be great at it right from your first project.

Start off small by choosing a specific subject that’s interesting to you –  that will come from an honest place, and it will be a great practice for some bigger projects along the line.

Whether you like to shoot still life or you’re a travel photographer, I hope these photo essay tips and photo essay examples can help you get started and grow in your photography.

Let us know which topics you are working on right now – we’ll love to hear from you!

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Ana Mireles is a Mexican researcher that specializes in photography and communications for the arts and culture sector.

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How to Make a Photo Essay: 5 Tips for Impactful Results

A Post By: Christina N Dickson

Want to tell meaningful stories with your photos? That’s what a photo essay is all about: conveying concepts and narratives through a series of carefully chosen images.

While telling a story with photos can be a daunting task, there are several easy tips and techniques you can use in your photo essays to create striking, stunning, eye-opening results.

And that’s what I’m going to share in this article: five photo essay tips that you can immediately apply to your photography. You’ll leave as a better photo essayist than when you arrived!

Let’s get started.

What is a photo essay?

A photo essay is a collection of images placed in a specific order to convey certain emotions , specific concepts, or a progression of events.

In other words:

The photo essay tells stories just like a normal piece of writing , except with images instead of words. (Here, I’m using the term “story” loosely; as mentioned above, photo essays can encapsulate emotions or concepts in addition to traditional, time-based narratives.)

Plenty of world-class photojournalists use photo essays, including Lauren Greenfield, James Nachtwey, and Joachim Ladefoged. But the photo essay format isn’t exclusive to professionals, and photo essays don’t need to cover dramatic events such as wars, natural disasters, and social issues. Whether you are a complete beginner, a hobbyist, or a professional, the photo essay is a great way to bring your images to life, tell relevant stories about your own surroundings, and touch your family, friends, and coworkers.

So without further ado, let’s look at five easy tips to take your photo essays to the next level, starting with:

1. Find a topic you care about

Every good photo essay should start with an idea .

Otherwise, you’ll be shooting without a purpose – and while such an approach may eventually lead to an interesting series of photos, it’s far, far easier to begin with a topic and only then take out your camera.

As I emphasized above, a photo essay can be about anything. You don’t need to fixate on “classic” photo essay themes, such as war and poverty. Instead, you might focus on local issues that matter to you (think of problems plaguing your community). You can also think about interesting stories worth telling, even if they don’t have an activism angle.

For instance, is there an area undergoing major development? Try documenting the work from start to finish. Is there a particular park or nature area you love? Create a series of images that communicate its beauty.

One key item to remember:

Photo essays are most powerful when you, as the photographer, care about the subject. Whether you choose to document something major and public, like an environmental crisis, or whether you choose to document something small and intimate, like the first month of a newborn in the family, make sure you focus on a topic that matters to you .

Otherwise, you’ll struggle to finish the essay – and even if you do successfully complete it, viewers will likely notice your lack of passion.

2. Do your research

The best photo essays involve some real work. Don’t just walk around and shoot with abandon; instead, try to understand your subject.

That way, you can capture a more authentic series of photos.

For instance, if you document a newborn’s first month , spend time with the family. Discover who the parents are, what culture they are from, and their parenting philosophy.

If you cover the process of a school’s drama production, talk with the teachers, actors, and stagehands; investigate the general interest of the student body; find out how the school is financing the production and keeping costs down.

If you photograph a birthday party, check out the theme, the decorations they plan on using, what the birthday kid hopes to get for their gifts.

If you’re passionate about your topic, the research should come easy. You should enjoy learning the backstory.

And then, when it comes time to actually shoot, you’ll have a much clearer understanding of the topic. You’ll know the key players in the story, the key ideas, and the key locations. You’ll be able to hone in on what matters and block out the flashy distractions.

Make sense?

3. Find the right angle

Once you’ve done your research, you’ll know your topic inside and out.

At which point you’ll need to ask yourself:

What is the real, authentic story I want to tell?

Every story has a hundred different angles and perspectives. And trying to share the story from every perspective is a recipe for failure.

Instead, pick a single angle and focus on it. If you’re documenting a local issue, do you want to focus on how it affects children? The physical area? The economy? If you’re documenting a newborn’s first month, do you want to focus on the interaction between the newborn and the parents? The growth of the newborn? The newborn’s emotions?

As you’ll find out during your research, even stories that seem to be completely one-sided have plenty of hidden perspectives to draw on.

So think about your story carefully. In general, I recommend you approach it from the angle you’re most passionate about (consider the previous tip!), but you’re always free to explore different perspectives.

4. Convey emotion

Not all photo essays must convey emotion. But the most powerful ones do.

After all, think of the stories that you know and love. Your favorite books, movies, and TV shows. Do they touch you on an emotional level?

Don’t get me wrong: Every photo essay shouldn’t cover a sappy, heartstring-tugging tale. You can always focus on conveying other emotions: anger, joy, fear, hurt, excitement.

(Of course, if your story is sappy and heartstring-tugging, that’s fine, too – just don’t force it!)

How do you convey emotions, though? There’s no one set way, but you can include photos of meaningful scenes – human interactions generally work well here! – or you can simply show emotion on the faces of your photographic subjects . Really, the best way to communicate emotions through your photos is to feel the emotions yourself; they’ll bleed over into your work for a unique result.

5. Plan your shots

Once you’ve done the research and determined the angle and emotions you’d like to convey, I recommend you sit down, take out a pen and paper, and plan your photo essay .

Should you extensively visualize each photo? Should you walk through the venue, imagining possible compositions ?

Honestly, that’s up to you, and it’ll depend on how you like to work. I do recommend that beginners start out by creating a “shot list” for the essay. Here, you should describe the main subject, the narrative purpose of the image, plus any lighting or composition notes. Once you become more experienced, you can be looser in your planning, though I still recommend you at least think about the different shots you want to capture.

You can start by planning 10 shots. Each one should emphasize a different concept or emotion, but make sure to keep a consistent thread running through every composition; after all, the end goal is to create a powerful series of images that tell a story.

One final tip:

While you should stick to your plan pretty closely, at least at first, don’t ignore the potential for spontaneity. If you see a possible shot, take it! You can later evaluate whether it’s a worthwhile addition to your essay.

Photo essay tips: final words

Now that you’ve finished this article, you know all about what photo essays are, and – hopefully! – how to create a beautiful essay of your own.

Just remember: storytelling takes practice, but you don’t have to be an incredible writer to pull off a powerful photo essay. All you need is a bit of photographic technique, some creativity, and a lot of heart.

Once you start to tell stories with your photos, your portfolio will never be the same!

Now over to you:

Do you have any tips for doing photo essays? Do you have any essays you’re proud of? Share them in the comments below!

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is a visionary artist and philanthropist in Portland Oregon. Her work includes wedding photography www.BrideInspired.com and leadership with www.RevMediaBlog.com .

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• Nonwestern photography and photographers
• David A. Hanson Collection

Daguerreotype

Anonymous American photographer.  "Gustav Adolf Hiller, his wife Julia, and their daughter Luise," 1851-52.   In: A Guide to Early Photographic Processes, e dited by Brian Coe and Mark Haworth-Booth, p. 36. London: Victoria and Albert Museum in association with Hurtwood Press, 1983.

Atkins, Anna. "Festuca ovina (fescue grass)," 1854.  (Victoria and Albert Museum, London). In:  A Guide to Early Photographic Processes, edited by Brian Coe and Mark Haworth-Booth, p. 79. London: Victoria and Albert Museum in association with Hurtwood Press, 1983.

Talbot, William Henry Fox. "The Open Door April," 1844.  (Victoria and Albert Museum, London).  In:  A Guide to Early Photographic Processes,  edited by Brian Coe and Mark Haworth-Booth, p. 41. London: Victoria and Albert Museum in association with Hurtwood Press, 1983.

Marville, Charles.  "Paris, Rue Glatigny," 1865. (Private collection.)  In:   Photography, 1839-1937: [exhibition March 1937],  edited by Beaumont Newhall, plate 25. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1937.

Woodburytype

Thompson, John.  "Covent Garden Flower Women," 1877.  (John Paul Getty Museum.)  In:   Looking at Photographs: A Guide to Technical Terms , by  Gordon Baldwin and Martin Jürgens, p. 90 . Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2009.

Atget, Eugene.  "Ragpicker," early 20th century. (Collection of Berenice Abbott).  In:   Photography, 1839-1937: [exhibition March 1937],  edited by Beaumont Newhall, plate 44. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1937.

Histories of photography

Burgin, Victor, editor.   Thinking Photography .  Communications and Culture. London: Macmillan Press, 1982.

Essays intended as "contributions towards photography theory...'towards' rather than 'to' as the theory does not yet exist; [though] as these essays indicate, some of its components may already be identified."  Includes articles by Walter Benjamin, Umberto Eco, Victor Burgin, Allan Sekula, John Tagg, and Simon Watney.

Clark Stacks NE2606 T45

*Clarke, Graham.   The Photograph .   Series: Oxford History of Art.  Oxford, NY:  Oxford University Press, 1997.

Concise but immensely useful exploration of the photograph, including chapters on What is a Photograph?; how we read photographs; landscape, the city, the portrait, and the body in photographs; documentary photography; the photograph as fine art; and the manipulated photograph.  Also includes a bibliographic essay, timeline, and glossary.

Clark Stacks  NE2606 C53  

Coke, Van Deren.   One Hundred Years of Photographic History: Essays in Honor of Beaumont Newhall . Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1975.

Festschrift for Beaumont Newhall, "the preeminent photographic historian of our time and...one of the most influential personalities in modern photography," written by important scholars in the field such as Helmut Gernsheim, John Szarkowski, and Minor White.

Clark Offsite Storage  N25 N48 C63

Eder, Joseph Maria .   History of Photography .  Translated by Edward Epstean.  NY:  Dover Publications, 1978.

"The most extensive history of photomechanical printing published." (Hanson Collection catalog.)  Important history of photography-related technology with a German emphasis; also contains international biography and social history.  Translated edition is not illustrated.  The chapter on “Photographic technical journals, societies, and educational institutions” is useful for bibliography.

Clark Stacks  NE2606 E3g E Repr.

———.  Quellenschriften Zu Den Frühesten Anfängen Der Photographie Bis Zum XVIII. Jahrhundert . The Sources of Modern Photography . New York: Arno Press, 1979.

Reprints original source texts, usually in Latin, with German translations, in the earliest history of photography up to the 18th century.  Includes an introductory essay by Eder and texts that describe eight seminal discoveries leading to the understanding and use of photographic chemistry.

Clark Stacks NE2606 E3 Repr 1979

Fouque, Victor.   The Truth Concerning the Invention of Photography: Nicéphore Niépce, His Life, Letters, and Works . Repr. ed. Literature of Photography. New York: Arno Press, 1973.

Makes the case that Niépce, not Daguerre, was the inventor of photography; to that end it publishes letters and an unpublished note addressed to the Royal Society of London that document these early developments in the history of photography.  Includes as well a biography of Niépce and a history of the works to which he devoted himself, often together with his brother Claude; a history of the invention of heliography, the original name of Photography, and the events and facts connected with it during Niépce's lifetime; and genealogical notes and history of the Niépce family.

Clark Stacks NE2698 N674 F68 1973

Frizot, Michael, editor.    A New History of Photography .  Köln: Könemann, 1998.

Translation of  Nouvelle Histoire de la Photographie,  Paris: Bordas, 1994.  Magisterial survey composes a “history” by combining 41 topical essays by noted authors.  Insets focused on a specific photograph or topic are included in each essay.  Fourteen additional illustrated sections enhance the text.  Includes an illustrated glossary of photographic processes by Anne Cartier-Bresson and a bibliography by Fred and Elisabeth Pajersky.

Clark Stacks  NE2606 N47

Gernsheim, Helmut, and Alison Gernsheim .   The History of Photography from the Camera Obscura to the Beginning of the Modern Era .   NY:  McGraw-Hill, 1969.

“The standard history and reference work on photograph” (at least as of 1969).  Second edition has broader geographical coverage, updated information on technology, and more discussion of the artistic trands of the 20 th  century.  Includes annotated bibliography, comprehensive lists of photographic journals, annuals, and societies for the first ten  years, and bibliographic footnotes.

Clark Stacks  NE2606 G47 1969

Gernsheim, Helmut.    The Origins of Photography .  London:  Thames and Hudson, 1982.

This revised 3 rd  edition includes the first part of the History of Photography (above), with a new chapter on the origins of photography in Italy.  Covers the pre-photographic era through the use of calotype and oher paper process, whilce Gernsheim;’s The Rise of Photogaphy (below) begins with the albumen and collodian processes.  The final three sections on the gelatin period, some applications of  photography, and photography and the printed page hve not been released in a new edition.  Text and organization essentially unchanged from the relevant section of History of Photography but with additional illustrations.  An excellent source for historical data, photographers, and technologies.

Clark Stacks NE2606 G47 1982o

_____.    The Rise of Photography: 1850–1880, the Age of Collodion.   London:  Thames and Hudson, 1988.

The second part of Gernsheim’s History of Photography appears here in a revised third edition.  Begins with the introduction of the collodion process and continues through the development of dry plate processes.  Text and organization essentially  unchanged from the original History but with additional illustrations.  An excellent source for historical data, photographers, and technologies.

Clark Stacks  NE2606 G47 1988

Museum of Modern Art.   Photography, 1839-1937: [exhibition March 1937] .  Edited by Beaumont Newhall. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1937.

Catalog of the landmark exhibition curated by Beaumont Newhall. Includes an important essay on the history and aesthetics of photography and a brief bibliography.  See The History of Photography: From 1839 to the Present below for the most recent edition of Newhall's historical text.

Clark Stacks NE2606 N48 1937

Newhall, Beaumont.   Focus: Memoirs of a Life in Photography . Boston: Little, Brown, 1993.

Chatty, interesting, well illustrated memoir by one of the most influential curators of modern photography.

Clark Stacks N27 N548.6

*———. The History of Photography:  From 1839 to the Present .  Boston:  Little, Brown, 1982.

Extensive revision and expansion of the landmark essay in Photography, 1839-1937 (see above), with new text and illustrations and revised bibliography, follows the same scheme of technological and aesthetic development of photography.  Expands coverage of topics thinly covered in previous editions, e.g. Dada and Surrealist photomontages.  Final chapter "New directions" ends with the mid-1960s. 

Clark Stacks  NE2606 N48 1937 5th ed. 

Rosenblum, Naomi .   A World History of Photography , 4 th  edition .  NY:  Abbeville Press, 2007.

Broadest coverage currently available for pre-1839 to early 1900s worldwide.  Extent of coverage does not allow thorough contextual development of specific topics of photographers.  Provides more focused examination in three short technical histories and six primarily illustrated sections on 19 th  century portraiture, the Western landscape, origins of photojournalism, origins of color in camera images, photography and social issues, and the industrial ethos.

Clark Stacks  NE2606 R67 2007

——— .   A History of Women Photographers , 3 rd  edition .   NY:  Abbeville Press, 1994.

Extensive coverage of a topic that has received scant attention in most histories.  The attempt to produce a comprehensive text does not allow in-depth discussion of individual photographers.  Primarily U.S. and European photographers.  Includes general and individual bibliographies by Peter Palmquist.

Clark Stacks  NW2606 R67w 2010

Schwarz, Heinrich.   Techniken Des Sehens: Vor Und Nach Der Fotografie: Ausgewählte Schriften 1929-1966 .  Fotohof Edition, Band 70. Salzburg: Fotohof, 2006.

Sections on photography as art, photography and painting, the mirror and camera obscura. Includes a bibliography and list of source works.

Clark Stacks NE2606 S34t

Snelling, Henry Hunt.   The History and Practice of the Art of Photography .  Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y: Morgan & Morgan, 1970.

Reprint of the original 1849 publication.  One of the first textbooks on photographic processes, prior to which initiation into the secrets of the trade was by personal instruction and experimentation.  Emphasizes the daguerreotype process, but includes detailed instruction on the paper negative process invented by Henry Fox Talbot.

Clark Stacks NE2600 S64

Sobieszek, Robert A., editor.   The Prehistory of Photography: Five Texts.  The Sources of Modern Photography. New York: Arno Press, 1979.

Includes reprints of five important texts by Germain Bapst, Georg Friederich Brander, Georges Potonniée, Henry Vivarez, and Isadore Niépce.

Clark Stacks NE2606 P74

*Szarkowski, John.   Photography Until Now .  New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1990.

Szarkowski, director of photography at MOMA for 25 years, presents his own history of photography, supporting his observations with an exciting choice of well-reproduced and seldom-seen images: portraits, news and war photos, landscapes, still lifes, architectural views, advertising, and medical images. Chronological chapters trace the mutual influences and evolution of technology and style, from "Before Photography" to the post-1960s period, "After the Magazines."

Clark Stacks NE2601 N48 1990

Werge, John. The Evolution of Photography . (Series: The Literature of Photography .)  New York:  Arno Press, 1973.

Reprint of the 1890 edition, which included the subtitle: "with a chronological record of discoveries, inventions, etc., contributions to photographic literature, and personal reminiscences extending over forty years."  Not intended as a textbook, the work endeavors to provide "a comprehensive and agreeable summary of all that has been done in the past, and yet convey a perfect knowledge of all the processes as they have appeared and effected radical changes in the practice of photography."

Clark Stacks NE2606 W454

Theory and criticism of photography

Bolton, Richard, editor.    The Contest of Meaning: Critical Histories of Photography .   Cambridge, MA:  MIT Press, 1989.

Postmodern criticism has campaigned for multiple “histories” vs. the monolithic “history” of photography.  Monographic “history” volumes are increasingly being supplemented by edited collections of essays that question traditional assumptions and methods.  Bolton’s collection includes work by 14 eminent contemporary critics, including Douglas Crimp, Abigail Solomon-Godeau, Carol Squiers, and Allan Sekula.

Clark Stacks NE2606 C65

Eisinger, Joel.    Trace and Transformation:  American Criticism of Photography in the Modernist Period.   Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995.

Straightforward examination of photographic criticism in the U.S.  Good introduction to Sadakichi Hartmann, Alfred Stieglitz, Beaumont Newhall, Minor White John Szarkowski, the Postmodern critics, and others.  Includes sections on pictorialism, straight and documentary photography, popular criticism, subjectivism, formalism, modernism and postmodernism.  Includes bibliography.

Clark Stacks   NE2612 E38

*Elkins, James, editor .   Photography Theory .  London: Routledge, c2007.

P resents forty of the world's most active art historians and theorists, including Victor Burgin, Joel Snyder, Rosalind Krauss, Alan Trachtenberg, Geoffrey Batchen, Carol Squiers, Margaret Iversen and Abigail Solomon-Godeau, in animated debate on the definition and nature of photography.

Clark Stacks  NE2606 P4686

Hershberger, Andrew E., editor.   Photographic Theory: An Historical Anthology.   Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2014.

A compendium of readings, spanning ancient times to the digital age, related to the history, nature, and current status of debates in photographic theory.  Offers an authoritative and academically up-to-date compendium of the history of photographic theory and is to date the only collection to include ancient, Renaissance, and 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century writings on the subject.

Clark stacks  NE2606 P4835

Marien, Mary Warner.    Photography and Its Critics: A Cultural History, 1839–1900.   NY:  Cambridge University Press, 1997.

From the series  Cambridge Perspectives on Photography .  “Presents photography as an idea, shaped by social concerns and inherited concepts, and as a burgeoning visual practice. “  Consistently citing 19 th -century sources as well as more modern critics, provides a history of the idea of photography, revealing both the existence of diverse photographic practices and shifting notions of modernity. 

Clark Stacks  NE2609 M37

Tagg, John.   The Burden of Representation: Essays on Photographies and Histories.  Communications and Culture. Basingstoke: Macmillan Education, 1988.

"Drawing on semiotics, on debates in cultural theory, and on the work of Foucault and Althusser, John Tagg rejects the idea of photography as a record of reality and the notion of a documentary tradition, and traces a previously unexamined history that has profound implications... for the history and theory of photography."

Clark Stacks NE2606 T34

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Department of English

Words of Light: Theses on the Photography of History

Here Eduardo Cadava demonstrates that Walter Benjamin articulates his conception of history through the language of photography. Focusing on Benjamin's discussions of the flashes and images of history, he argues that the questions raised by this link between photography and history touch on issues that belong to the entire trajectory of his writings: the historical and political consequences of technology, the relation between reproduction and mimesis, images and history, remembering and forgetting, allegory and mourning, and visual and linguistic representation. The book establishes the photographic constellation of motifs and themes around which Benjamin organizes his texts and thereby becomes a lens through which we can begin to view his analysis of the convergence between the new technological media and a revolutionary concept of historical action and understanding.

Written in the form of theses--what Cadava calls "snapshots in prose"--the book memorializes Benjamin's own thetic method of writing. It enacts a mode of conceiving history that is neither linear nor successive, but rather discontinuous--constructed from what Benjamin calls "dialectical images." In this way, it not only suggests the essential rapport between the fragmentary form of Benjamin's writing and his effort to write a history of modernity but it also skillfully clarifies the relation between Benjamin and his contemporaries, the relation between fascism and aesthetic ideology. It gives us the most complete picture to date of Benjamin's reflections on history.

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• Knowledge Base
• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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× Indigenous People's Weekend: The Libraries will be closed from Saturday - Monday, October 12 - 14 . Sherrill Library and Moriarty Library will reopen on Tuesday, October 15 at 10am. Enjoy the holiday!

× sherrill library will be closed from may 18 - september 2 due to construction. services by appointment: research consultations, library instruction, pick up appointments moriarty library will be open through august 31, monday - friday from 10am-6pm. closed weekends and holidays. as always, our web resources are available 24/7. questions our chat and ask us services are available monday-friday, 10am-6pm., × the libraries will be closed for memorial day weekend from friday-monday, may 24-27. enjoy the holiday, × spring break: monday, 03/13/2023 - sunday, 03/19/2023: library pickups are by appointment. need an appointment email us at sherrill library: [email protected] or moriarty library: [email protected], × alert mm/dd/yyyy: something is broken please contact us with questions., × alert 12/14/2023: ebsco allsearch is unavailable. we are working to fix this as quickly as we can. in the meanwhile, please try searching for articles from our proquest central database and for ebooks and books from our flo catalog . we're very sorry for the inconveniance. --> × welcome back our remote services guide has everything you need to know about library services we're offering this semester, including research help, study spaces, and more for other campus plans, see the lesley university covid-19 response. any other questions ask us, × welcome back our remote services guide has everything you need to know about library services we're offering this semester, including research help, study spaces, and more any other questions ask us, mfa photography & integrated media, instructions, latest theses- 2023 & 2024.

The Lesley Art + Design MFA in Photography and Integrated Media program ran from 2011 until 2024, under the leadership of Christopher James.

From its inception in 2011, our MFA in Photography and Integrated Media program at the Lesley University College of Art and Design has been designed and nurtured as a collaborative work in progress, created to emphasize craft and concept driven photography. It is comprised of an artist / scholar community of faculty, Visiting Artists and candidates, all of whom share a passionate respect for the hand-made traditions of photographic practice while embracing, with equal passion, what is rapidly being recognized as “the new photography” … a marriage of contemporary analog and digital photographic technologies emphasizing rigorous studio practice, art and cultural context, critical and professional studies, and the fluid integration of inter-disciplinary and contemporary media. Our philosophy embraces the concept that photography is in a state of flux and no longer a single entity. It is unique in the visual arts in its ability to merge established and contemporary technologies in the art of making impressions with light and is an ideal nexus of art and culture. We invite you to join our thriving community of contemporary photographic artists who will be defining the future of photography.

Browse through the thesis descriptions below, or use Ctrl+F / command+F to search for specific keywords.

If you find a thesis you want to read, click this link to the Online Thesis Folder  and browse by year and then name.  

To submit your thesis to a global database of theses and dissertations, go here and find your program area. You'll get reports telling you how often it's downloaded, and from where around the world!

Beth D’Elia   – RECEPTIVITY IN PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE     – 2024

In the past two years, I’ve become particularly interested in what I define as the “receptivity" of photography, whereby the photographer is in a position of collaborating with the camera and other photographic materials to receive, rather than take, an image. My acceptance and openness to this collaborative process — not passive or acquisitive, but empathetic — marks a recent shift in the traditions of photographic practice. Chance, possibility, and the courting of the accidental, whether in or outside of the darkroom is reflected more frequently in contemporary aesthetics

Caroline Waterman   – A reckoning     – 2024

The north side of Dublin is my home. It is where I grew up, where I learned to love, to  play and dance. It is also where I was raped. I have spent the past 30 years of my life shutting  out the assault from my memory… and learning to forget. Although I’ve made my life on  another continent, I’ve returned to my home many times over the past three decades, never  allowing the demons to take away my joy of returning home and my love for Dublin. Now, in  this work and narrative, I have decided to remember, to confront….to heal.

Dominic V. Iacopino   – Between the Solitude in Us     – 2024

The act of operating a radio is, understandably, generally solitudinous. And yet, it is entirely about the  connection between people, as well as their places, ideas, and imaginations. Secluded in an old Massachusetts barn in the woods, on a farm from the 1800s, valuing self-reliance, nature, and wisdom,I would be remiss to  not see the ties to New England Transcendentalismphilosophy; and that is how I have come to summarize the  result of this two-year, technology-centric, ontological journey. I became intrigued by amateur radio during the summer of 2022 after reading about an eight-year-old  girl who had the opportunity, skills, and knowledge required to contact astronauts aboard the International  Space Station. This encounter between “scientists of consecutive generations” piquedmy curiosity enough to  pursue the role of participant observerin the ham radio community.I began an introspective journey, seeking  to define, through my artistic practice, what exactly it was to which I was drawn

Jp Gibson   – In the Shadow of this Mountain     – 2024

I think that practice has come to occupy an even larger role in my life  than it ever has before: both in the making of new images, and also the making of the  prints. Photographing and print-making serve as an escape from the listless void that is  unoccupied time and the things I’ve made since the summer are evidence of my  continued will to exist. I have found physical and emotional comfort in my work making  things by hand. I’ve also learned that coping with the magnitude of this loss is as much  about reassuring those who care about me… as it is about healing myself. I did not  realize I was participating in the mortality of the person I thought I’d spend the rest of my  life with.

Nat Sturzl   – FROZEN INEVITABILITY    – 2024

In my thesis work I am interested in the preserved physical remains of people who have been  excavated by archeologists. The corpses found in peat bogs, preserved by naturally occurring  compounds in the mire, and the contemporary plaster casts of the victims of Mt. Vesuvius, have more  than simple preservation in common. Long dead and buried, they still carry an undeniable look of  viability and personhood. The “bog-men” and the citizens of Pompeii were once real… until  something inexplicably tragic happened to them and they became trapped in a moment in time. Their  decay and expression function as surreal self-portraits, surrogates for myself when I’ve felt stuck in  time due to my own personal tragedies. Like stone carved representations of otherworldly people  unearthed from ancient civilizations, these manifestations stay true to nature while expressing  something even more profound, to me, about the human psyche and the metaphorical preservation  of the spirit. Added to this collection are medieval magical symbols known as staves, compiled in  Iceland by an eccentric magician who called himself Skuggi. Considering all these elements, I’m  creating photomontage, placing figures of death into the surreal Icelandic landscape and coupling  them with the staves. By practicing what Joseph Campbell called “creative mythology,” I join a long  line of artists using fiction, stemming from the vast collections of those who came before, to propose new worlds. My role is that of a curator and amateur archaeologist. I strive to de-code, represent and  illustrate, through a book of spells inspired by my innate fascination with magic, as well as the ideas,  obsessions, and questions that have fascinated me since childhood.

Samantha Barthelemy   – EYE STRIA   – 2024

My thesis stems from coming to terms with the deterioration of my eyesight. When  revealed, I was encouraged to make photographs that would relate to my  circumstance.  I struggled with this challenge and tried making work that was not solely focused on  my eyesight — the deterioration is one piece of the whole, a layer…a part of the  collage. Another consideration was thinking about how to translate my distorted vision  when the image the camera was seeing was complete and representational. Close up, I see double…a fractured viewpoint with multiple blind spots. Adjustments in  my life and artistic practice became essential as I’ve had to learn to accommodate and  shift simple lifestyle habits which I used to take for granted. Driving is no longer what it  used to be; I can not drive long distances at night. On a sun filled day it’s hard to see  anything as I’m literally blinded by the light. Reading is difficult; I now listen to audio  books, and read on a Kindle in order to increase the font size. Injuries caused from  tripping and falling have increased as I frequently miss details, like a step up or down.  Shadows and light constantly trick my eyes, causing things to move when they  shouldn’t, like a hallucination. Nothing appears truly accurate. Both my eyes and camera perceive subject matter differently. While the camera  faithfully records what I direct it to, my natural way of seeing diverges from its  perspective. My camera is my paintbrush, the multiple exposures are layers of paint, I  purposely obscure the representation that my camera sees…painting a story. It’s the layers that speak to one another to create a whole — slivers of my life. 

Adam Finkelston   – NOW YOU SEE ME   – 2023

Now You See Me, is an ongoing series of photography-based linocut self-portraits. The title alludes to  the familiar ending of the axiom, “now you don’t”— implying that while you see me… my body, my  experiences, and perspectives on my life, there are many parts of my existence that you don’t see in these  images. The storytelling aspect of my images illustrates only moments and pieces of my truth. The images are  about me, but they are also about a character I play. The character represents a man who inhabits constructed  spaces acting out the dramas and moments of reflection in everyday life. In this thesis, I intend to make a  connection between the indexicality of photography and the gestural aspects of printmaking. These two ways  of making images – photography and printmaking – are emblematic of the balance between reality and fiction  in my work. My prints seek to show visualizations of my own thoughts and feelings. By starting with a  photograph, I can capture my poses and surroundings in a realistic way, but by departing from the photograph  into drawing and printmaking, I can add or subtract from the original photograph, incorporating details and  quasi-surrealist imagery to enhance the impact of the images. Editing out personal details allows for clarity  and a deeper connection to the universal, harnessing the totality of human experience. The gestural  expectations and nature of drawing and printmaking add a fictional element to the reality of the photograph. A drawing is always necessarily removed from whatever it represents. Even in a direct observational drawing, the artist is a filter between reality and its interpretation. In these prints I am rooted in photographic reality  but adding my own interpretations and reveries through the addition of drawing and printmaking

Harrison Irving Loomis   – American Moments   – 2023

I see the spectacle of society. Brady’s photographs of civil war battlefields haunt my mind as I  walk across the grounds of an American fort in Maryland, where history is performed by reenactors as though trapped in time. As I photographed tourists performing for their own images at Niagara Falls, I question whether their digital keepsakes hold any value, a bad picture  becomes a forgotten experience, but a great experience should be remembered. In Times  Square, tourists stare at the billboards of New York advertising, thinking they’ve found the  beating heart of a city, when the local office workers just try to avoid it. Those same office  workers might be happy to go to a baseball game, but they’ll be focused on their laptops more  than the game, like the suits I found in box seats at Comerica Park. The structures of most  stadiums organize people like a mini city, each person in their place, at levels determined by  class. While everyone is free to walk Boston Common, only the privileged will get to look out on  it without stepping outside, divided by apartment walls and glass windows. Yet everyone comes  together to enjoy the fireworks show on New Year’s Eve, the dazzling lights and concussive  blasts remind them they’ve been alive for another year and ask what they’ll do in the next. My  photographs claim that it doesn’t really matter, the spectacle will still be there, in different  forms, in different colors, in different American Moments. Sometimes I wish I could just enjoy  the show...

Jessica Bonifas   – Filmmaking is a River: My Journey Towards the Camera   – 2023

I use filmmaking as a tool to alleviate suffering. During difficult times in my life I turned to the  camera as I am able to express myself freely without explanations or words. The camera acts as  a bridge between myself and others, allowing people to cross into the mind of the filmmaker.  I’ve titled my most recent film, Fulaing is a Gaelic word meaning to suffer. I use the Gaelic  language as a homage to my Irish heritage and for the preservation of the language itself. This  short experimental film was shot on Super 8 analog film and projected in the gallery. I use fulaing  to describe how I feel sometimes as a mother, filmmaker, and human struggling to survive in the  world today. Fulaing is a piece of my story told in a loose experimental style to express the  adversities that I have faced, and overcome, in my life

J udit German-Heins   – A MONSTER IN THE SHAPE OF A WOMAN   – 2023

This work is centered on my experience as a woman, a survivor, a host. It acts as a  proof of my existence. My photographic images are drawn from stories, dreams, and  feelings about my own experiences and illustrate struggles that I and many women  face through their lives. I am interested in the complexity of being a woman biologically,  socially and historically. My photographs are made with the wet-plate collodion technique, commonly used in  the late -19th century. The slow process of pouring the sticky, volatile, and flammable  emulsion, which records my experiences for centuries to come, allows me to embrace  my past gradually. As I carefully mix acid, alcohol and salt to let the molecules work  together to bring the latent images alive, I wonder about and consider my body as a  collection of cells that encompass my ancestral history and that also carry traces of my  children — dead and alive. For me, noble metals I use interpret and capture the  intrinsic value of a female body and soul.

R. Kevin Combs   – The Milltown   – 2023

In this thesis, I will introduce you to the Town of Fries and many of its characters. The  characters include me, some of the residents, and even the fog. We may find that the fog  obfuscates certain truths about small town life, and occasionally, represents the differences I believe we have in this country. I will tell you stories about how the town was built from the  ground up at the turn of the twentieth century to use the natural resources in the area and to  exploit the tendency for wages to be lower in the Appalachian Mountains than in other parts of  the country. I will tell you the story of the Town of Fries through my photographs and narration.  You might even call it a performance. The story will provide a lesson in tolerance in a divided  age and may assist in lifting the veil of fog that is a metaphor for our society and culture.

MFA Photography and Integrated Media Thesis Menu (2013-2022) Online Thesis Folder

Cotton Miller – The Limbo of Loss -  2013

Our entire lives we spend counting, counting up and counting down. The good things we count down to, and the bad things always seem insurmountable. When we are young, we think more is almost always better. As we get older in age and experience we begin to realize less is almost always more. Counting isn’t always about quantifying; it’s about identifying patterns. Counting is an attempt to find order or structure to gain understanding about the thing being counted. The myelin sheath is the protective layer of the axons in the brain, similar to the insulated coating on electrical wires, and in MS the immune system breaks down this protective barrier. When myelin is lost, and the brain-blood barrier is broken, the axons can no longer effectively conduct signals, which will manifest as a variety of symptoms including physical and cognitive disability. After the demyelination occurs, the symptoms that are experienced might subside, but never be fully extinguished. The possibility of loss, the inevitability of loss, and the uncertainty can be equally as powerful and life altering as the actual loss. According to Kübler-Ross, who introduced the hypothesis of the Five Stages of Grief, “The limbo of loss is in itself a loss to be mourned. Uncertainty can be an excruciating existence. It is the loss of life, going nowhere or going nowhere slowly without knowing if there will be a loss. This has become the foundation of my work, the idea that the mind is distinctly different than the brain.

Tommy Matthews 2013

If I ever build a house I will make it very skinny and tall with all the rooms built on top of each other, strung together through each other’s dreams as we slept. What about the person on the bottom then? Who was holding me in their dreams? Maybe this is what it means to grow up, to care and to provide instead of to receive. I grabbed the framed family photos and laid them flat on their backs, and carefully stacked one on top of the other till they made up a half-foot of thickness. Stepping on the frames I was conscious to keep my weight on the outside edges of the stack where it felt more secure. With time enough to make one last move I followed Vitus to the path that careened down a dirt embankment and bottomed out in a small opening of trees. The forest floor was hidden by arching ferns rising as high as my waist. An old felled Douglas fir was there; having collapsed long ago it was now a nursery log. It was half hollowed out inside and I crumpled my body in its opening. Vitus wedged himself alongside me and curled up in the shape of a scallop. As consciousness began to slip away I was eased to know I’d wake here, happy to be held in the grace of this great nurturer of the forest.

Nikki Seggara - Thalassophobia: A Philosophical Narrative On Congenital Fear – 2013

Though I have no recollection of it, it took years for my mother to get me to willingly bathe. She recalls that, even as an infant bathing in the sink, I would scream to the top of my lungs - even harder at the prospect of getting my head wet to wash my hair. It was the thought of deep water terrified me; the thought of what lies beneath - this trepidation of being pulled under, either trapped and unable to surface, or overcome by a creature where my vulnerable body, drifting in the vast sea, gave me no fighting chance. They could feel the pounding of my heart and the panic I struggled to contain for fear of giving myself away.  It was the thought that my body could forever be lost in the lower depths, never to reemerge.  I could never escape the feeling that this was...my fate.  This question of shared phobia has enveloped the deepest corners of my mind. As an artist, I choose to make work that is symbolic of my quest for reasoning behind my fear. There are many who claim that innate fear exists, without any presence of personal history as a factor. These proclivities have been analyzed at great lengths for at least 50 years within the field of Ethology. Ethologists are particularly concerned with innate behavior, and believe that such behaviors are the result of genetics and in the way genes have been modified during evolution to deal with particular environments (Eibl-Eibesfeldt and Kramer) Konrad Lorenz, often described as the ‘father of ethology,’ spoke about this V-shaped shadow as a releasing mechanism for an innate fear response.  The same fear response is witnessed in apes, who are all congenitally frightened of snakes, one of the few innate animal-based fears to also be widely present in humans. It is a grandiose notion, that my fears were ingrained into my brain from ancient genetic blueprints, passed down from generation to generation.  She paradoxically loved what she also feared, as do I.

Angelina Kidd – Imagining the Unknown - 2013

I believe there is a soul and that it is energy manifested as light. We are connected to the cosmos through the very calcium in our bones and the iron in our blood, which originated from stars that died billions of years ago. My belief is that the earthly body is separate from the soul and that our light energy returns to the cosmos. Energy will not cease to exist, as it cannot be destroyed according to Laws of Thermodynamics. Therefore, if the soul is light energy, then it does not disappear and is instead transformed. Twenty-three years ago, my mother’s life was transformed by cancer. As I approach the same age of her departure, I am constantly aware of my own existence. This is why my investigation into the unknown is relevant and personal. I have no evidence for the human soul or the afterlife, as my research does not set out to prove this. Instead, my consciousness chooses to have faith in having a soul and this leads me into an artistic investigation of how I perceive the afterworld. With my light constructions, I do not seek to exploit this emotion; rather, I aim to provide a visual salve and to encourage my viewer to consider that after death, life will be unknown.

Anna Yeroshenko - Enduring Peripheries

An analysis of 1980’s architectural aesthetic and a physical thesis portfolio of re-photographed folded paper abstractions of architecture in the Boston area.

Anne Eder – Myth as a Semiological Language

Thesis dealing with nature, myths, magic, talismanic objects accompanied by a physical portfolio consisting of an outdoor installation in the Emerald Necklace featuring her giant moss-men made of objects and materials found in nature.

Danielle Ezzo – The Intentional Object

Thesis focused upon the concept of intimacy and its relationship to her professional work as a re-touching artist. This was supported by large scale photographs of only the actual re-touched elements of fashion model portraits and bodies.

E V Krebs – so-totally-ev.tumblr.com

A thesis that is a total interactive experience, different for every “reader” depending upon the links the “reader” elects to follow. A traditional thesis felt too static, whereas the Tumblr venue allowed her to create avenues for exploration through the use of hyperlinks; developing a sense of depth as the “reader” clicked, going deeper and deeper.

Lanai King – Clot: A personal Exploration of Blood as Myth and Medium

Thesis analyzing candidate’s personal psychosis and fear of blood and her exploration of using blood as a medium in artistic expression. Thesis was supported by a video illustrating short vignettes of her explorations.

Natalie Rzucidlo – 2,364 Cuts

A these that explored the relationships and differences between hand-made and industrial objects by mirroring the automatic repetition of a machine through the process of paper cutting and realization through lithography. Physical work were monumental paper abstractions graphically illustrating sound.

Nicole Carriere – The Big Picture

Thesis dealing with the dissection of family photographs through visual language, symbols, and performance of gender.

Tabitha Sherrell – Untitled

Thesis focused upon three generations of women within a single family and supported by large scale photographs of tableaus illustrating reconstructed domestic spaces. Writing dealt with the analysis of posing, and the way photography is used to represent the self and family.

Taylor Singmaster – My Father’s Daughter

Thesis written as an autobiography to document values instilled through childhood and realized in adult life. The thesis was supplemented with a video of the candidate’s work with Down Syndrome afflicted children and how her future career would be dedicated to a foundation dealing with this disease.

Tomi Ni – Wu Xing

Thesis about the lives and existence of illegal aliens, living in building and room-sized communities and their sacrifices to pay off the fees for smuggling them into America and keeping their family healthy, educated, and hopeful. Physical work in the form of photographs of this life.

Crystal Foss – Seeing the self Through the Forest of Judgement: Self Portrait & Power

Thesis engaged in a representation of her life being judged by others for being an overweight young woman. The visual work supplemented the writing and consisted of video, music, and uncompromising mural sized self-portraits.

Katie Doyle – 13 Ways of Looking at X

Thesis analyzing Wallace Steven’s poem, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. The thesis deconstructed the poem and then reconstructed it in the form of a journal to represent how the identical sentiments related to her present life. Physical work existed in the form of a video illustrating the relationships of words and images.

Kwangtae Kim – Soul Scape

A thesis discussing non-representational forms of photography as an invitational bridge into a state of meditation. The physical work took the form of massive scaled photographic abstractions of natural objects, such as his child’s hair, or water, seen in a way to obstruct identification. These works were painted upon in the style of a Sumi calligrapher.

Maryam Zahirimehr – In the Name of God, The Beneficent, The Merciful

A written thesis telling the stories of her life growing up female in the strict Muslim culture of Iran and how those experiences shaped her future. A video illustrating one particular story enhanced the reader’s experience by bringing the story to life. This thesis was subsequently accepted and shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

Maura O’Donnell – Untitled

This thesis considers the female as it is contested in American culture. The work speaks to the confusion of specific roles of woman, and the communication of contradictory views of femininity. The work and the manner in which it is shown translate the ugly encounters she experiences on a regular basis. Physical work consisted of short vignettes in video format.

Natalie Titone – The Excavation of Meaning

Thesis exploring the immigrant experience in America through the memories, textures, and materials used by the people building a life for subsequent generations. Writing dealt with a narrative story-telling experience and physical work was realized by laminations of photographic images from family albums onto porcelain and ceramic materials. Techniques were learned while in an internship at Harvard University.

Traci Marie Lee - The Implications and Consequences of the Snapshot and the Constructed Image

This thesis documented her search for knowledge about a southern aunt who was a pioneer in women being active in politics. The thesis was based on an envelope of pictures and newspaper clippings and was resolved in the thesis through paper constructions and video, with a strong concentration on sound.

Alicia Turbitt – Hearing what Seeing Says

This thesis documented the degeneration of sight of her sister’s boyfriend and his efforts to remain in a normal life in spite of his increasing loss of sight. The physical thesis work was in video form and featured vignettes such as all of his friends taking turns teaching him how to drive a car down a dark road in the winter.

John Dearing – Chemical Geometry - 2017

Dedicated to a 19 th c. path of investigation following Herschel’s Anthotype process, John made hundreds of combinations of food sources and chemistry and painted the solutions on papers exposed to UV light over time. The thesis included research into chemical additives to our food, the effect of UV rays on those solutions, and the nature of abstract expressionism and constructivist painting, the forms he created for his tests on paper.

Natalie Schaeffer – Trust - 2017

A series of lengthy video vignettes in an installation that illustrated the state of a multi-year relationship in the midst of a decision to go forward. The written component supported the process and analysis of the video investigation.

Noelle BuAbbud – Triduum - 2017

This thesis involved a trinity of videos revolving around the visual perception and recognition of the human body in a state of suffering or sorrow. Research detailed the paintings and sculptures she felt were emotionally profound because of the ways in which artists such as Caravaggio, Picasso, Goya, and Kollwitz depicted grief and suffering through the physicality of the human figure. Videos illustrated the research and were in the subjective forms of shadows, as in the parable from Plato’s Cave.

Xiao Zhao – Ferryman - 2017

This thesis focused on the parables, spirituality and theology of Zen Buddhism and that belief system’s impact upon him growing up in China, and his relationship with his grandmother who was a shaman. Visual components were photographic abstractions.

Sara Bonnick - Acts of Almost Touching (And Other Short Stories, Poems, and Analysis) - 2017

This thesis explored the aftermath of intimacy and was represented through a series of videos, photo-sculpture, and installation. Her work formed a language of clothing as it related to emotional connection of direct physical contact. She investigated the concept through repetition, mending, healing, repairing, and attaching. All alterations to an article of clothing displayed a psychological repurposing interaction and compromise between two bodies. The written component was formed via short stories and free verse poetry.

Britney Segermeister - 2018

In a dissection of social media, its features and influences can often be misinterpreted as an assortment of symptoms associated with a variety of mental illnesses. The ability to rapidly change personas, and impulsively construct personalities, could be a description if Dissociative Identity Disorder or nothing more than editing pictures of yourself on a number of unrelated sites. My thesis project is a visual depiction of signs and aspects of mental illness interpreted by the unique etiquette, trends and algorithms of social media.

Casey Cullen 2018 – 22 Poplar - 2018

My thesis, 22 Poplar, is a partial collection of the many memories my childhood home inspired, and in a very real way, a thank you to the people here, and gone, who raised me in it. I am interested in how memories, old and new, personal and familial, coalesce to fill and define personal domestic spaces. My investigation questions how memories, and the events associated with them, are affected by the removal or change of a key component in that moment. My memories, of our home, and the objects within, are now the only things I have left of my grandfather. After he passed, could some part of his being have gone to the same elusive space where memories reside? Probably not, but I would like to think my interpretation of the faux colonial house on 22 Poplar Street will get me a little closer to wherever his beautiful spirit rests.

Candice Inc 2018 – She Knows Me Now - 2018

In collaboration with my mother, my thesis explores the complexities of communication within a mother-daughter relationship following the death of her husband… my father. Throughout our life together, my mom and i were able to talk about anything and everything without conditions. The traumatic death of my father completely altered our dynamic and we became strangers to each other. Unable to recognize the unique pain and loss that the other was experiencing, our ability to understand one another reached a point where spoken language failed. The only way for me to speak at this point was through the trust in my art and visual expression. Words were useless and so I turned to images. In our recent past, this created an even greater problem because my visual approach to telling the story of my suffering was even more incoherent to her than speech. I was forcing her to learn my side of the story, my truth. Children need to recognized by their parents and my mother’s resistance to that adjusted view of her adult daughter continues to be a constant battle for myself. It is a struggle being an artist and a daughter. She Knows Me Now is a test for us. Testing my responsibilities as her daughter, testing us both to not attack or point a finger of blame, and testing my responsibilities as an artist where telling my truths is my priority.

Rebecca Chappelear - 2018

My work explores the evidence that contributed to my family’s dysfunction and ultimately its collapse, brought on by my stepfather’s own separate trauma and depression—complications that had been ingrained into his personality long before we entered his life. My images are constructions based the events that took place during the period that he and my mother were married, in which time I had gone from my mid-teens to my early twenties, and my sister from kindergarten into eighth grade. A photographic narrative allows me to select the memories that are crucial to my and my audience’s understanding of the events that took place; moments that of course were not photographed, as a family reserves the taking of pictures for times meant to be remembered and looked back upon. With the creation of these photographs, I am able to investigate my experience with a man whose role as as my father deteriorated as he was engulfed by his alcoholism and depression.

Samantha Nieto – Catholic Girlhood Narrative - 2018

Growing up, I idolized everything Disney; Mickey Mouse was my god, The Sensational Six were my saints. Disney movies became my homilies and scriptures, they taught me life lessons and helped me imagine that I could be anything I wanted to be. My Lady of Guadalupe, Pocahontas, was my hero as a child and brought strength to me as an adult. She was the only Disney “Princess” I figured I could be due to our similar dark hair and complexion, which I eventually learned to appreciate. Because of her, I knew I was my own heroine princess who didn’t need a prince charming to save the day, I only needed to have faith and believe. My work is interested in the idea and systems of belief as it occurs in my life and in the objects that represent my values and what I believe in. I am expressing my beliefs from the past, and the present. Each piece represents a time in my life, with reference to a foundation of the Mexican catholic faith I grew up with and have transformed from. I am interested in the connection that one has with faith, symbols and objects of value stemming from childhood memories and experiences testing faith. With time, all these elements look different and change meaning as we age.

Brittney Callahan – Paradise Entertainment Feature of the Week: Splint – 2018

Watching television has been part of my daily ritual since childhood. Every time it was turned on, I was able to enter into new worlds that were exotic compared to my house. Each story on the screen filled me with hope, inspired me with passion, and took me to a place where everything, no matter how terrible, seemed to have a purpose, an arc, and an end. These visual narratives birthed the idea of an equational life, one that seemed simple and mathematical. After I realized that life couldn’t be firmly calculated, I decided to invent my own alternative realities of which I could control through photography and video. My primary interest is in self-construction, how identities and personalities are formed, how they manifest and shift, and the characterization of “self”. With my current work, I am utilizing the techniques of cinema and theater to construct a fictitious reality, that emulates the surface of a world that I have long-envied and idolized: Hollywood. The process of performing in my designed space is cathartic because, instead of being a passive spectator to someone else’s constructed narrative, I create my own and actively participate in it.

Gretjen Helene – Susurrus – 2019

I am currently working on a 24 minute linear video titled ‘Susurrus’ that will be exhibited within the interactive installation ‘Lost In Thought.’ ‘Susurrus’ is a collage of moving imagery which I am calling a living collage mindscape. This projected video is central in the installation and will be introduced by 11 paced photographs titled ‘Framed,’ and accompanied by a resin sculpture titled ’60% water’. For the sake of this introduction to my work, I will concentrate on the video ‘Susurrus’ alone. A discussion about the other installation elements would disrupt their intended affects.

JiSun Lee – The planet, LOVE – 2019

Art allows me to express unexplainable emotions and feelings I have never felt before. Meaning by emotions, for example, sadness and happiness have to co-exist to reveal each other’s existence and the value they have.I always had a hard time controlling my emotions. It may be because I’m a sensitive person; I feel my emotions in huge waves. Many incidences happened to me because my inability to express and control my emotions, Love, relationships, avoidance, jealousy, hatred, anger, and happiness, aresometimes hard for me to express this with words. But I am learning from these contradicting emotions like the light and the dark. After creating my art, I have discovered myself in the process of expressing emotion through art. And I learned to control myself. This is the way I protect myself. The only way to express my sensitive emotions that cannot be created in words because there’s no words for them. My language -I speak through my art.

Kristen Matuszak – Confined In My Skin – 2019

When deciding to create my book, “Confined In My Skin,” I was distinctively thinking aboutcinema, and film reels in particular. The viewer experiences my book the way they would acinematic film, I am continuously manipulating the perception of the viewer. They see what theywant to see, then as they flip through the pages, they get a sense of something much darkerand deeper than their original intake of the work.

Molly Meador – RabbitRabbitRabbit – 2019

The main conceptual focus in this work is obsession, but it has become clear that my living definition of this word is different than the normal interpretation. This is not a project about how obsession can affect a person, and it’s not about obsession as a direct, generally temporary mental state in relation to a specific topic. It’s about how it affects me and the resulting compulsions that occur as a way to live with and control these fixations. It’s about how the obsession can be used and dealt with, but it’s not a solution. An obsession, though intense and consuming, can be finite and have a course. There is a difference between an obsession and an obsessive personality. A life defined by obsession cannot sustain itself with any sort of harmony unless an order is established. That necessity is where this project comes from; and to establish an order to something, you must sometimes first tear it apart.

Vanessa Fischer – This Way Through The Darkness – 2019

I still desire to create a space to preserve and experience my past, only now these memories live outside of my mind in my art. This Way Through the Darkness stems from the Memory Box I created as an adolescent while mourning the loss of my mother. Looking at household surfaces has been my way of connecting to the memory of my mom, because these were the surfaces she touched every day, the same surfaces I have in my life today

Will Harris – Evelyn Beckett – 2019

In this work I confront the complexities of my Nana, Evelyn Beckett’s dementia, by fabricating the pieces that have gone missing.  Within my Nana's mind, history and fiction collide, creating something strangely new, haunting and at times painfully beautiful.  Ten years ago was now ten minutes ago.  There were no seasons; the clocks stood still. My grandmother was both lost and reborn. Fragments of the person I used to know would come to me now and then, but she was no longer my Nana and there was no one to hold our familial history together.

Byron Hocker  – Red Sky Morning – 2020

I have found ways to escape the daunting task of everyday life. I can use photography to play. I am able to convert the seriousness of life to my own comedic circus. Roland Barth in Camera Lucida said it more eloquently than I when he wrote, “What pricks me is the discovery of this equivalence. In front of the photograph of my mother as a child, I tell myself: She is going to die, I shudder...over a catastrophe which has already occurred. Whether or not the subject is already dead, every photograph is a catastrophe.” Because of this truth, I must play and create because it is all too serious. I can also transform these people, my family, into anyone I want when I am in control of the photograph.  

Ge Wang   – A Reluctant Citizen – 2020

Photography has been a narrative tool for my family. I did not have much of my own voice in the family narrative because my parents were the photographers. I picked up photography soon after I left China and started to live alone in the US. I became the executor behind the camera, recording my very own story. Even still, I still lose my sense of time here very often. The memories I have formed in America have never managed to dig themselves a deep hole in my mind.

Lys Ciani  – Field Notes – 2020

I practice camera-less photography  and  assume  the  rights  to  these  elemental  processes in hopes of gaining a more grounded and intrinsic understanding of the landscapes I observe, interpret, and create.  I’ve adopted this type of field work as a personal collection of visual-mappings of uninhabited environments.  Field notes are composed of two components: descriptive information and the observer’s reflection about the study that is being conducted. Each print carries light, minerals, and contaminants of the water; literal recordings of the environment they took form in. Untidy records recalling weather conditions, time of day, and where on the bend they were made. They coalesce to form a portrait, a trace of the shifting identity of a riverbed.

Matt Klos  – Field Notes – 2020

In the last four years I have been acclimating, building, and modifying my life. Creating a new normal and reestablishing what it means to be me both physically and psychologically. Paralysis is the metaphorical-well of inspiration I draw upon to create my images, sculptures and studio working environment. I utilize my paralysis as both coping mechanism and visual source, documenting and interpreting my body’s devastation within the fine lines of reality and fabrication.

Anna Clem  – To the Garden and Back – 2021

To the Garden and Backconsists of four distinct series—The Perennial Garden, Floating Petals, Tucked into the Garden Bed, and Visitor—and a video piece called In Her Garden, through which I have examined from all sides my longing for the impossible return to innocence, obsession with preservation, and my present-day “gardens.”

Faith Ninivaggi  – Present History – 2021

I’ve stared into the eyes of murderers and abusers. I’ve studied and documented the masterful kinesics of great athletes, influential politicians, and infamous public figures. Through my lens, I’ve captured victories and tragedies. I’ve documented the literal forces of nature. I’ve talked to thousands of strangers, tapping on shoulders, stopping people in the streets, and knocking on doors...all for the chance to tell their story through photographs.

Fangwei Xu  – The Sun – 2021

The Sun is a series of works that touch on ideology and its relationship to social context, gaze, and subconsciousness, represented by various media. Ideology for me is nothing but a framework, and it requires the context of media to deliver the meaning. Humans have countless ways to explain an idea, like in China, there are multiple words to define snow, or rain, and each method of expression, each medium corresponds to a different kind of cultural interpretation: superficial or cognitive, conscious or unconscious, temporary or permanent, literal or connotative.

John Nanian  –Chepiwanoxet  – 2021

This thesis will explore the idea of place by trying to un-derstand what a small spit of land in Narragansett Bay called Chepi-wanoxet was before colonial ownership. After visiting the area countless times with and without a camera, I am, in collab-oration with the island and the sea around it, attempting to make drawings and light-markings, using organic and light-sensitive materials, and imperfection to show its essence and its meaning to me.

Wenshuai Shi (Ace)  – Isolation – 2021

I have made a series of photographic and video works using "isolation" as the theme. From my initial project “HOME,” completed in Shanghai in 2018 and 2019, to my recent project, “My Fear Journal,” made in Boston this past year. This past year, my intention was to illustrate to the viewer not the state of my loneliness, but the process of my thinking, reflecting on isolation.

Zachary Hayes  – Seeing is Believing, Looking is Loving – 2021

In Seeing is Believing, Looking is Loving, I shall discuss the internal complexities of being able to relate and empathize with others and how photography acts as a vehicle for me to be able to do these things. Here you will be introduced to I (Want To) Love You, a body of images that I have pulled from my personal catalogs of people that I choose to commit myself to.

Abigail Egan   – In This Home  – 2022

My thesis, titled In This Home, is about documenting experiences with my family that are reshaped by the passage of time and the evolution of technology, while navigating my conflicting ethical responsibilities to my art and to my family amidst a world of digital obsession. Sharing my art with a wider audience for the first time, this body of work investigates the layers of emotion within the family home, exploring the intricacies of loving one’s family unconditionally.

Ariana Sanchez   – From Here to There – 2022

My move to New England was a complete 180 from what I had known in Florida. Once settled, I explored my new neighborhood and started photographing its characteristics, searching for ways I could connect both as a person and a photographer. There were days that I wished I could go back to Florida and experience that environment once more. Here in Cambridge I once again felt like an outsider, wondering if this was just another temporary place for me. I still don’t know. My images simultaneously represent my comfort and discomfort to where I am; to where I hope to belong. My desire for “home” is strong. It’s difficult to put down roots in shifting soil.

Jill Bemis  – Homing Instinct – 2022

Homing Instinct is an exploration of walking and the physicality of film photography as it mirrors a poetic and visceral connection to the land.  An ephemerality lingers within the work–a longing to experience and hold on as larger forces cause land and home to change forms.  The work holds space for lightness but also defies it through an ominous representation of the cycles of loss within nature.  I am especially drawn to the birds that live between land and sky, between rooted experience and unmoored wonder. I have a yearning to understand what it is like to be a bird, and a simultaneous acceptance of knowing that I never will.  There is both a separation and a closeness between us.  I do not pretend to understand why, but the observed experience of a bird feels wildly linked to my own returning to the marsh.

Monica Philbin   – Otherworld  – 2022

I began this thesis as a journey to find myself and to piece together evidence of the spirit world in my photographs to show my mom. I soon realized that it would probably be impossible to make a photograph of an actual ghost and subsequently turned my focus up on the mysteries found in my secular and manageable world. Photography has become my way to express myself and to communicate with the world. 

Natasha Major   – The Outpouring  – 2022

The Outpouring is the title of this document that moves between memoir and musing, examining how I came to understand photography as a mediator between inner and outer life as well as how my process has developed and deepened over the last two years. Two artist books are connected to the written document: For an Anxious Mind (2021) and The Light Here and Elsewhere (2022), each is a vessel for communicating a particular feeling or an experience. The Outpouring discusses the organizing principles of each work, what led to their conception and the artists who have helped me locate my work in a larger context.

Quentin Gong   – One, And Two Stories  – 2022

Dramatizing what I have experienced allows me to turn my ordinary experience into a more interesting story. In this way I use my own personal life as a basis for my films. Snap Out of It and Mary were two short films I made in 2021 and 2022. These films are about ordinary people’s stories, and they are both created based on my personal life experience. We are all born ordinary, but we all have the potential to experience extraordinary lives.

Tiziana Meneghel-Rozzo   – The Power of Camera-less Photography to Communicate a Haptic Experience   – 2022

Through my projects, I am searching for a way to visually communicate a moment experienced in time through what it brings to light: a face, a tear, the physical act of leaving an impression or sharing an emotional gesture. I use photography as a way to connect and communicate a lived experience and to visualize bodily intimacies. In my images I like to wonder, imagine, and question what I am looking at — what I know and do not know. It is within the dark realities of a chaotic world that I, as an artist, feel compelled to respond with marks that carry meaning within them. In the two projects that follow, Haptic a nd Tears, I use a 20th-century photographic technique to focus on touch and contact, to convey meaning at the level of physical operation.

Travis Flack   – Lifelong Obsession With Oblivion   – 2022

As of right now, photography has been in my life for more than half the years I have lived on this planet. It has moved with me, and sometimes in spite of me, marking creative growth, existential frustration along with the very specific idiosyncrasies that I now realize are the traits that define me as an artist. In conjunction with this medium that I have chosen as a method of explanation and expression is this other entity, a need for extremes of varying intensities that I have come to realize is the driving force behind a lot of the subjects I choose.  These intense experiences  have broken down my existence in complex ways, making me feel like someone who is in a constant state of  repair or rebuilding. Lifelong Obsession With Oblivion started out as the calculated detonation of my life in order to review it. From this exploded view the work mutated,  from the very literal physical form to the figurative forensic symbolic investigation. Lifelong Obsession With Oblivion is a photographic survey about surrendering, about giving into something that completely consumes you to the point of complete, wonderful, beautiful deconstruction.

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Photography Dissertation Topics

Photography is an art form worthy of critical attention, so it’s no surprise that many Arts and Culture students choose to write a photography dissertation. In particular, the technological innovation of photography coupled with its varying sociocultural impacts has encouraged many students to want to write a dissertation on photography. But how you should you go about choosing a topic for your photography dissertation? The following sub-sections provide suggestions on the most recent trends and innovations in photography, particularly concerning technological developments, ethics, and the evolution of photography trends.

Digital Photography

Photojournalism and communications, photography, ethical, cultural, and societal perspectives, the evolution of photography, photography and global politics, photojournalism during the covid-19 pandemic.

Digital photography emerged as a technological innovation during the 1990s, and since then, it has developed into a computer mediated approach to photography. The old methods of taking pictures have, therefore, been improved and enhanced by digital technologies. Also, it has not only replaced the silicon chips and old photography methods, but it has also introduced more advanced methods, as photography has now adopted the use of information technology. This could be an interesting subject area to examine if searching for topics related to technological trends and developments in photography. Examples of topics in this area are listed below:

• How has digitalisation modified the position of photography in society?
• The evolution to Digital Photography and its impact on photography methods.
• A review of the current technologies, cultural methods, and the social practices of snapshot photography.
• How has visual reporting transformed the landscape of news reporting and journalism?
• An analysis of Visual Storytelling during the current era of Post-Industrialist Journalism.

Photojournalism refers to the process of reporting using either still or changing images. The development of photojournalism has been closely aligned with evolving technological trends, and photojournalists have adopted more enhanced approaches for reporting events. Nonetheless, the major core value of photojournalism remains significant, as photojournalists continuously search for the opportunity to witness significant events and share the evidence of such events. Photojournalism also focuses on highlighting important social topics and encourages discussions about public response. Therefore, this is an interesting research area if you are fascinated with journalism and photography. Some relevant topics in this area are listed below:

• The impact of Mobile Technology on the significance and role of Photojournalism in the Society.
• The challenges of Photojournalism: Realism, the nature of news and the philanthropic narrative.
• How has the current era of network media and social media websites impacted on the Photojournalism?
• Is Digitalisation destroying Photojournalism?
• Exploring the relationship between the professional values of photojournalism and the process of digital photo editing and the generation of online news videos.
• Reconsidering Photojournalism: Investigating the constantly shifting work routines and professionalism of Photojournalists in the Digital Era.

Since its early days, photography has prompted several debates with regards to its ethical application and misappropriation in society. Nonetheless, the creation of images has aided in the creation and communication of cultural identity and history. The current ethical, cultural, and societal perspectives about photography would be an interesting research area. Below are some suggestions of topics related to this area of photography:

• Digital age and mass surveillance: The ethical perspective of visual photography.
• The Integrity of digital images: The current principles and practices of image manipulation in document photography and photojournalism.
• A study on visual photography, particularly the relationship between images, objects, and general photographic representations within the cultural and social contexts.
• A critique of Visual Ethnography and Cultural Representation in Photography.
• Compassion, integrity, and the media: Examining current issues in cultural photography.
• Image ethics: The ethical privileges of the subjects in pictures, movies, and television.
• Truth or Fiction? The impact of ethical and societal perspectives on media imagery during the digital era.
• Professional photography and privacy: Are the personal ethics of a professional photographer adequate?

The field of photography has evolved over the past decade, with vast technical and theoretical developments to the standards of photography since it was created in 1839. Therefore, this is an interesting research area, as it gives you the opportunity to investigate the source of a specific innovation or method and examine any historical implications. The suggested research topics in this area are listed below:

• The evolution from camera obscura photography and the era of photographic illusions to the current use of modern, digital, cameras for photography.
• The effect of photography on historical events, including the Civil War.
• The transformation of photography: How has the development of photography impacted Law and Culture?
• An examination of the realism of Landscape Photography.
• How has the use of modern photographic trends transformed news reports and the recording of significant social events?
• What is the impact of photography on the evolution of social media websites and communication systems?
• Closing the gap between Research and Practice: The Interrelationship between Photography and Hyper-realistic Art

Considering the current visual and digital era, it is apparent that images shape worldwide events and the society’s perspectives about them. Also, factors such as television programs and photographs impact on global politics as different phenomena are viewed, including wars, economic downturns, election advertisements, and humanitarian catastrophes. Therefore, visual politics have become the norm, with the use of digital platforms across the political spectrum, from extremist recruitment campaigns to social justice movements. Thus, this is an interesting research area, with a wide range of topics. Some of these topics are listed below:

• A discourse analysis of how photography can be used to support political propaganda in the United Kingdom.
• How does images and photographic representations of political activities impact global politics?
• An exploratory review of the discourse and subjectivity of photographs within the political landscape.
• What are the political functions of images and visual artefacts?
• Photography and Politics: The impact of photography in the Political world.

The current Covid-19 pandemic has become one of the most severe pandemics of this era, with significant economic, societal, and political impacts. Therefore, this would be an interesting area of research, with a wide range of topics that can be investigated. Some of these topics are suggested below:

• How are leading Photojournalists worldwide documenting the resulting impact of Covid-19 on societies?
• Photojournalism: What are the ethical issues of reporting the impact of Covid-19?
• What are the roles and responsibilities of photojournalists during the current pandemic?
• A review of the approach to news reporting by photojournalists during Covid-19 pandemic.

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Thesis Eleven Seven theses on photography

Related Papers

Thesis Eleven

Christopher Pinney

Benjamin and Barthes provide the starting point for a series of inter-connected propositions which seek to return the theorization of photography to the primacy of the pro-filmic. The index is reclaimed as a trace of the photographic event, capable only of delivering what Barthes termed the corps. The resulting contingency and exorbitance are the basis of photography’s prophetic and ‘troubling’ potential which free us from viewing photography as simply a screen for the social. The argument is advanced largely using material from India and a case is made for a new conception of ‘world system photography’ which folds ‘belated’ histories into the ‘global’.

European Journal of Cultural Studies

caa.reviews

Rosalind Morris

Benjamin, Barthes and the Singularity of Photography

Timothy Mathews

Benjamin, Barthes and the Singularity of Photography presents two of the most important intellectual figures of the twentieth century in a new comparative light. Pursuing hitherto unexplored aspects of Benjamin&#39;s and Barthes&#39;s engagement with photography, it provides new interpretations of familiar texts and analyzes material which has only recently become available. It argues that despite the different historical, philosophical and cultural contexts of their work, Benjamin and Barthes engage with similar issues and problems that photography uniquely poses, including the relationship between the photograph and its beholder as a confrontation between self and other, and the dynamic relation between time, subjectivity, memory and loss. Each writer emphasizes the singular event of the photograph&#39;s apprehension and its ethical and existential aspects rooted in the power and poignancy of photographic images. Mapping the complex relationship between photographic history and th...

Atreyee Gupta

Forma. Revista d'estudis comparatius. Art, literatura, pensament

Based on postcolonial theory and the deconstruction of the orientalist discourse, this article sets the problem of the representation of the ‘Other’ in photographic practice. A new form of orientalism seems to be guiding a large part of the cultural production today, where East is represented as polarized between darkness and light. By taking the example of representation of India, and analyzing the work of some contemporary documentary photographers who have worked on this country, the author tries to uncover the implications of this new discourse and finally advocates for an unorthodox use of the medium.

Michael S Roth

The Renaissance of Roland Barthes special issue - The Conversant

russell stephens

In November of 1977, a French translation of Walter Benjamin’s, Little History of Photography was included in a special issue of the prominent Parisian magazine, Nouvel Observateur. Re-titled Les analphabetes de l’avenir, the essay was only the second translation of Benjamin’s Kleine Geschichte der Photographie to appear in French, with the original 1931 German version having been published in the Berlin periodical Die literarische Welt during the last years of the Weimar Republic. In the late spring of 1979, roughly a year and a half after the appearance of Benjamin’s essay in Nouvel Observateur, Roland Barthes completed a manuscript subsequently entitled La chambre claire: Note sur la photographie, which delineated his own critical approach to the medium of photography. An English translation of Barthes’ text was subsequently published in 1981 under the title Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. When comparing Camera Lucida with this 1977 special issue, one is immediately struck by the fact that Barthes’s short book, which itself contains only twenty-five images, took six of its photographs directly from the pages of Nouvel Observateur. Recent scholarship has highlighted a number of other correspondences between the two works. However, these observations aside, there has been little attempt in the literature to follow the development, alteration, or continuity of Benjamin’s ideas within Barthes’ analysis of photography. Accordingly, this essay examines the ways in which aspects of Benjamin’s critical approach to the medium have influenced and shaped Barthes’ text.

History Compass

Ranu Roychoudhuri

Despite its long and layered histories, critical analyses of photography in India began rather late and remain comparatively limited in number. However, the burgeoining scholarship in the field illuminates photography's role in conditioning modern South Asian experiences, while also highlighting the global character of the medium that complicate the unmarked history of photography. Three intertwined historiographical threads are influential in narrating the colonial Indian camera cultures. The first thread emphasized descriptive histories, the second thread debated cultural essentialism, while the third thread inquired into myriad photographic genres to rethink colonialism. An inquiry into these three threads helps reflect on the intellectual scope of photographs from colonial India, while also directing to future archival and analytical possibilities.

Andy Fisher

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Home > Photography > Photography Masters Theses

Photography Masters Theses

Graduate students in the Photography program develop visual and critical expertise through course work, seminars, independent studio work and critiques designed to provide a deep understanding of contemporary art practices and criticism. Working in personal studios, students have access to state-of-the-art technical facilities that allow for the exploration of film-based and digital photography, digital video and multimedia production.

In the final semester, MFA candidates focus on creating a comprehensive body of work under the guidance of a thesis committee. All Photography graduate students produce a thesis book that includes a written narrative and a body of visual work. They also participate in the RISD Graduate Thesis Exhibition , a large-scale public show held annually.

Graduate Program Director: Brian Ulrich

These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License .

Theses from 2024 2024

I am becoming. , Dai Asano

Intangible shells , Elena Bulet

Winter Solstice , Jingwen Cao

The Day the Door Flew Open , Clara Delgado

Embodied Abstractions: Identity and Representation in the Digital Era , Srikar Hari

America, Dreaming. , Sarah Meftah

Theses from 2023 2023

Mistranslated , Hee Young Cha

In a Condition of No Light , Alana Perino

Coast to Coast , Zeyuan Ren

Garden Etiquette , Kai Wasikowski

Theses from 2022 2022

Rememory , Jonathan Mark Jackson

The great delusion , Beth Johnston

Mason & Dixon: History and Identity in the Borderlands , Drew Leventhal

Bewildering narrative , Ali Newhard

Dead Letter Room , Allie Tsubota

Theses from 2021 2021

Imaging "Interracial": performing racialized desire in "interracial" heterosexual hardcore pornography , Megan Christiansen

Becoming a precipice: the liminality of queer cruising , Chance DeVille

Wounds need air , Camilla Jerome

Martyr (in exile) , Xinyi Mei

I just can't get you out of my head : frenetic vortex, animal as image - field notes (1989-2021) , Steffanie A. Padilla

Fossil morphology , Leah Zhang

Theses from 2020 2020

The knots on the underside of the carpet , Lily Colman

Amor fati , Keavy Handley-Byrne

First sweet truth , Jessina Lynn Leonard

These inadvertent marks , Thomas Wilder

Make yourself at home , Han Seok You

Theses from 2018 2018

Between gods and animals : deconstructing heteronormative masculines pursuit to sustain power , Shawn Bush

Pretend power , Rosemary Engstrom

Theses from 2017 2017

Naturally occurring form , Margaret Kristensen

Theses from 2016 2016

Once there was there wasn't , Svetlana Bailey

Theses from 2015 2015

Mid- , Elise Kirk

The Void, The Mystery, The Vast Array, The Infinity of Unities, The Otherworld, The Absolute, The Hidden Order, The Randomness, The Infraworld, The Nothing, The Zone of Immaterial Sensibility, The Silence, The Hollow of Space, The Ineffable, The Emptiness, The Wild , Drew Ludwig

Theses from 2011 2011

Seven Seas Without , Ambereen Siddiqui

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