The Janus-Faced Role of Images in Digital Photography

• In Event: The Popular Cultures of Digital Photography: Practices, Aesthetics, Institutions

Abstract

The digitization of photography is tightly intertwined with computational techniques that allow for modification of optical images recorded with the help of cameras and image sensors. The recorded files usually include in addition to image data a variety of other contextual data (i.e., metadata), including information on devices used, on scenes captured, as well as on the persons taking the pictures, and their social networks. This data is used for a variety of purposes, depending on the interests of stakeholders involved (e.g. end-users, service providers, advertisers, authorities). For example, by using a camera, many everyday users continue to frame their practice as taking photographic pictures that can be shown to others, whereas developers are often interested in the data that can be collected with the help of image sensors in camera devices. Empirical work among developers of mobile and wearable camera technology shows that developers are well aware of the necessity to satisfy the needs of a variety of stakeholders in order to maintain interest in their devices and software. The images, important for photographic practice, play often a Janus-faced role in non-professional digital photography allowing for a variety of uses usually not associated with the concept of “photography”.

Bio:
Asko Lehmuskallio is a media scholar and cultural anthropologist interested in the relations we take with each other via techniques and technologies. He has published mainly in the fields of media studies, visual culture studies, and human-computer interaction. His recent book, Pictorial Practices in a ‘Cam Era’ – Studying Non-professional Camera Use (2012, Tampere University Press) is available online. For additional work see: http://hiit.fi/u/alehmusk/

Author

• Asko Tapani Lehmuskallio, University of Tampere