The sublime art of explaining the obvious: when photographs are no longer enough

In the vast universe of communication, there is an increasingly widespread and unlogical tendency: to provide detailed explanations to photographs that, by their very nature, should speak for themselves. At a time when the image has become one of the main tools of narration, we are faced with a paradox: photographs, which should communicate visually, are often accompanied by verbose, almost paternalistic texts that seem to want to guide the viewer in the complex operation of “understanding” an image. This practice is not limited to titles such as “Impossible Love” under a photograph of two hands touching each other. No, today we are witnessing the tendency to add real articles that accompany the image, giving an obvious weight to the correlation between text and image, as if photography alone could not tell a story.

It is no longer just a caption: the text becomes a necessary extension, an element that attempts to give the image meanings that it, on its own, is unable to express. Thus, we witness the use of photographs as the “central moment” of a larger narrative, a single shot that suggests a story that, often, does not exist at all in the photograph itself. The photo thus becomes a pretext for the text, a device that justifies the creation of an elaborate verbal narrative.

An opposite example is that of an image entitled “Grandma Sofia” that portrays a bed with a bedside table next to it and on it the photograph of a framed portrait of a woman. In this case, the image does not require articulated textual references, but it can stimulate natural questions in the viewer: who is Nonna Sofia? What is his story? These questions could be explored through other images that tell the story of Grandma Sofia's life, in a field to harvest wheat or in the kitchen to prepare food. This visual narrative allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the subject's life without the need to superimpose a verbal narrative that explains what the image already tells.

The Legacy of Eugene W. Smith: Pure Photographic Storytelling

A masterful example of how a photograph can tell a story without the need for words can be found in the work of Eugene W. Smith, one of the masters of 20th century photography. Smith has raised photographic storytelling to an extraordinary level, as demonstrated by his famous essays Country Doctor (1948), Nurse Midwife (1951) and, above all, Minamata (1971-1973).

Minamata is particularly relevant for understanding how an image can tell a powerful story without the need for explanations. The most famous photo in this series, “Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath”, portrays Tomoko's mother bathing her daughter suffering from a malformation caused by mercury poisoning. The image is poignant: it transmits not only the pain of illness, but also a deep sense of love and care. The visual power is such that any further explanation would only diminish its impact.

Despite its strength, the image was withdrawn from circulation many years after its publication, in 1997, out of respect for Tomoko's memory at the request of the Uemura family. This gesture demonstrates how a photograph can contain such an intense and visceral narrative that it becomes unbearable for those involved. It is the very essence of the power of photography: to tell deep and complex stories that go beyond the need for words.

Visual Immortality: Dorothea Lange and Alfred Eisenstaedt

Dorothea Lange and Alfred Eisenstaedt, two of the most iconic photographers of the 20th century, have demonstrated with their images how a single photograph can contain historical and universal moments, able to speak directly to the viewer without the need for further explanation. Their photographs not only capture the essence of the moment, but they crystallize its emotion, making it accessible to subsequent generations.

In the case of Dorothea Lange, his most famous image, Migrant Mother (1936), taken during the Great Depression, has become a symbol of the suffering and resilience of an entire generation. The hollowed-out face of the mother, surrounded by her children, expresses desperation, but also a silent tenacity in the face of the economic and social injustice of the time. Lange captures in a single shot not only a mother's individual difficulties, but the collective condition of thousands of families displaced by poverty and hunger. It is an image that does not need to be explained because its emotional and narrative force is immediate. Photography transcends the individual subject and becomes the representation of a historical moment, in which humanity itself is put to the test.

Similarly, Alfred Eisenstaedt, with its iconic image V-J Day in Times Square (1945), captured a moment of collective euphoria: the kiss between a sailor and a nurse in Times Square to celebrate the end of World War II. This photograph has become one of the most powerful symbols of the end of the conflict, an image that represents the joy and relief of a world recovering from the devastation of war. Without the need for explanation, the spontaneity of the gesture between two strangers transmits a sense of victory, of renewed hope and of a brighter future. The audience immediately recognized themselves in that scene, and the same shot ended up embodying the entire spirit of an era.

Both images, while rooted in very specific historical moments, have a universal power that still resonates today. Lange and Eisenstaedt did not try to add a false meaning or to explain their images in words, because these photographs already contain everything needed to convey the message. They are a perfect example of how a visually powerful image doesn't need to be accompanied by lengthy explanations or explanatory texts. Their strength lies in the fact that they speak directly to the viewer's heart and mind, inviting them to experience the emotion of the moment without filters.

The reportage image: a visual construction

Reportage photography is not limited to capturing isolated moments, but aims to build a complex visual narrative, where each image adds depth and meaning. Photographers like Abbas and Jean Gaumy they have been able to masterfully use shapes, geometries and visual contrasts to engage the viewer and tell stories that do not require long explanatory texts.

Abbas, a member of the famous Magnum agency, was a visual chronicler of cultural and religious dynamics, able to use lines and plans to express the complexity of historical contexts. A significant example of his work is found in the documentation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, where he captured not only the most crucial moments of the conflict, but also the apparently minor details that defined its essence. In those images, the wise use of the contrast between light and shadow, between movement and static, creates compositions that transmit the energy and tension of the historical moment. Among his works, Iran Diary 1971—2002 represents an important collection to understand his ability to visually narrate events of great historical importance.

Similarly, Jean Gaumy, known for his reportages in fishing communities and prisons, uses unusual perspectives and rigorous geometries to create images that are striking for their narrative power. His work on board fishing boats, documented in projects such as Men at Sea (L'Homme en mer), represents a perfect example of how the use of visual contrast can convey the emotional and physical intensity of an environment. The vast marine areas are the background to human frailty, with the subjects placed in positions that enhance the immensity of the ocean and the smallness of man.

In both cases, Abbas and Gaumy demonstrate that the power of photography lies in its ability to construct images that stimulate the viewer's imagination and interpretation, without the need for lengthy explanations. Their deep knowledge of the subjects and contexts they photograph is reflected in the wise use of forms and visual contrasts. Each image is a piece of a larger narrative, which leaves room for reflection and intuitive understanding by the viewer, without the need for texts or articles to justify their existence.

The challenges of amateur photography and the illusion of visual complexity

Today there is a tendency, both among amateurs and professionals, to explain images excessively, a sign of an inability to communicate through visual language alone. This phenomenon, originally typical of amateur photography, has also expanded into the professional world, where hermetic and complex images are used as a vehicle for abstract concepts that cannot be understood without an explanatory text. Visually weak photographic projects are reinforced by an artificial continuity of images accompanied by texts that justify their meaning, creating a hybrid in which images, on their own, do not hold up.

Even some contemporary professionals pursue apparent complexity, trying to ennoble cryptic images with textual explanations. As noted by scholars such as John Berger and Susan Sontag, the strength of an image should lie in its ability to speak directly to the viewer, without the need for translations or explanations. Ways of Seeing di Berger emphasizes how an image can 'reveal' or 'obscure' reality: when the visual construction is weak, words become a refuge to fill this gap, depriving the viewer of the opportunity to interpret the image personally.

Susan Sontag, in On Photography, denounces the overlap between image and word, underlining how the growing tendency to accompany images with explanatory texts derives from a culture that has lost faith in the power of images themselves. This approach, according to Sontag, not only limits the impact of the image, but reduces it to a mere illustration of a concept that is imposed from outside, instead of letting it speak for itself.

Visual construction and the language of images

Photography has its own grammar and visual syntax that should not be replaced by words. How does it support Vilém Flusser into Towards a Philosophy of Photography, the power of images lies in their ability to synthesize a complex idea or reality in an immediate and accessible visual form. When images become accessories to a verbal discourse, they lose their original value and become simple 'visual quotes' to illustrate a textual narrative.

This drift leads to a saturation of photographic projects in which complexity is artificially constructed: instead of letting the image be the starting point for independent reflection, a predefined reading is imposed on the viewer, reducing freedom of interpretation.

The Psychology of Visual Perception: The Autonomy of Images between Arnheim and Barthes

The psychology of visual perception and communication, as evidenced by studies by authors such as Rudolf Arnheim and Roland Barthes, has provided a solid theoretical basis for understanding why images should be able to speak for themselves, arousing curiosity and stimulating the viewer's autonomous interpretation. These scholars have analyzed how visual perception and communication through images involve complex and profound cognitive processes that do not necessarily require the aid of additional words or explanations.

Rudolf Arnheim, in his work Visual Thinking, argues that visual perception is closely linked to conceptual thinking. According to Arnheim, the visual process is not passive, but active: our brain does not just receive visual information, but processes it, trying to interpret shapes, colors, perspectives and contrasts. In this process, the image becomes an instrument of thought, capable of stimulating reasoning without the need to be translated into a verbal code. Arnheim emphasizes that the strength of a good image lies precisely in its ability to engage the viewer and induce him to reflect through the cognitive mechanisms proper to vision. When an image is powerful, it activates the viewer's critical thinking, allowing them to discover and create connections independently, without the need for explanations or captions.

On the other hand, Roland Barthes, in his essay The clear room (Glossy Room, 1980), explores the idea that the power of a photograph lies not only in its ability to represent reality, but also in the way in which it evokes deep emotions and ideas without verbal mediation. Barthes introduces the concepts of Studium and Punctum: the Studium represents the cultural and informational elements that a photograph immediately communicates, while the Punctum it is that detail, often unexpected, that affects the observer on an emotional and personal level. This detail can evoke a profound meaning that transcends immediate visual representation. According to Barthes, the Punctum is what makes a photograph memorable, capable of arousing a personal and intimate reflection. The power of the image, therefore, lies in its direct and spontaneous impact, which overrides the need for explanations. In this way, Barthes demonstrates that photography has a subjective dimension that words cannot fully capture: each observer is touched differently, depending on their experience and emotions.

Both Arnheim and Barthes highlight a key point: the image is a self-sufficient means of communication, which stimulates thought and emotions through vision itself. Words, in this context, can become redundant or even reductive, since they limit the spectator's individual experience. When an image is over-explained, the viewer's freedom to explore its meaning in a personal way is taken away.

These studies emphasize that the act of accompanying images with long explanatory texts, typical of amateur photography, is a simplification that goes against the very nature of visual perception. As highlighted by Arnheim, the image should stimulate critical thinking, while Barthes reminds us that it must touch emotional chords directly. In both cases, the superposition of a didactic text on a photograph reduces the communicative and interpretative potential of the image, confining the viewer to a predefined interpretation and leaving no room for personal reflection and intellectual autonomy.

Conclusion

Explaining a photograph is the visual equivalent of explaining a joke: if it needs to be explained, then it didn't work. Great photographers such as Eugene W. Smith, Dorothea Lange and Alfred Eisenstaedt have demonstrated how photography can tell powerful and complex stories without the need to add words. The images should be able to enclose a part of reality and arouse curiosity, without the need for verbose articles or excessive descriptions. Let the photographs speak for themselves, as they should, without having to be supported by verbose and redundant texts.

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Bibliographic references:‍

1. Arnheim, Rudolf. Visual Thinking. University of California Press, 1969. EAN: 9780520242265

Arnheim explores how visual perception is not only passive, but a complex cognitive process that contributes to conceptual thinking. It is a key text for understanding the role of vision in the processing of information and images.

2. Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. Hill and Wang, 1980. EAN: 9780374521349

Barthes introduces the concepts of studium and punctum, reflecting on how images evoke emotions and meanings without the need for an explanatory text.

3. Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Penguin Books, 1972. EAN: 9780140135152

A classic in the study of visual communication, Berger explores how images can communicate in a powerful and direct way, without the need for explanatory verbal contexts.

4. Sontag, Susan. On Photography. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1977. EAN: 9780312420093

An essay that critically reflects on the role of photography in modern culture, with particular attention to the relationship between images and texts.

5. Flusser, Vilem. Towards a Philosophy of Photography. Reaktion Books, 1983. EAN: 9780907259239

A philosophical analysis of photography as a visual medium, which emphasizes the ability of images to communicate complex ideas in a synthetic form.

6. Smith, Eugene W.. W. Eugene Smith: Shadow and Substance: The Life and Work of an American Photographer. McGraw-Hill, 1989. EAN: 9780070593550

A biographical and critical study on the career of Eugene W. Smith, with particular attention to his narrative approach to photography.