2. Abstract* - Historical photographs and historical study: Are photographs always reliable as historical sources?
Professor KWONG Chi-man

Before the Emergence of Photography

• The use of graphics to depict or commemorate events probably predates writing
  • For example: cave drawings in different parts of the world

• As printing press became more widespread in modern times, pictorials were major means for people to understand current affairs
  • Pictorials on the graphical news reports were not totally reliable. Artists painted these pictorials with some limitations
    • For example: Artists had very limited knowledge of what they were actually drawing, and could only base their creations on faint impressions or fragmented information provided to them
  • These “inaccurate” pictures are by no means useless as historical sources.
    • One can understand more about the people and the society that produced them

History in photographs

• The very first photograph appeared in France in 1826
  • At that time, photography was a very troublesome affair
    • For example: the camera had to expose for days in order to take a picture. These cameras could only capture images of unmoved objects
• The first major historical event that was depicted in photography was the Crimean War (1853-56)
  • Reporters equipped themselves with cameras and they used them to shoot the battlefield and the soldiers
    • Photos appeared on major pictorials
      • Presented unadulterated scenes of the battlefield and gave the readers a sense of the “truth” from the front
      • Many of these early photographs were posed photographs
        • Readers could hardly identify whether the picture was a posed one or not

Are photographs unadulterated historical sources?

• Photographs may not be neutral and objective representations of the past
  • They are by nature not more reliable than other historical sources

• Photographers have certain preferences or biases and may want to use their works for different purposes
  • They can always choose what to be included and highlighted in their pictures by positioning and cropping

• People even edit the photographs during post-production stage
  • For example: add different elements in the same image, paint on photographs, or brush away unwanted elements

Pay attention to details, have a questioning attitude and verify the credibility of the photo from different perspectives

• Detail of the photos are unintentionally captured by the photographers. From that, we can spot interesting insights about the past

• When studying historical photos, instead of simply following the lead of the creator of the photograph, one always need to pay attention to detail of a photograph

• Understand more about the historical background of the photo in order to read more from it

* Please view the video clip to understand the detailed explanation given by Professor KWONG Chi-man.

Enquiry question

With reference to the above sources, how reliable are photographs as historical sources? Explain your view.