How photography has shifted our perspective of war
Tue Mar 29 2022
By Katya Mulvaney
I have little doubt that many of you will have felt some degree of emotion stirred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our news channels, social media and news alerts have been buzzing with images and stories from Kyiv and other areas in the country that have been under attack. War photography has helped to educate and most importantly, create awareness about the realities of war. It has also played a part in moulding our perceptions of war throughout history.
The beginnings of war photography – the American Civil War
Although many battles have been captured over time, there are some in which photography played a more impactful role than others. The earliest of these is The American Civil War. Recognised as the first major conflict to be photographed consistently, this war is widely regarded as the birthplace of war photography as a genre.
Of course, things were done a little differently in the early 1860’s. Soldiers were photographed in full uniform before going into battle. These images were sent home for the families to have as a keepsake while their young men were away. This rather formal style of imagery helped to create a perception of these young soldiers as heroes.
The evolution of war photography – navigating between truth and propaganda
During the upheaval of the two world wars, war photography became an established means of communicating the reality of conflict. Pictures of war began to fill the pages of magazines and newspapers. This growth can be, in part, attributed to developments made in press printing and photographic equipment – particularly the emergence of the compact 35mm handheld camera.
While both world wars were photographically recorded, during WWII dissemination and impact of war photography moved to a new level. This was a defining point in history for images being used both to communicate the truth, and as a tool of propaganda.
For the photojournalist war photographer, their service to society is to portray war as truthfully as possible. They seek to raise awareness and inform the public which, in democracies, helps hold elected politicians accountable.
On the other hand, for the propagandist war photographer, the goal is not to describe the truth of war (although sometimes propagandist goals and the truth may intersect) but to use their images to reinforce an official narrative. In the current war in Ukraine, we can see how the battle to shape public opinion (for or against the conflict) is partly driven by imagery. Both sides are using propaganda to rally support.
Importantly, however, our trust in the veracity of the photographic image has declined. In the traditional days of film photography, we tended to believe that ‘the camera never lies’. Photographic images recorded on celluloid film, though edited and selective in their framing, were generally considered to be authentic records. In the current digital era, our confidence in the truthfulness of images has been eroded by our knowledge that digital pictures are relatively easy to manipulate.
Photo by Photo by Sinitta Leunen
War photography’s ‘golden era’ – the Vietnam War
When someone mentions the Vietnam War, several famous photos come to mind – Eddie Adams’ images of a Viet Cong prisoner being executed and Nick Ut’s Napalm Girl, to name a couple. Taken in 1972, Nick Út’s terrifying, Pulitzer Prize-winning, image of a naked girl and other children fleeing a Napalm attack is credited with playing a pivotal role in swaying public opinion against the Vietnam war. Its unvarnished depiction of the child victims of American bombing brought home both the horror and injustice of war.
These and other images taken of the Vietnamese battlefront had a massive impact on the public’s perception of the war. A perception that would forever change the course of history and how society viewed war. Further advancements in technology, including portable colour video recorders, enabled photojournalists to access and capture battle images more easily, with even less technic