For my movie poster, I chose the phrase “mirroring reality,” used in Susan Sontag’s book On Photography. This phrase comes from the quote “Even when photographs are most concerned with mirroring reality, they are still haunted by tacit imperatives of taste and conscience” (Sontag, p. 6). She states that photographers aim to capture reality as it unfolds, but this does not mean that they are simply depicting reality as it is. Photographers can pick what to photograph, how to frame it, and which aspects of a scene to exclude, allowing them to perfect or shape the reality they are presenting. In this approach, photographers become spectators, observing events without interfering since, if they do, who would capture the moment? When tragic or difficult situations occur, they may continue to observe and photograph, focusing on getting the best perspective or angle, even if what they are documenting is painful or wrong. This demonstrates the tension between photographing truth and the decisions photographers make about how that reality will be perceived by others. This also raises the question of whether photos can ever accurately depict reality. A photograph may appear to be an objective record of an event, but the photographer has already made decisions about what the spectator will see and how they will perceive it. The photographer determines when to snap the photograph, what to put in the frame, and what to exclude. As a result, a photograph can both reflect reality and create a unique version of reality for the spectator. This is why I believe the phrase “mirroring reality” is important; it implies that images can show us something that actually happened while still changing our understanding of it.
For the poster, I decided to focus on the photographer capturing what they consider to be the ideal shot while also changing the viewer’s sense of reality. I chose a photograph of a burning building to create a dramatic and powerful picture. I then overlaid a camera over the image, adjusting the shot seen on the camera screen to focus on the firefighter. This creates the illusion of the shot being captured in real time and relates to Susan Sontag’s concept of “mirroring reality.” The bold, uppercase style makes the title stand out against the bright flames, creating a serious, cinematic atmosphere. I also utilized a high contrast between the white text and the orange background to make the headline easier to read. The repeated firefighter image on the camera screen demonstrates how photographers may frame, select, and rearrange reality for their audience.