Question

What gives a photograph meaning?

Answer 1

It shows setting, emotion, could have a story behind it. a photo is 1,000 words :)

Answer 2

Photographs have enormous visual power, but on their own they have absolutely no meaning. The meaning of a photograph is a construct that involves a group of people operating against a specific background (news, art, …), subject to the group’s personal, cultural and political biases. I think what we should be talking about is not how truthful photographs are, but how truthful we expect them to be, given the background they’re operating in.