Photography in Theory and Everyday Life: Snapshot photography


  • Snapshot images as both personal artifacts and cultural documents
  • 'Because the "social life" of snapshot photography resides in both the private and public realms - in that tis images are intended for family and friends, yet are consumed through conventional codes - the genre uniquely lends itself to a sense of communal belonging, and thus has the potential to aide the construction of alternative group identities.' (Zuromskis)
  • Snapshot as a photograph taken by an "amateur" and "made for use within the private sphere of the... family"
  • Zuromskis attempts to define snapshot photography not by its “essence,” but by that which undermines its perceived qualities, reinforcing Roland Barthes’s notion that “the photograph shows us everything and nothing”
  • Andy Warhol and Nan Goldin’s uses of the “snapshot aesthetic,”- the genre can be used to form communal alternative identities. 
  • Snapshooting was performative, a “social” act that allowed them to document their interactions with members of their inner circles, and ultimately to create what Michael Warner has termed “counter-publics” (Zuromskis 211). 
  • The conventions and meanings of the genre remain consistent; they are merely accelerated, and rendered more accessible, immediate, and even liberating, through new technologies and media venues. 
  • Snapshot Photography takes us a step further towards unraveling this mystery, helping us understand the important role these image-objects play in the practice of everyday life.
(source: A review of Catherine Zuromskis, Snapshot Photography: The Lives of Images, Patricia Vettel-Becker)

 Relevance to my project:
I want my photos to look like they are 'snapshots' of everyday life; just snapshots of the everyday life taken at that time without any specific thought. They will be 'private' shots as they will represent the girl's private life but also they will represent the female gender and therefore represent the female identity. Therefore in my project I will document the everyday life and therefore present the photos as snapshots.

 Jack Terry
source: jackterry.co.uk

"I photograph people, document life, and love what I do. I create images with the intimacy of caught moments and always do it with a big smile on my face. I constantly look to portray the natural emotions of everyday life and ensure that there is a narrative behind every shoot." (Jack Terry)


Similar to Jack Terry, I want to document parts of everyday life in order to show the reality of everyday life and therefore work as snapshots. Similarly to the photographer I want to create a narrative in each photo in order to create a context and show the real everyday life and the present the female life and identity.

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