A Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Migrant Mother' By Lewis Hine

Jordan Ferris "While photographs may not lie, liars may photograph". This line, stated by Lewis Hine, a famous photographer from the late 19th to mid 20th century, is starting to become a phrase that really has some meaning (McClymer, 2011). It was once thought that a photograph told the complete truth. However, in more recent times with the technology of the camera, photographers now have the option to not only stage pictures, but to also go back and retouch them once they are already taken. These two forms of photo manipulation are causing a serious ethical dilemma in the photojournalism world. “Migrant Mother”, a photograph of down and out mom Florence Thompson, taken by photographer Dorothea Lange, is a captivating photo, that at first glance has a major impact
While photojournalists should take pictures unplanned, many are starting to take staged photographs, and it is becoming a serious ethical dilemma. As viewers of photojournalists’ work, we want to see the truth. We want to see real life accounts of what is going on in the world. Pictures are supposed to be worth a thousand words, but if photographs continue to be staged as they are being staged now, we will need words to accurately know what is going on. Dorothea Lange’s photograph of “Migrant Mother” was a somewhat accurate depiction of what was happening at the time. However, the picture that was so publicized was not necessarily “real life”. The “cover shot” we see that Lange took was much less impactful than the photograph that she took staged of the family. So why stage photos? In this case, Lange wanted to show how dramatic and hard times were for people in the depression and drought. Staging the photo made this happen, even if it omitted some of the real life to it. For example, Thompson’s oldest daughter was not included in the picture, because people react stronger to younger children.