By saying, “photography came to establish and delimit the terrain of the other, to define both the generalized look - the typology - and the the contingent instance of deviance and social pathology,” [1] Allan Sekula means that through photography, common images were able to be captured and established as “common” and “traditional” when comparing the difference between bourgeois portraits and criminal mugshots.[2] The concept of Other seems to be a dividing point, both in social situations and photography. When referring to “other,” it is often interpreted as being different and outside of the norm. This is usually taken in a negative way, for example, when referring to minorities as “others.” When taking groups of people and labeling them as this, it refers to them not fitting in the social norms of a social group. This is because in most cases, what is not considered “other” has usually been established as the common majority and the original. This can have a negative effect because it created a divide between those who are in the majority, “normal” group and the others.

     In the case of photography, the concept of otherness also applies. It developed in the early uses of photography because of how images were captured of people at the time and who was able to have access and privilege to photography. Those who had this privilege were mostly wealthy, white families. While people of color were enslaved, their photographs were taken differently. Slaves were photographed, but their portraits were different. They were often posed as if they were on display, drawing a stark comparison to other portraits, like the daguerreotype by J.T. Zealy of an African born slave. In this case, you can compare the bourgeois photographs to criminal mugshots. Many criminals, even today, are diagnosed with illness and mental instability and this was heightened at the time in the mid 1800s, with limited resources to identify and help those with mental illnesses. Because of this, criminal mugshots captured images of the ill and mentally unstable, identifying them as the “other.” This leads to a system of representation. A new “social body” was invented and represented, known as  the criminal body.[3] This type of photography captured the criminal body and provided a “new instrumental potential in photography” which was recognized as “a silence that silences,”[4] by both Talbot and the author of the comic homage to Daguerre. This “new instrument” further took away the voices of the criminalized and diminished their credibility, leaving them with no voice and labeled as mentally unstable. This system of representation was really a lack of representation as it left the criminalized repressed as their images were deemed as other when in contrast with traditional images of the bourgeois.

     Positivism had an influence in early scientific uses of the photograph because “photography doubly fulfilled the Enlightenment dream of a universal language: the universal mimetic language of the camera yielded up a higher, more cerebral truth, a truth that could be uttered in the universal abstract language of mathematics.”[5] Because of this photography was explained as if it was “written in the language of mathematics”. Although many can look at photographs, or even the concept of photography and see it as simply an art form, there are many uses of photography outside of just art, such as scientific uses. Sekula talks about how photography is able to capture images and interpret and use it in a scientific way.

     One example discussed is that photography provides details, by capturing an image, it is able “to reduce nature to its geometrical essence.”[6] It also has an influence on the records of human physiognomy. Human physiognomy looks at the physical profile of the human head and face and assigns characterological significance to each anatomic feature on the head and face. Johaan Caspar Lavater argues that, “the original language of Nature, written on the face of Man could be deciphered by a rigorous physiognomy science.”[7] This also further proves that when capturing an image like when using photography, there are scientific uses, such as identifying a person or their physical features. Using photography for records of human physiognomy was especially important and useful when looking at criminal records. Criminals in their portraits can be assessed by their outer appearance and their features were able to be identified and assessed using photography and images. Positivism had an influence because knowledge was able to be rationally justified through images because they provided logical proof. The knowledge was able to be obtained using both photography and the records of human physiognomy, that were captured in photographs and sketched images, because of the natural properties they were able to display and provide natural and genuine knowledge. 

     Traits of the photograph that led Victorian scientists to trust in the accuracy and truthfulness of photographic images that photographs are able to visualize general evidence.[8] A camera is able to capture a still moment in time, in a way that cannot be described in writing. Unlike in works of writing, it is less common and unlikely to manipulate an image. Although it is a possibility, that images can be manipulated or changed to display a different narrative, they are still able to display a great amount of truth. Even with a bias, unlike writing, photographs cannot capture a false image because what they are capturing still displays a side of truthfulness. It can be done to use photography to only capture one side of a narrative, but that does not make what is captured inaccurate. It captures a moment in time and what can be seen by the human eye and provides a permanent image that can be used as photographic image evidence. This is helpful to scientists because they can study an image and assess it for what it is. 

     Alphonse Bertillon, a Paris police official, created what was the first effective modern system that was able identify criminals. He combined photographic portraits with anthropometric descriptions and used standardized and abbreviated notes that were written on cards. He then used these cards in an organized way to make a filing system that was statistically based. While Francis Galton, an English statistician, created the composite portraiture. These portraits used the periphery of criminology, meaning they looked at criminology on a surface level from an outside perspective.[9] Galton’s focus was on “hereditary and racial betterment”, so this led him to search for criminal types that were biologically determined. This was different from Bertillon, because rather than focusing on individuals’ specific physical, facial features, Galton’s focus was on contesting a criminal type and his photographic impressions of an abstract was a nonexistent criminal face. By saying, “the projects of Bertillon and Galton constitute two methodological poles of the positivist attempts to define and regulate social deviance”[10], Sekula means that both Bertillon and Galton had similar goals in mind, but used different methodologies and ways to do so. Bertillon, as a police official, his goals were to help the demands of police work and did so by individualizing in a practical and operational way. On the other hand, Galton was more theoretical and his aims were to visualize generic evidence and intervene in human reproduction and did so by encouraging the “fit” and discouraging the “unfit”.[11] 

     There were many takeaways from Sekula’s essay. One thing I found particularly interesting is the concept of “others.” Even in modern day, “otherness” is a concept that is so ingrained in our society that many don’t even think about or realize why there is an “other” category in social groups. This idea of different social groups is more than simply an idea or concept, because it comes into play in daily life. Social groups that are considered others can be minorities and low income groups, there are many limitations they deal with because they are put into this category. They have limited resources that other groups are able to access, such as higher education, which is a challenge for many minorities and people coming from low income communities. This is a way to control people and creates a cycle that is hard to break away from. 

     Another problem that is unavoidably present when photography is used to survey and control people is the bias of what is being photographed. There is nearly bias in every aspect of public information and the same can be said for photography. I think over time, the bias has increased as photography has become so common. Before, it was not as simple to capture images, but now with nearly all phones and devices having features to photograph, everyone who has access to these devices also has access to photography and is able to use it in seconds. These photographs are also able to be distributed faster and to a larger audience than ever before. Because of this, I think it is even more important to acknowledge the bias and not take every photograph as strict evidence. For example, on social media, there are several types of bias. One is that photo editing is more available and prevalent. Also, people can say an image is from a certain place or time, and this can be hard to argue. Due to this, it can cause viewers of an image to believe this and have expectations that are not always even possible. This is unavoidably present and in a way controls how people think, not only about others, but can also have an impact on themselves. Although there are these unavoidable negative aspects of photography, in modern day, overall, I view the invention and growth of photography in a positive light as it able to capture images in incredible ways and is able to shed light and does exemplify truthfulness in a way that otherwise would be difficult or impossible to do so.

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1. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 7. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/ 
2. Deborah Poole, “Vision, Race, and Modernity: A Visual Economy of the Andean Image World.” NJ: Princeton University Press (1997): 140
3. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 6. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/ 
4. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 6. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/ 
5. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 17. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/ 
6. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 17. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/ 
7. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 11. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/ 
8. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 19. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/ 
9. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 18. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/ 
10. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 19. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/ 
11. Allan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive." October, Vol. 39 (1986): 19. https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/