On July, 10th 2016, after the death of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, protestors flocked to the street to take a stand against social injustice and police brutality. This breath-taking photo was captured by Johnathan Bachman during one of the protests in Baton Rouge. Viewers of this photo will most likely see a young woman standing up bravely to the police. Bachman, without a doubt, intended to capture the photo at this exact moment so that the viewer would empathize with the protestor, by manipulating contrast, repetition and proximity. Regardless, based on the viewer’s predetermined bias of the situation, one can argue that certain aspects of the photo can support either side

Contrast is an element of art that is used in many visual mediums to focus the viewer. This picture uses contrast of light to point the audience towards the important parts of the photo. The critical points of the photo stand out because they are dark figures in front of a bright background, these figures are the two police officers and Ieshia Evens. The contrast in this photo makes it easy to see the actions and body language of these primary characters, but what the body language and actions convey is up to the viewer. The first thing a viewer may notice from this photo is the actions of the three figures. Ieshia is standing while the two police officers are approaching her. This is where the viewer’s bias comes into play. If the audience has an anti-police bias, this movement will seem aggressive, but if the viewer has a pro-police bias, they will see this as a caring action. Next, the audience may see the body language that is highlighted by the contrast. One can see that all three members of the photo have outstretched arms. The message the body language communicates in this photo can be skewed towards the viewer’s bias of the current social issues. The outstretched arms of the police might be a sign of harm or compassion depending on the fixed prejudice of the viewer. 

Repetition is used in art all the time to display many different themes. In this photo, repetition is shown through the police officers lined up in the background. Bachman likely caught this element to display intimidation or hopelessness, but one might see hope and safety. Depending on your social viewpoint, the element of repetition in this can communicate either stance. If the viewer has a positive outlook of the police, associating them with words like rescue, justice or hero, then they might see that endless line of police as a line of safety and justice. On the contrary, if the viewer has a negative outlook on police, associating them with words like racists, shootings, and discrimination, then they will be terrified of that endless line of dangerous cops. Whatever the stance of the viewer, the element of repetition, in this photo, to reinforce their bias. 

Proximity is the last major element of this photo in play. The element of proximity is often used to show a bias of the photo through the eyes of the photographer. The portion of the photo that is closer to the audience is generally the bias that the photographer wants the viewer to lean towards. The viewer can see that the two main police officers and Ieshia Evens are shot at an equal distance from the audience. If Ieshia was shot closer to the audience, then feelings that the police are trying to harm her could arise, but if the photo was shot with the police closer to the audience then it could evoke feelings of safety from the police. If you can imagine this moment captured from another perspective, the stance of the photo may be skewed completely towards one bias or another. Since this photo was shot with all three characters pictured at equal distance from the viewer, this allows the audience push for the opinion based their preference. 

There are many different visual effects that Bachman used in this photo to try to push the audience towards the outlook of the protestor. Although this image is biased towards the protestor’s stance, there are certain aspects of the photo that could support the viewer’s social standpoint. The visual elements that highlight these components are contrast, repetition, and proximity. These elements highlight the parts of the photo that can emphasize one bias or another.

 