Image That Speaks A Thousand Words!

I happened to read this quote in Mr. Raghu Rai’s book – Raghu Rai’s India in Black and White, a book that I revere for its mystical imagery- back in 2011 when I had just started learning photography. Little did I know that it will be the foundation of the way I would photograph!

Last year around the same time, I got a golden opportunity to ask  Mr. Raghu Rai about this quote and what inspired him to write it. The answer was very simple yet powerful. He said and I quote  “ The greatest art or Divine art is the one that restores peace inside you. Silence inside you!”  10 years ago I may not have understood its true meaning but I am glad I could get an essence out of it and put it into my work.

The saying – a photograph speaks a thousand words- would daunt me as a young photographer and I always felt my pictures weren’t speaking a thousand words. But when I came across this quote by Mr. Rai, I was assured that they didn’t need to speak a thousand words after all!

This quote helped me to take a step back and just observe and appreciate things around me without trying to find or attach meaning to everything. As humans also, isn’t it important to just accept people or situations just the way they are without judgements?

As a person who doesn’t like to read too much into a situation and who believes more in instinct and impulse, I found this idea of capturing silences more interesting. It set me free from the mental block that I had and I found myself much at ease while photographing.

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But does that mean you start shooting mindlessly? NOT AT ALL!

A work of art without purpose is no art at all.

Finding or attaching meaning/stories to images isn’t the only purpose of photographs. Sometimes it’s just about capturing the beauty of what lies in front of the camera. When you shoot mindlessly, you are not putting any effort into even trying to make a visually appealing image. You just go about making snapshots! and that’s not what the quote preaches.

Sometimes it’s ok to just capture an image that appeals to you visually, whether or not it makes any sense to you or anyone else. But from my experience, I can guarantee that when you set yourself free, like the way I did, the process of making meaningful images starts happening subconsciously. Because now you are more accepting of everything that you see and are not finding something specific. When you try to find something very specific, you are putting blinders on and thus blocking new ideas around you.

Capturing silences is about appreciating the sheer visual power of an image. Creating images that have the strength to leave a lasting impression on the viewer’s mind just by its visual. It’s also a great way of allowing the viewer to decide for themselves what to read, rather than dictating it to them. Once you start capturing your images this way, you will understand the power of silences. It will help you find the true purpose of your art.

The quote holds more significance today in the age of social media where we are surrounded by images that almost always have a lot of information attached to it. Unfortunately, a lot of times I tend to stumble upon images that aren’t particularly powerful or rather just mediocre, but the captions (read essays) attached to them tend to tell a different story. They sometimes make me wonder, Did I fail at understanding the image? or was I too critical?

But with time I have understood that the truth lies in the algorithms on which these social media sites work. The more you write, the more you tag it will reach more people. And for some people, that’s the sole purpose of the art that they put across- likes, shares and subscribers!

Yes, it’s true that we cannot generalise this for everyone, as there are genuinely talented artists out there whose work truly reflects what they write. But I would like to share this as advice to young photographers to work towards making powerful images rather than spending time writing heavily about an average image. Once you make a powerful image, the words will flow automatically, almost effortlessly.

So work towards making a thousand powerful images rather than just that one image that will speak a thousand words!