The Mirror with a Memory

This article explains the bias that can be seen in every photograph. Every photographer chooses what they decide to capture, and in many instances, the photographer poses the photograph to make it look how he or she wants it to look. This creates bias. Jacob Riis’s goal of his writing and photography was to make the issues of the poor visible to all the citizens of New York and to inspire change. He took photographs to show the reality of the lives of the poor.  But are his photographs a true depiction of the reality? Many of Riis’s photographs were posed. Riis created the picture he believed would inspire the middle and upper class to help the poor. He chose which shots to capture and which ones were not worth being photographed. Riis created the vision he wanted. Although Riis, like all writers and photographers, was biased, his pictures and words present an important message. The poor needed help. They were living in terrible conditions. Riis’s photographs effectively portray the dire situation of the poor in New York.