Morality and Photography

This image comes from Anthropologie's November 2011 Catalog. It is intended as a a fashion photo, to sell expensive clothes to Western women. However, the fact that the Western women in the expensive clothes are situated among native Peruvians in, what I assume to be, their native garb is suspect. Not only are they selling an image of the Western woman, they are constructing her in opposition to a Native American culture. She is sleek, dressed in muted tones, and in a style reminiscent of the West. The Peruvians, on the other hand, are dressed in bold colors in a scene depicting their environment made of mud and sticks. The use of a Native American culture to add mystery and authenticity to a photograph of a Western clothing brand and to construct an elite Western style in opposition to the native is morally questionable.

The importance of photography in documenting weddings illustrates an aspect of Western morality. Every couple is expected to have a professional photographer at their wedding. The photographer and the images s/he creates reproduce and reinforce the moral code of the society. To not have wedding photos is a lack of investment and appreciation for the marriage institution. To have wedding photos is a commitment to extending the ritual and its meaning into the future for the couple and others.

Which moments are captured by the wedding photographer are also neatly prescribed by cultural morals. The bride in her flowing white dress, the stoic groom, the presence of family and friends, the performed hand feeding of the cake...these images are expected to be provided by the wedding party and captured by the photographer. In doing so, the images reinforce ideas about gender roles (the woman's sexual purity before marriage as symbolized by her white dress, the man's strength and control in his suit and tie), community affirmation of the union (the bridesmaids and groomsmen), and the joy and "spontaneity" of "true love" (cake feeding).