The truth of photographic images has been challenged since the 19th century when the means for making them were invented. While the medium was embraced by the public at large, photographers have continued to grapple with the methods and techniques available to them, experimenting with technologies as they emerged and discovering the capacity of the medium to represent the world they experienced.
 
Photographs are inherently subjective in the ways in which they are made and perceived. There is no absolute truth in the photographic image. Photographers frame the reality that they see, whether the process is spontaneous or planned.

The truth of photography relies not only on the integrity of the image, but on its context and accessibility.

VIEWING TRUTH IN PHOTOGRAPHY

The themes can be viewed in sequence or in whichever order the viewer chooses. Select a theme from the menu bar at the top of the page, or click one of the buttons below.​​

FOCUS

Focus highlights photographers, organizations, and issues crucial to our understanding and questioning of Truth in Photography.

THREE PERSPECTIVES ON SOUTH AFRICA
Lindokuhle Sobekwa, Mikhael Subotzky, and Ernest Cole​

Magnum photographers Lindokuhle Sobekwa and Mikhael Subotzky discuss truth in photography and their work in South Africa, as well as how the photography of the late Ernest Cole connects to and influences their own photographs.

NO MORE DEEP STORIES
Maxim Dondyuk

Ukrainian photographer Maxim Dondyuk confronts difficult challenges documenting the war in Ukraine, including the resistance of the government to embedding photographers at the front line for long-term reporting.

A SYNONYM FOR SELF-PORTRAITURE
Tommy Kha

Tommy Kha talks about how he makes self-portraits using his own body as a site of conflicting narratives to represent himself and his history.

LOVE SONGS

The International Center of Photography's exhibition, Love Songs: Photography and Intimacy (June 1–September 11, 2023), was organized by renowned curator and writer Sara Raza. Clifford Prince King and Karla Hiraldo Voleau were featured in this exhibition as well as in Words Without Photos, a sound installation by Alan Govenar in the Soho stairwell of the ICP.

CONNECTING
Clifford Prince King

Using photography to connect with others in his community, artist Clifford Prince King seeks to express liberation and freedom through his photographs. 

CANDID
Karla Hiraldo Voleau

With a strong focus on intimacy, artist and photographer Karla Hiraldo Voleau recreates photographs she made of one of her past relationships using a lookalike to reenact these spontaneous moments.
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