Berger argues that mechanical reproduction detaches images from their original context, authority, and ritual meaning. Smartphone photography radicalises this idea. From reproduction to instant circulation: Images are no longer reproduced after being made; they are produced for circulation. A photograph today is incomplete until it is shared, scrolled, liked, archived, forgotten. The meaning is shaped less by the photographer’s intention than by platform context whether thats the Instagram feed, WhatsApp group, cloud storage, algorithmic ranking
Berger’s claim that seeing comes before words. Smartphones intensifies this pre-verbal dominance.We now see before thinking, caption before reflecting, post before remembering.The use of Filters, Presets, and AI enhancements pre-shape perception before conscious choice. Our vision becomes automated: the phone decides exposure, focus, beauty, sharpness.
This shifts Berger’s idea , Seeing is no longer merely culturally conditioned. Seeing is technologically pre-scripted.The smartphone does not just show the world; it teaches us How the world should look!
Berger insists that images reflect power relations. Smartphone photography makes this explicit:Every photo is taken with an imagined audience in mind.The question is no longer “What am I seeing?” but “How will this be received?”. This I feel effects students , an emphasis on the latter is – Is this an expectation of what the Educator will give a positive response to ” the LIKE” if we were using an Instagram analogy. Is this what the Industry expects and recognises and how does this perform in the socio economic spheres of influence.
The technology of the front-facing camera turns seeing into self-surveillance. A Performative seeing and an anticipation of the future post already in mind. Berger’s insight that “the way we see things is affected by what we know or believe” becomes:
The way we see things is affected by how we expect them to circulate.
Berger, J. (1972) Ways of seeing. London: Penguin.