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Gender is one of the most crucial factors that affect a lot of things such as works, roles, and so on. In view of works, photography has taken a center stage as an important job that is often required in many instances. Whether people are celebrating, mourning, or doing other activities, photographs are usually needed to capture the moments and immortalize them for as long as possible. The availability of various tools such as mobile lightroom presets has further improved the results of photography sessions. However, irrespective of the technology or tool, gender seems to play a role in determining photographs that are captured by each photographer.
In other words, men and women tend to capture photographs in different ways and, as such, the results can sometimes be different. Irrespective of genres of photography, there seem to be some differences in the pictures captured by men and those captured by women. It is worthwhile to note that a few studies have been carried out on this subject and this article will have an overview of the possible differences that exist between the photos captured by men and women.
While there are lots of similarities in the photos, some factors may play a role in determining the differences in the photos captured by these genders. The major factors identified including the following:
Feelings and emotions
The role of emotions and feelings in photography can never be overemphasized. Many photographers have established the fact that subconscious, dreams, intuition, and memories, which all affect emotions, have contributed heavily to their works.
However, the difference in the feelings and emotions of men and women has always been a major cause of debates among several scientists and researchers. While some claim that women are generally more emotional than men, others propose that there is no significant difference between the emotions and feelings of the two genders. Nevertheless, as long as photography is concerned, emotion is discussed with consideration for other factors such as religion, culture, geography and lots more. These factors might have influenced the upbringing of anyone irrespective of gender; hence, they will likely affect her emotions and feelings when capturing certain pictures that elicit a particular memory.
Let’s assume that a woman was raised in a place where many women were subjected to rape, domestic violence, infringed women’s rights, and so on. Her experience would likely be different from that of a man that was raised in the same environment. If she has to capture photographs related to any of her previous experiences, her feelings and emotions will be different from those of a man. As a result of this, the results of the photography sessions will be different from what will be produced by a man. Therefore, the feelings and emotions would have played a role in determining the photos captured.
Apart from the above, it is generally believed that women are usually more attracted to emotional models. Also, when compared to men, women are more likely to understand certain emotional facial expressions and cues as quickly as possible. This particular factor can go a long way in helping women to capture photographs that depict numerous emotions that will tell a lot of stories.
Differences in the working conditions
This factor is another cause of debate when it comes to the difference in pictures taken by women and men. Primarily, access to certain places is often more open to a particular gender than the other. Due to the culture and traditions, female photographers are usually likely to gain access to family houses in war-ravaged countries as well as refugee camps. Also, women are more drawn towards capturing women and children and showing various effects of the war on the average citizens of such warzones. This is more common in Eastern countries where the roles of women and men are more delineated. In fact, there are some countries where a lot of men will allow only women to take pictures of their daughters, sisters, and wives.
Men, on the other hand, will likely be more involved in war photography that depicts the firing lines, wounded men, and other related photos. Besides, men tend to have more freedom to photograph some religious rituals or occasions, which may be difficult for women to have access to.
As expected, the restriction and challenges that each gender may experience because of the working conditions may have a role to play in determining the photographers captured by men and women.
Reactions of the subjects of the photos
It is worthwhile to note that the subjects of the photos are also instrumental in determining the results of the photography session. In some cases, the subjects’ reactions to a particular gender may be different from the other. This factor is not directly related to the working condition or the emotion of the photographers; it is based on the perception of the subject.
For instance, the reaction of a young female villager when being photographed by a male photographer may be slightly different from her reaction to a female photographer. Similarly, in comparison to a male photographer, a female model may react differently to a female photographer. Of course, the reaction of the subjects of the photos will undoubtedly play a vital role in determining the photos that will be captured by the photographers.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, there is a slight difference in the way men and women view the world. Hence, it is not surprising that gender plays a role in the photos captured by men and women. It should, however, be noted that there are outliers. In other words, there are situations where the photographs captured by men will have the same results as those captured by women. Also, tons of confounding factors may play a significant role in the final results of the pictures captured by either gender. Nevertheless, all these factors do not negate the possible differences between the photos captured by these two genders.
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This content is sponsored by Gajura Constantin.
Photo: Shutterstock