In “The Thing Itself,” from The Photographer’s Eye by John Szarkowski, what is the difference between the thing that is shown in a photograph or the subject of the photograph and the photograph? According to this short text, why might the photograph be more important than the thing itself?
The difference between the photograph’s subject and the subject of the photograph is that the photograph’s subject can be perceived as the main message of the photograph without taking into the account what the elements of photography are and how they are being used can convey the real message behind the photograph and the story that is being told. The subject of the photograph for example can be a person surrounded by a specific background and a general look at the photograph may give the idea that the person is the idea behind story of the photograph, however, many other features such as the angle of the picture, the background, the lighting and sense of movement can show you exactly what the true underlying purpose of taking the photo actually is.
The elements of photographic style can be used by the photographer to direct our attention and change how we see something. You state this clearly but you didn’t answer the second part of the question. According to the text, the photograph can become more important than the thing itself because it is what is remembered.