Taylor 1

Caela Taylor

Smethurst

Composition II

9/22/12

#Instagramdebates

Using Instagram is hardly a tool for editing photos. In the articles "Opinion: Why Instagram Photos Cheat the Viewer" by Nick Stern and "Instagram is Debasing Real Photography" by Kate Bevan the authors find many reasons for this to be true. Both articles discuss how Instagram shouldn’t be considered an, but it does have its place in photography. Although both are right, Nick is more persuasive because he uses all three appeals, logos, pathos and ethos. His argument turns out to be a more logical approach rather than an emotional one.

Fist of all, I would like to explain the three appeals: Pathos, Ethos, and Logos. Pathos uses emotion to persuade the audience; you can use personal experiences, adverbs, word choice, visual images, etc. Ethos is more of a credible source used to convince your audience; you can use educational background, professional experiences, specialization, word choice, facts, and even visual images. Finally, we have Logos. This is when you use logic to make your point to the audience. You can use things such as facts, stats, visual images, and even diagrams. It’s important to know how all of these appeals work in order to analyze any article or reading.

Stern talks about how Instagram cheats the viewer of the actual photograph. By using this app, anyone can take a picture and become a photographer. In reality, it doesn't. Stern argues that true photography takes talent and skill. You have to set up the picture in an angle, catch the right lighting, and really capture the emotion. By using Instagram, the app sets the tone for you. The main reason Stern dislikes this app is because it fakes the emotion. When he was in Haiti, he truly felt the pain and captured it in his photos. By using this app, it allows the people that created the app to decide how to set up your picture; by just swapping the filter, it creates a fake emotion. This concludes his point that the viewer is being cheated.

In Nick Stern's article, he uses all three appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos. When he used Ethos, was displaying his credibility, career, and experience. Throughout his article, he is constantly reminding us of these things. In the very beginning, he lists an Editor's note listing the type of work he has done in the past; Nick makes it very clear that he is over qualified as a photographer by having many jobs all over the world doing what he does best, photography. Stern says, "The app photographer hasn't spent years learning his or her trade, imagining the scene, waiting for the light to fall just right, swapping lenses and switching angels." This is obvious that he is talking about his past experiences that he had to face when he would capture the perfect photo. When he uses pathos, in this case, he uses emotion and word choice to convince his audience. He comments, "In photographer's photos, we can see the pain, the suffering, the pity and often the horror". The words he used set the tone and in a sense paints a picture of what a photographer sees. When he talks about Palo Alto being the app designer, he makes a logical point, also known as logos, of who appointed him to decide what makes a picture look good. It's just one perspective and looses the creativity of photography.

Kate Bevan discusses in her article that Instagram takes away the creativity of photography. When taking a picture there are so many different ways to make you image unique; you can set the aperture, the shutter speed, and the composition to get a great image. Another way to make show your creativity is through editing, such as Photoshop. But when using Instagram, Bevan finds it is lacking in creativity because there are only so many editing options one can do. However, she does find the app to be useful for editing. In conclusion, she finds Instagram an app that takes away from the creativity of photography as an art form.

In Kate’s article, she displays some ethos but mostly pathos. When she uses ethos she is showing her credibility. She talks about how being a knowledgeable amateur, owning a Nikon D80 camera, and being a digital editor makes her a credible source and gives her plenty of experience. When she uses Pathos she makes all kinds of personal experiences and word choice. An example of her personal experience would be seeing a bunch ofposts on Facebook and Twitter of Instagram photos. Another example would be when she talked about old family albums that include her ancestors and her great-great-grandmother. By doing this, it makes a personal connection between her and her audience. Also, she uses words such as “ spoil, distort, jars, etc.” to describe Instagram. The word choice she uses gives Instagram a negative connotation.This helps her case against Instagram.

Both authors have valid points; Photography is an art form, it takes time and talent, and editing enhances photos but Instagram is the easy way out. Although I agree with both authors, I have to say that I find Nick's article to be more persuasive. He uses all three appeals and uses more of a logical approach instead of an emotional one. More people are willing to be open to an idea if there is logical reasoning behind it and if there is evidence to back it up;rather than going off of someone's emotional reasoning and drawing from personal experiences.

In conclusion, Nick's argument that Instagram is cheating the viewer is more persuasive. He does this by appealing to the audience through ethos, pathos, and logos. Although Kate had a good argument, she did not deliver her point as thoroughly as Nick. She used a different approach of using emotion to persuade her audience; she had a good argument, but it was not as strong or persuasive as Nick's. Perhaps if Kate had used all three appeals, and went more in depth to prove her point, she could have very possibly been more persuasive.

Works Cited

Bevan, Kate. "Instagram Is Debasing Real Photography." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 19 July 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <

Stern, Nick, and The Opinions Expressed in This Commentary Are Solely Those of Nick Stern. "Why Instagram Photos Cheat the Viewer." CNN. Cable News Network, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <