Analysis Number Two

VJ Day Kiss
A photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt

Important Elements:
- Candid Photograph
- Distance from camera to subjects
- Black and White
- Depth of field
- Composition; central subjects.

The subjects in this photograph are a sailor and a nurse. The soldier is dramatically kissing the nurse in a movie-like embrace.

This is a classic image from 1945, on Victory over Japan day. It is a candid shot which captured the spirit and feelings of the whole of America on that day. The war was over. The shot signifies both the strength of America in undertones and more importantly, the excitement felt by the nation as a whole to be done with war, to be victorious, and to be together with loved ones again.

The manner in which the returning sailor is kissing his nurse is not something that is typically socially acceptable (even in modern times) without special occasion. Their pose shows a feeling of elation and happiness that completely trumps inhibitions, and even the people around them are smiling at the scene.

The fact that the image is in black and white removes the distractions that would be caused by color, regardless of whether or not the image could have been photographed in color. It is a very busy street scene and even in black and white the scene gets a little cluttered near the man's shoulder.

This is helped by the somewhat shallow depth of field, however. The main subjects are in sharp focus but the other faces are only slightly blurry; just enough to keep them from being distracting. Likewise, the fact that the photo is very frontal and the subjects are central makes them pop from the background.

The strength of this image isn't necessarily technical aspects, although it is a very sound image, but rather in the emotional impact. Eisenstaedt is renowned for his in-the-field shots and considered the father of photojournalism. This photograph could not be reproduced in a studio with the same aura of pure joy shown by the subjects.