SHARPNESS, NOISE AND STORYTELLING

On a tension-filled night at the border between Serbia and Hungary on August 28, 2015, a father delivers his son to another person across the barbed wire marking the border. The image captured by Warren Richardson in that extreme situation earned him the prestigious recognition of the World Press Photo 2016.

These are the shooting data: shutter speed of 1/5 s, focal length of 24 mm, aperture open to 1.4 and ISO at 6400. Looking closely at the photograph, a slight blur and an abundance of noise. Taken at night without the aid of supplementary lights, the image required additional aperture during editing, causing the visual disturbance.

But why did the photographer choose not to correct the noise in post-production? The answer is simple: the narrative of photography is more important than anything else, including image quality.

The story told by an image is its essence, its beating heart. Without a story, each photograph is meaningless, a collection of pixels that communicate nothing.

Extreme corrections of the sharpness and the noise, as well as increasing the saturation of color, often become mere expressions of vanity, attempts to "enrich" images empty of content. In a digital age in which the concept of the display triangle has become obsolete, the importance lies in creating new visions that narrate people's experiences and lives.

This does not mean neglecting exposure and focus, but the ease of use of modern cameras and the ability to immediately view newly captured images on the screen encourage us to focus more on the contents and on the composition.

Photographs that tell stories have the power to change lives, to arouse emotions and make people think. Those without narrative remain static, unable to influence the world around them. In a visual universe saturated with images, the real strength lies in the ability to Telling stories that touch the heart And that can really make a difference.