A spontaneous moment can be defined as an instance coming or resulting from a natural impulse or tendency without premeditation or external stimulus (“Spontaneous”). Photographer Eudora Welty's seeks to expand her photography with the use of spontaneity within her photos. However, her attempts are flawed and tarnished due to the subject's awareness of being observed. One cannot capture a truly spontaneous moment if the subject is held in anticipation. Welty wishes to capture "the moment in which a person reveals themselves", however that moment cannot be realized if the person is attentive to the photographer. It is human nature to react and behave differently due to the thought of self-presentation. This natural phenomenon gave birth to the Hawthorne effect in the 1920s. This study highlighted the fact that people naturally improved their human behavior due to an increase of attention.
There is no formal definition of the Hawthorne effect however one can see its effects every day. It can be categorized as an effect of expectation noticeable in many ordinary…show more content… That instance of vulnerability is the cause of a spontaneous moment. However, the mere presence of a camera can cause people to change the way they present themselves in order to best appease themselves. Once a person realizes that they are being captured in that moment and time, they begin to alter their natural behavior. A question then arises, “How can one reveal oneself in a spontaneous moment if they are purposely altering their behavior?” This spontaneous moment cannot be achieved if the person is aware that they are being photographed. A person truly expresses themselves when they are vulnerable and free of persecution. In order to fully capture a self-revealing moment, one must not be conscious of outside observation and constantly embrace their natural
