Negotiating Romance in Front of the Lens

Abstract

The paper examines the new roles assumed by digital photography in romantic relationships. Research conducted in Israel demonstrates that the ubiquitous digital and phone cameras have been incorporated into multiple scripts of courtship, reconciliation, eroticism, and relationship formation. Photography often functions as a non-verbal method of expressing an interest in the other party during courtship, of framing the relationship, and of negotiating its status. Being semiotically laden, photography between partners is more structured and done much more cautiously than photography among friends. Photography also helps lovers in “doing romance”, serving as a tool for the production of romantic moments, eroticism and playfulness, thus reshaping emotions and moods in present time rather than in future consumption of photos qua artefact.

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