The Photographic Assemblage: Human and Nonhuman Collaboration in Image Creation

It was a once in a lifetime experience. I was snorkeling in the cool waters of Byron Bay, Australia, when a humpback whale, which was migrating from Antarctica to northern Australia, decided to take a break with us. At first it swam right past us, its immense body moving effortlessly through the crystal clear water. But then, as if curiosity had sparked, the whale turned around and slowly approached. For the next forty-five minutes this majestic creature stayed with us, and in that time, I found myself in awe of its grace and presence. I remember staring directly into its grapefruit sized eye and seeing and feeling this wild animal stare back. At one point, the whale, as if trying to gauge the distance between us, swung its massive pectoral fin to the side, gently brushing against me. Tears streamed down my face as I clutched my underwater camera, capturing the surreal moment. The connection I felt wasn’t just between me and the whale - it was a collaborative experience with the ocean, the light refracted through the water, and the unpredictable movements of the whale. At that moment, I understood photography not just as an act of documenting, but as an assemblage of forces - where human and nonhuman elements come together to create something extraordinary. Traditional views of photography often position the photographer as the sole creative force which minimizes the roles of nonhuman elements in the process. This traditional understanding ignores the complex interactions that lead to the creation of a photograph. By considering photography as a collaborative process involving both human creativity and environmental factors, we can reframe how creativity and agency are distributed within the photographic process, challenging the traditional notion of singular authorship.

The concept of assemblage, which refers to a collection of heterogeneous elements working together, offers a new way of understanding photography. It emphasizes that photographs are products of various forces collaborating, rather than the result of a single creative vision. This perspective is supported by Tucker, who notes that “photography was both an art and a science [...] material and intellectual forms of knowledge, from chemistry to optics to physics, influenced the development of photography as a science” (Tucker 236). Here, Tucker demonstrates how photography inherently involves scientific knowledge in addition to artistic expression. This in turn makes photography a process shaped both by human and nonhuman agents. More specifically, the photographic assemblage highlights the interconnectedness between technological, environmental, and artistic elements. This emphasizes both the human and nonhuman effect on the final image. Overall, this interconnectedness also challenges the idea of a photographer as the sole author of an image, showing that the nonhuman agents, such as the camera and light, actively participate in creating the final result.

While the photographer initiates the creative process and brings intention to each shot, their influence over the final image is constrained by the involvement of nonhuman agents, including the camera, environmental conditions, and the subject itself. The camera, for instance, acts not just as a tool in the photographer’s hands but as an active participant in the process. As Tucker states, “The sensitive photographic film is the true retina of the scientist [...] it faithfully preserves the images which depict themselves upon it, and reproduces and multiplies them indefinitely on request” (Tucker 237)​. This underscores the camera’s role in not merely recording but interpreting and reproducing the visual information presented to it, often capturing details or nuances that lie beyond the photographer’s direct control. In underwater photography, the camera’s ability to adjust to variables like light refraction and water clarity becomes even more critical and challenging. The environment introduces a set of uncontrollable factors - such as the bending of light through water or the shifting visibility caused by currents and particles - that directly influence how the final image appears. These environmental forces, combined with the technical limitations or strengths of the camera, show that the final photographic result is as much a product of nonhuman agents as it is of the photographer’s initial creative vision. Through this interaction, the photographer’s creative input gets combined with the contributions of the camera and environment, demonstrating that the image is the culmination of a complex, shared process. 

More specifically marine wildlife photography, my photography field of interest, exemplifies how the assemblage of human and nonhuman agents operates in the real world. In these instances the photographer has to navigate unpredictable animal behavior and environmental conditions like low light, underwater currents, low visibility, and more. One example occurred when I was scuba diving through Fish Rock Cave in New South Wales, Australia. This is a narrow cave that runs one hundred and twenty meters long and at the end is a beautiful fish tank like opening with hundreds of school fish. I was targeting Wobbegong Sharks during this dive and one happened to randomly swim right between the cave opening with all of the fish in the background - truly a perfect image. However, the lighting was quite low so I had to adjust my settings on the fly. In other words, “these tools become not only an extension of the [photographer’s] will but ‘co-subjects’ in magical workings, their agency crucial to the overall ritual process” (Best 22)​. This shows how the camera and environmental factors actively shape the photographic outcome, becoming co-creators alongside the photographer. Wildlife behavior, environmental shifts, and the photographer’s decisions work together in an intricate balance, revealing how photography is a dynamic and unpredictable co-creation between human and nonhuman agents.

The traditional view of the photographer as the sole author of an image is challenged when we consider the multiple agents involved in creating the final product. In photography, co-authorship arises from the collaboration between the photographer and nonhuman elements like the camera, lighting, and environmental factors. As Wewiora explains, “photography as a tool for co-authorship and co-production […] demonstrates how collaborative responses to practice can alter the dynamics of authorship and direction” (Wewiora 750)​. This means the photographer does not act alone. Rather, they work with nonhuman agents - like the camera’s settings or natural light - each playing a role in shaping the final image. Embracing this concept of co-authorship shifts the focus from individual creativity to a more inclusive process that recognizes the vital roles played by both human and nonhuman contributors. By acknowledging this interconnectedness, we gain a more comprehensive understanding of creativity, recognizing that all agents are essential to the successful creation of an image. This holistic view encourages us to see photography as a collaborative, co-creative act rather than a solitary expression of human creativity and style.

Viewing photography as an assemblage reshapes how we understand both the creative process and assemblage theory itself. Instead of seeing photography as a static act controlled solely by the photographer, it becomes an evolving process shaped by the unpredictable interplay between human and nonhuman agents. As Ulmer notes, “assemblages create different means of conceptualizing research through openings and questions rather than providing closures or answers” (Ulmer 179)​. This highlights how the interactions between the photographer, camera, environment, and subjects lead to dynamic, open-ended outcomes, making image creation fluid and less predictable. The assemblage framework challenges the traditional idea of a finished product as something purely authored by the photographer, instead emphasizing the ongoing, collaborative relationships among all elements involved. This view transforms photography into an ongoing dialogue, where human and nonhuman actors work together, shaping the final image in ways that reflect a constantly shifting and interconnected process. 

When looking at photography through the lens of assemblage theory, it fundamentally alters our understanding of creativity and style by highlighting the collaborative nature of image creation. It is not simply about a photographer capturing a moment; it is about the entire process being shared by human and nonhuman agents, all working together to bring the image to life. Photography as an assemblage challenges the traditional notion that the photographer is the sole creator and the sole entity that shapes the final image. Instead, it makes us rethink the roles of the camera, the environment, light, and even the living and nonliving subjects, showing how these elements actively shape the outcome. The beauty of this perspective is that it reveals photography as a fluid, dynamic interplay of forces where human creativity is just one single part of the equation. Significant outcomes occur when all these elements interact, sometimes unpredictably, and create something beyond what any one agent could have done alone. It’s about embracing the uncertainty and realizing that every image is a collaboration between intention and chance, between the human hand and the nonhuman world. In the end, this way of thinking doesn’t just make us appreciate photography more; it challenges how we see the creative process itself, reminding us that the best outcomes often come from a space of collaboration, unpredictability, and openness to what we can’t fully control.

Works Cited

Best, Sarah. “Materializing Magic: How the Witches of Instagram Make the Invisible Visible Through Digital Photography and Editing Techniques.” Public (Toronto), vol. 35, no. 69, 2024, pp. 18–29, https://doi.org/10.1386/public_00183_1.

Tucker, Jennifer. “Photography and the Making of Modern Science.” The Handbook of Photography Studies, 1st ed., Routledge, 2020, pp. 235–54, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003103974-19.

Ulmer, Jasmine B. “Photography Interrupted: A Hypermodal Assemblage.” Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 22, no. 3, 2016, pp. 176–82, https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800415605052.

Wewiora, Elizabeth. “The Shared Agency of Photography in Gallery Education: Open Eye Gallery Discusses Its Rethinking of Gallery Education, through the Role of Photography as a Tool for Co‐Authorship and Co‐Production.” The International Journal of Art & Design Education, vol. 38, no. 4, 2019, pp. 747–56, https://doi.org/10.1111/jade.12257.