In Camera Lucida, Barthes discusses the importance of duality in photography. Specifically, he describes this duality with the phrases the studium and the punctum. The studium is what we see and the punctum is our emotional reaction. To Barthes, a photograph is not significant if there is no punctum for the studium. Since Barthes words are very complicated I found I only understood this concept in terms of acting terminology, which is something I am familiar with. In the world of contemporary acting, text should always be paired with subtext. If, ‘Hello,’ is the text, the subtext is everything that is meant by this hello. It is the emotion, it is the circumstance, it is the time of day and it is the intention. Why did you say hello and why is this hello significant? Or more bluntly, why are you talking? This duality of text and subtext provides meaning for the actors work. It shapes and defines it taking it from the basic to rich and multi-layered. If you are a really crafted and trained actor, duality takes on another dimension. When the actor presents text, the audience can understand two distinct and opposing subtexts. Emotions and intentions are multi-faceted. Telling someone you love him or her is never as simple the feeling of love. There might be guilt, apprehension, nerves, or any number of opposing feelings. Skilled actors can present two or more different subtexts, which is more powerful than one. It also gives the work a more natural and realistic flair because the actor creates plausible human reactions. This is the way I understood Barthes to be characterizing the difference between good photography and not so good photography. It is the difference of skill, of adding the subtext to the text. Of providing layers and layers of meaning and interpretation to a simple image. Moreover, it provides the emotion, which makes the work more significant.