punctum

noun

1. A detail in a photograph that captures the viewer's attention and evokes an emotional response or personal connection beyond the intended subject.

   […]the punctum is something that is seen by the viewer, without it being shown to them by the photographer. As such, it functions, according to Fried, as an “ontological guarantee” (553) of a given photograph’s nontheatricality.

Where it comes from

Coined in 1980 by French literary theorist Roland Barthes in his book Camera Lucida.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry punctum (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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