This essay probes whether the non/relation of the photographer to his or her subject determines the effect or affect of the work. Solomon-Godeau begins with Sontag’s indictment of Arbus as a predatory photographer, exploiting people she photographed. She argues that the ethical and political distinction between insider and outsider photography may obscure a slippage between viewing relationships, those that operate between photographed subject and actual viewer. Nan Goldin and Larry Clark stake their claim for authenticity (and “non-objectification”) on their belonging to the milieus they have photographed. Rejecting this notion that being “inside” a particular milieu automatically exculpates the photographer...