Semiotics of the Image in Modern Photographic Culture

The article is dedicated to the semiotics of the image in modern photographic culture and examines the transformation of photographic meaning under digital, communicative, and institutional conditions. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing instability of photographic authenticity in environments shaped by algorithmic processing, manipulation practices, and biometric infrastructures. The novelty of the work lies in the systematic differentiation of trace, indicant, and print as coexisting ontological modes of the photographic sign. The article describes the displacement of emphasis from resemblance to physical contiguity and from contiguity to communicative and institutional codification. Special attention is paid to digital photo manipulation, smartphone photography, facial recognition systems, and conceptual documentary practices. The work sets itself the goal of identifying structural shifts in the ontology of the photographic sign and clarifying their implications for trust and interpretation. Comparative analysis, source analysis, and semiotic modelling are used to solve this task. The conclusion outlines the coexistence and tension of semiotic layers. The article will be useful for researchers in visual studies, media theory, art theory, and cultural semiotics.