“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”~Duane Michals

To me, this quote is saying that photos only show the "outside" of a person/scene, or the first impression of a person/scene, but they can't show the true emotions or feelings of person or know what is really going on. If this is what Michals is saying, then I disagree. Sure I believe that viewers can't know for sure what is going on, but that is what makes photography great; the viewers make their own assumptions and it makes them think. I think a photo can say it all. Some things may be up for interpretation, but that is also the mystery of photography. There could be more going on than the viewer first sees.

I think that emotion and feelings can be portrayed in the expressions of the subjects, but there are so many elements of photography that could change the meaning of the photo completely. For example, the lighting,  position of the subjects, or the colors can make a difference and reveal a lot to the audience.