Yes. A single photograph can absolutely make people cry or feel intense emotion. The main difference is that video usually has more time to build context and tell a story, which makes emotional reactions easier to set up.

With photography, context matters even more. A still image may be deeply moving if the viewer already knows the story behind it, has a personal connection to the subject, or the image itself strongly implies a story. Family photos, wedding photos, documentary images, and historic photographs can all provoke tears.

So it isn’t that photos are incapable of this—only that a single frame has less room than video to provide narrative buildup. When the image carries enough meaning, or when the viewer brings meaning to it, photography can be just as emotionally powerful and can even influence public opinion or change the way people see the world.