Documentary Photography

Documentary photography

Documentary photography is a type of photography which came about at in the 1800's and at beginning of the twentieth century, it is a type of photography which as well as a piece of art it also works as a language, its main goal is to tell its audience a story. Usually documentary photography is done in places which isn't very well-known and about situations and lifestyles which aren't very well known, this is something that makes it a very popular type of photography because audiences can see new information and new views. Some of the most famous documentary photographers are photographer such as Steve McCurry, Robert Frank, and Henri Carter-Bresson.

Even though throughout the years documentary photography has continued down the same path for example it is a type of photography which captures things to inform and show people different things which the photographer finds important, it has also changed from when it was created to now and with modern photography.

When documentary photography first started in the 1800's cameras were very different to how they are now, they were very difficult to move around and be used portably and were also an invention which were expensive which meant an average everyday person might not be able to afford a camera. Because of this documentary photography wasn't that common and was done by a select few people who had a camera and those photographers who focused on documentary photography. Also at this time there world wasn't as globally connected which meant when a photograph was made popular and involved a new piece of information such as a different lifestyle, landscape, type of people, ect people where hungry to view it and find out the facts about it. The facts and the story behind each photo made this type of photography very popular, photographers at this time knew this for example a photographer called Gary Winogrand said "The photograph isn't what was photographed. It’s something else. It’s a new fact"(1).

Documentary photography now in a modern ear is very different, because cameras are now everywhere and are owned by a lot more people than they used to be and if not a camera many people have a phone with some sort of camera on which allows them to take photos, its means all the different types of photography and photography in general has become very popular, but documentary photography is a type of photography which has increased in popularity massively which many have contributed to both the decrease and increase in people paying attention and notice to it. it has increased the popularity of it obviously because there are a lot more photographs out there and a lot more people with cameras, but because of the same reason the profession of documentary photography may have decreased because people find it harder to notice when it is an actual documentary photography and just a person who has captured something with a camera, because of this people usually look towards the news and media which a lot of the time might not be a accurate view of the situation causes people to lose faith documentary photography and not follow up and look into it as much. A photography who also thinks this is a man called Lewis Hine who said ""While photographs may not lie, liars may photograph."(2) Which means people behind the camera can lie and change a certain perception with an image, this doubt may be backed up by the fact in photography there are many pieces photo editing software which could have an effect on whether the view believe what they are seeing in the image.

In documentary photography there are a lot of positives and negatives, a very big positive of this type of photography is the lessons and information behind them, they teach audiences about different things and even show and bring to focus things that aren't looked at, a good example of this and a good example of how things are fed to us by the media and other outlets is the project called The Americans by Robert Frank which involves a real natural view American people of all genders, ages and races, this is a project that in teaching the audience and showing them new visions and truths about how peoples lifestyle without the media's involvement and without them adding things which could lean the audiences views to a certain side and make the audience feel a specific way about the image and the people in it. 

(3)

"My photographs are not planned or composed in advance, and I do not anticipate that the onlooker will share my viewpoint. However, I feel that if my photograph leaves an image on his mind, something has been accomplished."(4) - Robert Frank 

A negative which might not be counted as a negative depending on the main focus in the image it that it shows real life which can affect people in a very bad way for example the image by Kevin Carter where the main focus is the starving child and the vulture is waiting behind. This is an image which is very emotional and had a negative effect on some of the audience which I think was brought about by the audiences guilt and in some way they feel responsible for the bad things which are happening in the image and around the world, this is one of the reasons the audiences placed a lot of blame on the photographer and why he just photographed the child and didn't help her.

(5)

Over all I think Documentary photography is one of the best type of photography because of sometimes its harsh truths and sometimes there are things in a photograph that certain audiences don’t want to see that impact the audiences enough for them to pay attending and actually think about things. Something which may make documentary photography one of the better types of photography is the fact that while you are viewing you are taking in information and things which are behind the photography not just what is on the photograph, you also get the chance to make your own decision and opinion rather than someone like the media trying to force a perspective and make you think a certain way.

bibliography

(1)http://photoquotations.com/a/737/Garry+Winogrand/1

(2)https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=saJYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA202&lpg=PA202&dq=%22While+photographs+may+not+lie,+liars+may+photograph.%22+-Lewis+Hine&source=bl&ots=yS1Ekcftzi&sig=DEuO-RgS4pDI9Wr_7iCa96cKLwk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiF3rub8sDMAhWMOxQKHTs8CwEQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=%22While%20photographs%20may%20not%20lie%2C%20liars%20may%20photograph.%22%20-Lewis%20Hine&f=false
(3)http://fadedandblurred.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/r_frank_41.jpg
(4)http://www.boerner.net/jboerner/?p=7634
(5)https://iconicphotos.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/kevin-carter-vulture.jpg