Documentary Photography

What is Documentary Photography/Photojournalism?

• Images that chronicle significant or historical events

• Images that together tell a story of the human condition

Characteristics of Documentary Photography/ Photojournalism

• Truthful

• Objective

• Candid

• Usually of people

Documentary Photographers

• Matthew Brady• William Henry Jackson• Jacob Riis and Lewis

Hine• Dorothea Lange• Gordon Parks• Arthur Rothstein • Walker Evans• Manuel Rivera-Ortiz• Sally Mann

• Nan Goldin• William Eggleston• Lee Friedlander• Henri Cartier-Bresson• Eugene Atget• Sebastiao Salgado• David Goldblatt• Andrew Stark• Bill Brandt• Daniel Lorenzetti

Matthew Brady

Documented the Civil War

William Henry Jackson

In 1869 documented the scenery along the Union Pacific Railroad route for promotional purposes.

Jacob Riis

Documented NY City in late 1800’s early 1900’s to bring impoverished conditions to light.

Lewis Hine

His photographs were instrumental in changing the child labor laws in the United States.

Dorothea Lange

Known for her Depression era photojournalism for the FSA.

Gordon Parks

Documented the life of Ella Watson who cleaned the FSA building.

Arthur Rothstein

Worked for the FSA. Photographed Gee’s Bend, AL.

Walker Evans

Worked for the FSA. Document effects of the Great Depression in large 8x10 format.

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz

Rochester/Zurich/New York based photographer, focusing on projects depicting poverty in the world.

Sally Mann

Documented her children growing up.

Nan Goldin

Photographed Bowery’s (NYC) hard drug subculture.

William Eggleston

Eggleston's mature work is characterized by its ordinary subject-matter. Eggleston has a unique

ability to find beauty, and striking displays of color, in ordinary scenes.

Lee Friedlander

Photographed the urban "social landscape." Fragments of store-front reflections, structures framed by fences, posters and street-signs.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Considered the father of modern photojournalism. He helped develop the "street photography" or

"real life reportage" style.

Eugene Atget

Noted for his photographs documenting the architecture and street scenes of Paris.

Sebastiao Salgado

Brazilian social documentary photographer and photojournalist. Noted for photographing workers

in less developed countries.

David Goldblatt

Documented South Africa’s human landscape in the apartheid and post-apartheid eras.

Andrew Stark

Urban street photography of Sydney, Australia.

Bill Brandt

An influential British photographer and photojournalist known for his high-contrast images

of British society.