Documentary photography refers to the area of
photography in which images are
used as historical documents. Instead
of serving as a source of aesthetic
pleasure or art,
documentary photography is often used to
promote political and social change because of its ability to capture the "true" nature
of the image
or location. In short, this
school of photography uses images as
documented evidence of a particular
situation.Lewis Hine and James Van Zee are two of the pioneers of documentary photography. While documentary photography and art are seen at opposite ends of the spectrum, Paul Strand is one of the few famous photographers secretly mix these two schools of thought through its cutting edge style.
Often, the photos taken in the vein of documentary photography tend to be shocking, grotesque, vivid and intense to prove a point and evoke the emotions of the viewer. Some of the most common examples of documentary photographs appear in newspapers and magazines modern.
With these images, the public learns the truth about the information in different cultural, political and environmental. Given this, it is not surprising that documentary photography has exploded in the American consciousness during the Great Depression of the 1930s when photographers were documenting widespread poverty.
