A Comparison of Journalistic, Documentary and Street Photography
I have this drive to identify discreet differences in a range of concepts. It more for my own benefit than as agenda for persuading other people. It probably plays a significant part in what I believe to be my reading disability. If you don’t say what you mean and mean what you say in a written text, I might draw erroneous and frustrating conclusions. My personal Yin to that Yang is that I intellectually see all concepts as being on a continuum. I am always trying to put my pin down on the continuum, even as I know that is an impossible mission.
And so with that disclaimer, I am going to try to put three pins down on the continuum that I increasing like to call life photography. Last week the mission was to separate street photography from reportage photography. This week is a much more complicated task. It is to place documentary photography between the two of them.
As I start to write, a final consideration is how I will describe the laying down of pins. In a blog, you have to decide how to present information. One way, that what might be likened to a power point presentation, is to present just the facts, using bullet points rather than a narrative. That particular siren calls to me. It turns out, I have to do a lot of last minute, frantic rewriting because even I find what I have written as boring. While I am not having a hard time understanding the differences between street, documentary and reportage photography, I am having a hard time organizing how to present the differences. Power point model, here I come.
The pictures added to this week’s blog are for a little rest between comparisons. They are all street photography. I used up my good last week with journalistic photography. I surely do not think I am destined to do documentary photography
Let’s start with a definition of each.
I like this short, sweet definition of reportage photography from Mary F. Calvert, as reported in the Trail Blazers of Light blog, Photojournalism Defined.
“The definition of photojournalism is the reportage of news through photographs.”
For documentary photography I like the definition given by Iris Maria Tusa in the Street Hunter’s blog, Street Photography vs Documentary Photography - Why Photojournalism and Street Photography Are Not the Same Thing.
“Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life.”
Wikipedia has a reasonable definition for street photography.
“Street photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incident within public places.”
When, in time, the pictures are taken is a differentiator between the three genres.
Reportage is real time.
Documentary is taken over time.
Street photography is taken in moments of time.
There is a difference where the photography is taken.
The reportage setting is dictated by the newsworthy event.
The documentary setting is dictated by theme.
The street photography setting is defined as public space, but the definition is broadly inclusive.
How text is used with the image varies.
In reportage, text is paramount. Images are expected to support the truth of the text.
Documentary often has commentary, at the very least, as an introduction to the images to state the photographer’s intentions.
Text, including captions and even text in the images, is often discouraged in street photography. Captions, in the form of titles, are encouraged in gallery exhibitions, if only as an organizational aid. Text in the image can be distracting, so some street photographers prefer not to include it.
The artistic component varies among the three genres.
Reportage photography has the least creative leverage. It is the job of photojournalists to present the facts not present a pretty picture
Documentary photographers can be creative, but in the end, they have to produce factual photos, which limits creative presentation.
Street photography has the most creative license. It is dictated by art. Street photographers use shadows, juxtaposition, framing, exaggerated angles, really anything, to make a surreal composition.
Finally, the themes vary a lot by genre.
In reportage, the requirement is information objectivity. Reportage presents events in an impersonal and non-emotional way. Reportage photographers do not ask for permission to take the photo and they can publish in news sources without permission of the subjects.
Documentary photography is intended to inform, educate or entertain. It may cover the same event as reportage, but the documentary presentation can add what might be called color, in the form of background information, or present a personal viewpoint of the photographer. While the truth cannot be manipulated, the presentation of photos can be manipulated to increase drama. Documentarians often develop a relationship with their subjects.
In street photography, the goal is to capture an unplanned moment in time. The micro stories are subjective and open for creative interpretation. They can generate relationships that do not conform to reality. Street photographers do not generally get permission from their subjects to take the photo.
Now for a little color theory.
Complimentary Colors
Complimentary colors are certainly one of the most familiar color harmonies. They are pairs of colors that are across from each other on the color wheel. While there are literally an unlimited number of complimentary colors, the most basic pairs are red-green, yellow-purple and blue-orange.
I had never thought about it, but in each pair of complimentary colors you have one warm color and one cool color. This creates what is called simultaneous contrast, which is the highest contrast in the color wheel. I will talk about simultaneous contrast next week. Also, in the basic set, you have one primary color and one secondary color created from a mix of the other two primary colors.
We speak of complimentary colors as colors that “go together.” Actually, when complimentary colors of the same value are placed next to each other, they will clash and create unpleasant feelings of intensity. This can be managed by changing the value or tone of one of the colors or by separating them with a neutral. Photos with complimentary colors in them should always be checked in b&w for contrast.