Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle both significant and relevant to history and historical events and everyday life. It is typically covered in professional photojournalism or real life reportage, but it may also be an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit.
The Decisive Moment
"The simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organisation of forms which gives that event its proper expression." - Henri Cartier Bresson.
There was a single instant in which the meaning of an event was most clearly represented graphically. It was the responsibility of the photographer to capture that representation.
Research
Henri Cartier Bresson
Bresson was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography and was the origin of the decisive moment.
Bresson was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography and was the origin of the decisive moment.
This candid photo of a woman jumping over a puddle in the road is a prime example of Bresson's decisive moment work. If the photo was captured a second before or after, the women would most likely be still, removing the character to the photo. The puddle creates a reflection of the women beneath her in a deeper tone range, representing two interpretations of the women. Capturing her in mid-air seems to create an empowering appearance since she appears careless in that moment of how she is presented; her dress is flowing up and everything on her is slightly distorted and unsettled, yet she is careless which is dominant of her. The composition allows the viewer to view the architecture behind the women, but she grabs all of the attention in the photo.
Tom Hunter
Hunter is a London-based British artist working in photography and film. His photographs often reference and reimagine classical paintings.
Corinne Day
Day was a British fashion photographer, documentary photographer, and fashion model.
Hunter is a London-based British artist working in photography and film. His photographs often reference and reimagine classical paintings.
This photo of a woman what appears to be reading something to her child is a recreation of a classical painting...
Hunter has created a deeper contrast in lighting in his photo, making it appear dramatic. Hunter displays the difference between the original painting and his interpretation with a modernised style. The painting owns a warm and creamy colour scheme that makes the atmosphere appear innocent and calming, whereas the photo owns a cooler tone and a harsher lighting contrast; this seems accurate to a modernised appearance. The comparison with Hunter's photo involves a child on the bed, while the painting has fruit laid; this can suggest the change of females roles in the world and how it's modernised. The lady in the painting appears wealthy and content, whereas the photo lady doesn't appear finically comfortable and the colouring making her situation appear more distressing. This suggests the older days to in a sense be simpler for women and living can be more distressing now in this generation.
Day was a British fashion photographer, documentary photographer, and fashion model.
This portrait I feel is captured to empower women. I feel this way because firstly, her hair is messy and appears rugged, this breaks the stereotype of women having to be clean cut and flawless to be beautiful; but she appears more edgy and careless, while still being beautiful. Furthermore, she is the only focal point of the photo, being perfectly centred, with also there being no colour in the photo, leaving the viewer to own no distractions and focus on the subject. This makes it appear like she is demanding the attention, leaving you with no choice; which is very empowering for a woman to be perceived this way. Her facial expression seems irritated and serious, suggesting Day wants the viewer to take the subject nothing but seriously, while still giving them access to interpreting the photo their own way since there's no other content to take in the photo.
Proposal
I've already decided that my documentary will be documenting on identity distortions, I believe gender identity will be best for me to document since I'm transgender and find an interest in the disorder. Since I myself experience this distortion, being aware of what emotions to present in documentation will be easier and stronger in authenticity. My inspiration for documenting a personal topic would have to be from Edward Honaker, mentioned in my past work, who documents his anxiety and depression; his work is powerful and complex in editing, never revealing his face in the photos. My plan is to represent the destruction of femininity within myself and to display the passion of self-conflict over how to present myself.
I've already decided that my documentary will be documenting on identity distortions, I believe gender identity will be best for me to document since I'm transgender and find an interest in the disorder. Since I myself experience this distortion, being aware of what emotions to present in documentation will be easier and stronger in authenticity. My inspiration for documenting a personal topic would have to be from Edward Honaker, mentioned in my past work, who documents his anxiety and depression; his work is powerful and complex in editing, never revealing his face in the photos. My plan is to represent the destruction of femininity within myself and to display the passion of self-conflict over how to present myself.
Photo Ideas:
- Capturing clothing - the difference between now and then (transitional).
- Placing photos of me as a child (girl), over myself, covering who I am now (boy).
- Breaking gender stereotypes - wearing makeup or heels (femininity).
- Split face appearance - one side masculine, the other feminine.
- Writing over the face or skin - mental battles/self-discriminating words.
- Revealing how I view my surroundings or self.
Ideas not used I plan to use in the future if I ever focus on this type of topic again.
Shoot One
Contact Sheet
These are all the photos for my first documentary shoot, captured on my DSLR Nikon camera.
These are all the photos for my first documentary shoot, captured on my DSLR Nikon camera.
Best Photos
These are my best raw photos for this documentary shoot.
These are my best raw photos for this documentary shoot.
Photos that require improvement
I believe these photos do not present the quality in my work that I intended. For the first photo, the shutter speed is at 1/25, aperture F9, and exposure at ISO 1600 since I was shooting in relatively low-key light settings. This photo is presenting the transition in my gendered clothing, since the photos placed beforehand are female underwear, whereas this is no male underwear. I feel the composition of this photo isn't flattering for my intentions. How the underwear is held makes it look forced in presentation to the viewer, which in one aspect could be good since it can get the message across of me trying to force the appearance of how I feel; but this wasn't my intention, I wanted it to appear like the viewer is spectating at random drastic decisions I'm making during this 'transition', making my actions appear more casual like no one else is around. This intention wasn't met and feels too forced for me. Another minor issue is there is a slight indent on the crouch area of the underwear, I've noticed that becomes quite distracting when viewing the photo, I'd rather it not draw so much attention since the viewer is less likely to make a serious interpretation when distracted. If I were to retake this photo, I'd make sure the underwear was straightened out better, and that I was holding them in a more relaxed presentation, so the action appears more authentic and less distracting to the meaning.
For the second photo, the shutter speed is at 1/25, aperture F9, and exposure at ISO 1600 once again because I was shooting in low-key light settings. I wanted this photo to present the mental feeling that I own, where I feel my body parts are suffocating me, hence why the lights have started from my chest and reach up to my throat to wrap around it. I wanted this photo to own a heavy and intense appearance to get across how overwhelming the feeling is. It feels though that the composition is too clean cut and innocent in appearance; the lights should be placed messier and potentially my body expression should present more distressed.
Shoot Two
For the second photo, the shutter speed is at 1/25, aperture F9, and exposure at ISO 1600 once again because I was shooting in low-key light settings. I wanted this photo to present the mental feeling that I own, where I feel my body parts are suffocating me, hence why the lights have started from my chest and reach up to my throat to wrap around it. I wanted this photo to own a heavy and intense appearance to get across how overwhelming the feeling is. It feels though that the composition is too clean cut and innocent in appearance; the lights should be placed messier and potentially my body expression should present more distressed.
Contact Sheet
These are all the photos for my first documentary shoot, captured on my DSLR Nikon camera.
These are all the photos for my first documentary shoot, captured on my DSLR Nikon camera.
Best Photos
These are my best raw photos for this documentary shoot.
These are my best raw photos for this documentary shoot.
Photos that require improvement
I believe these photos haven't met my personal expectations for this documentary. For the first photo, the shutter speed is at 1/25, aperture F9, and exposure at ISO 1600 since I was shooting in relatively low-key light settings. This photo I planned to display me distressed as I attempt to understand the physical associations with gender, this one being makeup. The two main issues with this photo are firstly, it isn't in focus, making the detailing in my eyes blurry and lacks refinement. Secondly, what I wanted to present didn't come through, I feel I do not appear distressed enough, or really uncomfortable at all, which doesn't meet my intentions. If I were to retake this photo, I would make sure I was in the focal range, so all details were picked up and made a better quality photo, I would also make my eyes appear more uncomfortable and heavy in emotion, so it actually presented what I intended.
For the second photo, the shutter speed is at 1/25, aperture F9, and exposure at ISO 1600 once again because I was shooting in low-key light settings. Unlike the first photo, this one is actually in focus. I intended to present the same message with this photo as well, where I show my discomfort and attempt to understand gendered associations. I feel this photo doesn't present any of that struggle. I appear careless and calm when I wanted to appear uncomfortable and conflicted. If I were to retake this photo, I would attempt to appear distressed and make a heavier appearance to the photo to represent my feelings better.
For the second photo, the shutter speed is at 1/25, aperture F9, and exposure at ISO 1600 once again because I was shooting in low-key light settings. Unlike the first photo, this one is actually in focus. I intended to present the same message with this photo as well, where I show my discomfort and attempt to understand gendered associations. I feel this photo doesn't present any of that struggle. I appear careless and calm when I wanted to appear uncomfortable and conflicted. If I were to retake this photo, I would attempt to appear distressed and make a heavier appearance to the photo to represent my feelings better.
AO3: Record ideas, observations, and insights relevant to intentions reflecting critically on work and progress.
My Ideas
My main inspiration is from the photographer Edward Honaker (analysed in past work) who documents his depression and anxiety with photos of himself. I wanted to present the beginning process of my gender identity thoughts before accepting my true self. I attempted to present the destruction and analyse of gender associations with makeup and clothing (physical representation). I wanted these photos to appear heavy and distorted to truly represent how powerful this conflict feels, this meant the photos wouldn't appear visually comforting since it's not a comfortable topic. I enjoyed shoot 2 more than 1 because I believe the body image photos are my preferred style of work and send the strongest message. I believe majority of my photos came out as intended and enjoyed more presentations than others, but I believe I could definitely improve this in the future and have them appear more professional.
Reference to my best photos
This photo is to represent an internal conflict with me experimenting with gender associations. Makeup being typically a female presentation, red suggesting lust and an empowering colour for women; but my facial hair adds a mild counteraction with the femininity. The lipstick being smudged everywhere in an aggressive pattern suggests a frustration within myself and an emotional scene before this photo was captured. I think what adds the extra emotion into this photo is how my mouth is slightly parted open, my jaw doesn't seem tense but it can appear like I've been breathinh heavy during this; this presents that extra of the true frustration and conflict of trying to understand my own presentation.
AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques, and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.
Use of Camera
I used a Nikon D3400 DSLR camera and a tripod for every photo taken. Since these photos were taken of myself, I had to capture myself using self-timer while my camera was on a tripod, I used someone else to make sure all the camera settings, focus, and alignments were right. The camera was in manual mode, shutter speed being at 1/25 fraction of a second, aperture on F9, and exposure at ISO 1600 since the light settings were low-key, but I captured everything using flash since I wanted a more even exposure of everything. Once making sure everything was set right, I put the camera on self-timer (taking a photo every 5 seconds for 5 photos each time) and captured myself in various poses or expressions depending on what section of my photos I was capturing (E.g. the photos of my legs was set up differently to the close up shots of my makeup photos).
Final Pieces
For this documentary, I wanted to represent the true struggle and conflict within gender identity, so I believed photos in heavy contrast and colour would best represent that.
Firstly, I added an 'adjustment layer' of 'levels', I would bring down the lower tones to create heavier shadows in the photos, then also bringing up the light tones, to add a stronger contrast; creating a more even tone range.
AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.
My main inspiration being Edward Honaker (analysed in past work), I wanted to present true emotion in abstract ways, just like he does with his depression and anxiety. Documentary I find to be an intriguing form of photography, and believe its the best way to present a compelling story through photo; what's even better is that it can be so simple in composition, it'll eventually tell a story.
AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
I believe I met my intentions for documentary the best I could at this point in time. I presented the experimentation of gender associations and the conflict it creates. These are my photos from both shoots edited, for documentary.
My Ideas
My main inspiration is from the photographer Edward Honaker (analysed in past work) who documents his depression and anxiety with photos of himself. I wanted to present the beginning process of my gender identity thoughts before accepting my true self. I attempted to present the destruction and analyse of gender associations with makeup and clothing (physical representation). I wanted these photos to appear heavy and distorted to truly represent how powerful this conflict feels, this meant the photos wouldn't appear visually comforting since it's not a comfortable topic. I enjoyed shoot 2 more than 1 because I believe the body image photos are my preferred style of work and send the strongest message. I believe majority of my photos came out as intended and enjoyed more presentations than others, but I believe I could definitely improve this in the future and have them appear more professional.
Reference to my best photos
This first photo is to represent the distress and discomfort I hold being within my own skin. Due to being pre-transition and Ftm transgender, I get dysphoria over having a female chest, so in this photo, it presents the frustration I have with not being able to turn round and present a male body, the frustration to conceal myself and not feeling free. I think this represents that distress perfectly since there's visible tension in my arms and back, and the gripping of my hair can reveal frustration. Lacking identity in this photo also emphasises the trapped feeling I own.
This photo is to represent one of the processes I took to understand gender associations with clothes. The heals being boots kept a balance of masculinity and femininity while appearing empowering. The fishnet tights added an extra aspect of fashion for the photo, and to express my love for style no matter what gender it presents; my legs being hairy as well balanced out the masculinity, bringing an androgynous appearance. I chose this photo of the legs out of the others as best because I feel like the composition is the best representative of the experiment of gender; the stance suggests no specific gender, leaving free interpretation, and only the clothing being an actual focus of meaning.
AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques, and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.
Use of Camera
I used a Nikon D3400 DSLR camera and a tripod for every photo taken. Since these photos were taken of myself, I had to capture myself using self-timer while my camera was on a tripod, I used someone else to make sure all the camera settings, focus, and alignments were right. The camera was in manual mode, shutter speed being at 1/25 fraction of a second, aperture on F9, and exposure at ISO 1600 since the light settings were low-key, but I captured everything using flash since I wanted a more even exposure of everything. Once making sure everything was set right, I put the camera on self-timer (taking a photo every 5 seconds for 5 photos each time) and captured myself in various poses or expressions depending on what section of my photos I was capturing (E.g. the photos of my legs was set up differently to the close up shots of my makeup photos).
Final Pieces
For this documentary, I wanted to represent the true struggle and conflict within gender identity, so I believed photos in heavy contrast and colour would best represent that.
Firstly, I added an 'adjustment layer' of 'levels', I would bring down the lower tones to create heavier shadows in the photos, then also bringing up the light tones, to add a stronger contrast; creating a more even tone range.
Secondly, I added another adjustment layer of 'hue/saturation' to enhance the colouring for a more heavier photo. Instead of simply using the 'master' option, I would go on direct colours like 'reds'and 'yellows'; I would enhance these colours since the warm tones can be mildly off-putting and I want to display an uncomfortable situation.
'Blues and 'cyans' I would completely remove since it all consisted in the background, which counteracted with the 'reds' and 'yellows'.
AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.
My main inspiration being Edward Honaker (analysed in past work), I wanted to present true emotion in abstract ways, just like he does with his depression and anxiety. Documentary I find to be an intriguing form of photography, and believe its the best way to present a compelling story through photo; what's even better is that it can be so simple in composition, it'll eventually tell a story.
AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
I believe I met my intentions for documentary the best I could at this point in time. I presented the experimentation of gender associations and the conflict it creates. These are my photos from both shoots edited, for documentary.
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