Documentary

Documentary

Theory & Definitions

Documentary photography is used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life.

Image Bank

Henri Cartier Bresson 

Henri Cartier Bresson created the decisive moment. The decisive moment refers to capturing an event that is ephemeral and spontaneous, where the image represents the essence of the event itself.

Henri Cartier Bresson is the founder of modern photojournalism. He was a French humanist photographer who was very interested in the genre of street photography and viewed photography about capturing the decisive moment. 

Above are examples go Henry Cartier Bresson's images. Each of his photos are examples of the decisive moment. Firstly the image he has taken of a man walking is very interesting. This is because there is a lot of depth within the photo and it has been framed to ensure that the man and his reflection are in the photo. Bresson has caught him walking therefore this image has connotations of movement. Also due to him wearing a suit this image could be showing this man rushing to work however he has been captured in a still frame. This is as if Bresson wants to show that people need to stop and appreciate the environment around them because many people just take this for granted. 

The second image that I have looked at is another example of the decisive moment. He has taken the photo in the perfect moment, with the bicycle completely visible in the only place within the frame that this is possible. Although Bresson wants to create images that capture everyday life there is an element of framing within this composition. He has thought very closely about where the camera is positioned. I like the stairs being a part of the frame because this gives the image a leading line which almost leads to the bicycle. This is another example of how the photo must have been framed and organised beforehand. I feel as though this photo could imply that people look into the world we live in and life passes by very quickly. I feel as though Bresson wants to capture moments that are not very significant but are a part of our daily lives that people would not normally notice as being something significant. 

The final image that I will be looking at is the image of a woman walking up stairs with birds flying around her. This is another example of the decisive moment. If the photographer had caught the image a few seconds before or after then the image would be plain and wouldn't have the effect that this does. I feel as though because there is just one woman having such a big effect on the birds this image could represent the power of an individual. This could show that people can have a drastic effect on what is going on around them. I also like the way that the birds are so hectic but the woman in the centre of the frame is so calm. This could be trying to imply that having an impact on other things doesn't need to be hard work, this can just be something that people have the capability to do. 

Francesca Russel 

Francesca Russel is a documentary photographer who moved from the UK to California when she was just 7 years old. Russel felt as though giving up her home and moving across the country with a touring broadway show and the experiences of motherhood that she wanted to document her life experiences. Francesca Russel wrote '  Documentary photography has opened my eyes to the magic in the everyday. It is so hard sometimes to stop, slow down, and really see how good life is. It’s hard to see through the thick of it. Photographs give that to you - they open your eyes, they show you, they make you grateful. ' I feel as though Russel is trying to capture the decisive moment in her own way. Below are  some example of the photos that she has taken.

The first image that I have closely looked at is the photo of the two children brushing their teeth. I feel as though Russel is not only capturing moments but she is capturing emotion and feelings in the photos she takes. In this photo I like the way it is in colour because I feel like this reflects the happiness and the joy of her children that she is photographing. Although brushing your teeth is a daily occurrence and adults regularly do this, for some children it is not as enjoyable and I feel like she is capturing their bored looking faces to represent how children have different attitudes towards life. 

The next photo looks like someone has just had a baby and someone is congratulating them. This is a photo where the photographer wanted to capture an image that represents the emotions of all the people involved. Having a baby is such a happy time and Russel has made sure to wait until the woman holding the child is smiling. This is similar to the way Bresson takes his photos because he captures spontaneous moments however he needs to set up the camera and the composition and wait for the thing to happen that he would like to photograph. This is exactly what Russel has done in this photo. The way that she has captured two people hugging could represent that importance of family and the effect that having support around you can have on your overall happiness. 

Finally the image of the child reaching for their parent is very meaningful. This is because children rely on their parents as young children and the fact that the child is reaching for their parent could imply that children do to some extent understand what their parents do for them and are grateful that they are there. The child also looks as if she is gazing at the parent. The photographer has captured the emotion within the child's face and wants to show the love between parents and their children. I also really like the shallow depth of field used in this image because by the child's face being very clear her emotions are emphasised. 

My Ideas For My Project

I have created a mind map which includes the title of my project, ideas about each of the shoots I will complete and what I would like to focus on within each of the shoots. By planning the shoots I feel as though I can capture better photos that are more professional. I would like to mainly use the photographer Francesca Russel as inspiration for my photos because she takes photos of her family which is what I would like to do. I would also like to include elements of Henri Cartier Bresson by using the idea of the decisive moment to take documentary photos.

Dates for shoots:
1st shoot - 10th and 25th December
2nd shoot - 28th December
3rd shoot - 26th or 31st December 

Contact Sheet - Shoot 1

My intentions for this shoot were to capture images of my family enjoying the snow. This shoot was not in my original plan because I was not aware that it was going to snow but when it did I decided I wanted to record the excitement that younger children feel about playing in the snow.

My best images 

This photo was taken using an f stop of f/16. This is so that I could make the foreground and background in focus which enables people to see each detail of the photo clearly.  

I really like this image because I feel as though it captures the decisive moment. 

This image portrays a close relationship between the people in my family due to the close up angle. I believe the close up photo reflects the intimacy between family members. This could also portray trust between a brother and a sister.

This is a photo of ornaments on a tree. I chose this photo as one my best images because I feel as though Christmas trees and decorations symbolize Christmas therefore including this image makes it very obvious that my series of images is based around Christmas.

Images that require improvement 

The first photo that I decided needs improvement is a photo of my little brother holding snow. This photo is very under exposed which makes it very dark. This photo was taken on a shutter speed of 1/320 which meant that the shutter was only open for a very short amount of time and therefore didn't let enough light into the photo making it extremely dark. 

The second image that I have chosen as one that needs improving is the opposite to the first photo because this image is extremely over exposed. When tacking this photo I was testing some different camera settings to see how the image would come out and I used a shutter speed of 1/30 and this tuned out being too long because I let too much light into the lens and over exposed the photo. I also do not like the composition of this photo because the camera was slightly tilted and I feel as though the photo looks slightly disorientated.

A02

This shoot was taken outside therefore I did not have to use a flash unlike some of my other shoots. All of these photos were taken on an ISO setting of 400. This is because it was quite a cloudy day therefore I wanted the camera to have slightly more light intensity too ensure that the images were not too dark.  When photographing these images I used apertures ranging from f/3.5 to f/5.6 when photographing my brother outside. I used these apertures because  I wanted my brother to be very crisp and clear to ensure he was the main focal point of the photo however I didn't want to use an aperture as small as  f/1.4 because I wanted the background to be clear so people understand what he is doing and where he is. The shutter speed I used was 1/125. This was because I wanted the images to be all in focus and I wasted to freeze action  rather than using a long shutter speed which would have created a blur effect.  

JH Lartigue 

After completing this shoot I wanted to look at another photographer because I feel as though these pictures did not relate as much to Francesca Russel as I would have hoped. In multiple photos taken by Lartigue he looks at capturing photographs that involve nature as well as humans. My shoot that I completed in the snow focuses on nature and therefore I feel as though JH Lartigue is a very good photographer to compare my images to. Below are some of his photos including nature.

 

Contact Sheet - Shoot 2

This shoot was taken on christmas day. I wanted to capture the difference in facial expressions and emotions between parents and children. I looked at each of my family members reactions to opening their presents. 

 

My best images 

I chose this image as one of my best because I believe this is a good example of capturing emotion. I feel as though this is an example of the decisive moment. In particular I feel as though this image links to Francesca Russel's work because she looks at her family and the different emotions that children display.  

This photo is an example of how adults react to Christmas differently from children. The father is watching his son open his presents and is smiling just to see the happiness in the child. On the other hand the child is only interested in his presents which shows how different children react to certain things.

This photo could be a representation of how much rubbish we create during Christmas time. I feel as though this photo has very important connotations that creating this much rubbish is a normal thing for people however no body realises the effect this has on the environment. I also chose this photo as one of my best because I feel like it allows my story to continue, suggesting the things people have to do once all of the presents have been unwrapped.

This is an image of my Mum and she is pouring champagne into a glass. This contrasts with the image of my brother opening presents because this image of my Mum shows that parents want to have a drink and relax over Christmas and children just want to feel the excitement of having presents to unwrap.

Images that require improvement

Both of these photos are under exposed. When taking photos on Christmas day I used a flash because I was inside and all the photos were taken either in the morning or at night so there was no natural daylight. These photos are examples of when the flash was not used therefore there was not enough light in the photos. 

A02:

Most of the photos that I took during this shoot I used a flash. This was because I was shooting inside with no natural lighting.  I mainly used an aperture of f/5. This was because I wanted to make the foreground of the photos very clear and crisp. By using this aperture I did not create a wide depth of field as the background and foreground were not completely in focus however the background was slightly out of focus in comparison to the foreground. The background was still recognisable but the foreground was more focused. I feel as though this made my family and their facial expressions and actions the focal point of all of the images which ensured that the story I was creating with my photos was clear. The majority of the photos that I took during this shoot were taken on a shutter speed of 1/60. This was because when using the flash the shutter did not need to be open for a very long time to capture the image with the correct amount of lighting. I did not use a tripod when shooting these images because they were very spontaneous. When taking the photographs I wanted to be able to shoot different angles quickly and not using a tripod allowed me to take photos from different angles and of different members of my family spontaneously.    

 

 

Contact Sheet - Shoot 3

My intentions for this shoot were to capture images of my extended family that I saw on Boxing day. I feel as though this links to my shoot on Christmas day because I am looking at my family and the excitement and joy at this specific time of the year. By incorporating other family members into the shoot I feel as though it gives me a strong series of documentary images. 

My best images 

 I chose this photo as one of my best images because it clearly shows me spending time with extended family. This shows my documentary moving on and suggests that this is a special occasion over Christmas.

I like the composition of this photo because you are able to see facial expressions from a Mother and her daughter. This photo could symbolise that Children are a main part of the Christmas period and that they are involved in family traditions that they may carry on when they grow up.  

Images that require improvement 

The first photo I have chosen is a photo of my cousin however I do not like the composition of the photo because the door and the wall are taking away the central focus being on my cousin. I also feel as though the photo is not evenly exposed as the background is very dark. 

The second image is under exposed. This is because the lights were turned off so that the flames are visible however I do not like the fact that the rest of the image has been darkened because it doesn't clearly represent documentary photography. 

A02: 

My images from this shoot were taken using an f-stop ranging from f/5.6 to f/6. I chose to use this because I wanted the foreground to be crisp and clear and the background to be slightly out of focus. Using this aperture meant that it was only slightly noticeable that the background was a little blurry however this is how I wanted my images to come out. By making sure that the foreground of the pictures were very clear I believe that this draws people in to the emotions and moments that the pots are portraying. I used a shutter speed of 1/60 (just like I used in my Christmas day shoot). I chose to use tunis shutter speed because when using a flash to take photos if the shutter speed is too long then the photo will become over exposed. By using this shutter speed I was still able to freeze action rather than crediting blur but also the photos had the correct exposure. During this shoot I set my camera to ISO 400. Although some of my photos were taken in slightly darkened rooms which would have required an ISO of 1600, I was using the flash on my camera which meant that the camera did not need to be extremely sensitive to the light conditions therefore I used an  ISO of 400.   

Contact Sheet - Shoot 4

These photos were taken at a family wedding over the Christmas period. I did not take many photos in this shoot because I was a part of the wedding therefor there was not a lot of time for me to capture images throughout the day. I captured these images in the evening and they look at my family and friends enjoying themselves. After completing this shoot I have decided to not use it in my final selection of images because I do not feel as though it fits with the story I am trying to create.  

A03:

My ideas for each of these shoots were to create a story of my family leading up to and during Christmas. The idea to capture images of my family mainly came from my photographer research on Francesca Russel. I really liked her photos because they looked unplanned. She captured moments and expressions in peoples faces as if she froze emotions of her family. This is what I wanted to create when taking my own photos. I believe that my inspiration to capture spontaneous moments came from my research into Henri Cartier Bresson. Within each of his photos he wants to capture the decisive moment. I believe that this is most obvious when I did a shoot on Christmas day because opening Christmas presents is something that only happens once a year and I wanted to show the difference between reactions in young children and adults. I believe that by capturing these unique expressions I was able to capture the decisive moment. I also used my planning mind map and ideas to ensure that I completed all three shoots at the correct time. I did not plan to complete the first photoshoot in the snow because this event happened without me knowing. After competing my shoot in the snow (which was not planned) I felt as though my images did not closely relate to the photographers that I had looked at therefore I decided to develop my work and look into another photographer names JH Lartigue. This allowed me to make relations from my work to another photographer.  

Edits

When editing my photo I used multiple tools on photoshop. Firstly I cropped some of my images to get rid of things within the frame of the photo that were not needed. I then edited the brightness and contrast of the images. This enhanced the colours within the photos. I used the curves tool which altered the contrast and tones within the images. I also looked at the colour balance within some of the images and slightly adjusted this.  

Development of my work

To develop my work I have done some research into diptychs and triptychs in photography. 

Diptychs present two or three images which are from the same session and triptychs are polar opposites to show opposition or contrasting ideas. They both consist of work made up of two parts. A triptych generally uses three distinctly separate images. When experimenting with this in my work I would like to focus on using diptychs as all of my images link together because they were all taken in relation to the Christmas period. I have done some research on a photographer who uses diptychs within his work. Another way that I would like to develop my work is to explore black and white. This is because the photographers that I initially researched, Henri Carter Bresson and Francesca Russel, explore this within their photos. I will do this to relate my images to my artist research further.

Jason Weddington

Weddington is a fine art photographer, a photography writer and also a photography teacher. Jason uses diptychs in his work to tell a story. The images below are examples of Weddington's photos that include the diptych technique.  

The image of the man and woman taking a photo on their phone is very interesting because the fact that they are taking a photo of themselves and then looking at the image afterwards could imply how much the world are reliant on technology. This may also suggest that they would rather use their phones than have a conversation with each other. This shows how technology has adapted over many years and how common it is for people to rely on it. I like the use of the diptych within this photo because I believe that this captures a story rather than just a snapshot of a moment. I like the use of the same sized photo being used to create the diptych because it is as if the camera has not moved but the moment the camera is capturing has happened.

I like the image of the boy who is collecting the acorns. I really like the close up image and the further away photo side by side. I feel as though the close up image shows the close relationship between the photographer and the child. In this case the boy in the photo is the photographers son and I believe that the zoomed in image represents the close bond that they have. I feel as though this diptych is successful because it explains the zoomed out image as it  may not be clear what the child is doing just by seeing him far away. This shows me that diptychs can also be used to prevent the viewer from questioning what is going on in the picture. Although the two images link I feel as though the way the photographer has taken the images contrasts. I like the contrast between a narrow and wide depth of field as I feel like using a narrow depth of field specifies which part of the image the photographer wants you to closely see.

Further Edits

I used the same photos that I have already taken previously for documentary but looked into other ways in which the photos can be edited. Below I have explained how I created a diptych in photoshop. 

Firstly I selected file then new. I then altered the dimensions. I changed the width to 1900, the height to 1450 and the resolution to 240. I then selected ok.  

Next I dragged each image into the new document I had created. They were both larger than this document therefore I had to resize the images. 

To do this I held down shift and clicked on both layers. This enabled me to resize them at the same time. 

I then clicked cmd+T. I held down the shift key whilst I resized the image because this kept them the correct width and height. Once the images were resized I clicked on each individual layer and moved the images to where I wanted them to be. 

I selected the rectangular marquee tool and selected the area of the frame that I wanted to keep. 

I then clicked on image, crop. This cropped the parts out of the border that I didn't want. 

I also used the black and white tool to change some images to black and white. This allowed me to explore some editing techniques that were similar to my artist research.

  

A04:

My final series of images look at the journey leading up to Christmas and the family time over the Christmas period. The first shoot that I completed in the snow represents children's excitement before Christmas begins as everyone is talking about it and they cannot wait. This photo shoot also shows how the parents are trying to relax even though they have to get ready for Christmas. The second shoot follows on from this and shows Christmas day itself. I like this shoot because it clearly show the difference in how adults and children react to Christmas. This shows my close, immediate family spending Christmas together, relaxing and the happiness of receiving and giving presents over the Christmas period. Finally the shoot that I completed on Boxing day shows me spending time with extended family. This represents the efforts that people go through to see their families over the Christmas period even though they may not get to see them very often throughout the year.

My final series of images