Social documentary photography should be about the subject, their lives, telling their stories in a empathetic and compassionate way. What I have been finding lately thou is photographers who are interested in the style of an image, not the importance of documenting the subjects lives. These photogs seem to value style over substance. Style! Really?? Substance (the lives of the subject) should be what the photos are about first. The people your photographing is all that matters not the perfect composition, superb lighting, making a beauty looking photo etc.Of course you want try to get great comp and lightening but not at the expense of losing your subjects story. The pics should place human being as the central theme of the story, the person should not become merely design elements to create pretty pictures. Putting the subject first, telling their story should be your number one concern! The subject, their lives, their story MUST BE FIRST. The photo must capture the HEART (the heart of the subject and viewer) or why make it? Your a social documentary photographer not an advertising dude selling cars and vacuum cleaners. The most important part of the story your creating is the subject and that is so much more valuable than getting cool lighting!
One example of that indifferent coldness is in an email I got from a photographer a while back. I do not know him, he is a pro shooter. On hearing I made photographs in the Mae Sot dump he wrote me something to the effect of "I have been to the dump in Mae Sot it is a shooting location with good photographic opportunities." he wrote me something like that, at least that was the gist of it. So he was saying the dump, the poverty, flies, children working in garbage etc. makes for a good photo op. That to me seems so wrong, on so many levels, so exploitative. We as social documentary photographers should always always put the lives of the people first. We should not look at a shooting location as a photo op but instead as a place to go and report, record, document, interpret the important story, the important lives of the PEOPLE who live there. This is where people live, where they die, this is about their lives. Social documentary photography should always be about the people first, the subject first! Not a bloody photo op where you can make pictures that promote, me, myself and I. Where you can make pictures that will sell, or whatever selfish other reasons some photographers make photos.
So many photographers are only concerned with the photograph and making it as spectacular as possible. They often forget the lives they share, the people in the pictures and how that should be what the picture is about, telling those stories with care and compassion. When we forget the lives of the subject, we become commercial hacks, lacking in love and empathy, we are simply using our subjects to promote ourselves, which is sickening.
Sorry for venting, but this has been eating at me for a while. Style, over substance, acceptance of injustice, the using of suffering people for the photogs own selfish agenda.
One example of that indifferent coldness is in an email I got from a photographer a while back. I do not know him, he is a pro shooter. On hearing I made photographs in the Mae Sot dump he wrote me something to the effect of "I have been to the dump in Mae Sot it is a shooting location with good photographic opportunities." he wrote me something like that, at least that was the gist of it. So he was saying the dump, the poverty, flies, children working in garbage etc. makes for a good photo op. That to me seems so wrong, on so many levels, so exploitative. We as social documentary photographers should always always put the lives of the people first. We should not look at a shooting location as a photo op but instead as a place to go and report, record, document, interpret the important story, the important lives of the PEOPLE who live there. This is where people live, where they die, this is about their lives. Social documentary photography should always be about the people first, the subject first! Not a bloody photo op where you can make pictures that promote, me, myself and I. Where you can make pictures that will sell, or whatever selfish other reasons some photographers make photos.
So many photographers are only concerned with the photograph and making it as spectacular as possible. They often forget the lives they share, the people in the pictures and how that should be what the picture is about, telling those stories with care and compassion. When we forget the lives of the subject, we become commercial hacks, lacking in love and empathy, we are simply using our subjects to promote ourselves, which is sickening.
Sorry for venting, but this has been eating at me for a while. Style, over substance, acceptance of injustice, the using of suffering people for the photogs own selfish agenda.
