February 22, 2025 3:12 am

Photography with Purpose: A Historical Look Into Documentary Photography

Maddy Mortimer February 8, 2024 7:15 pm

Documentary photography, as described by Adobe, is “any photos that attempt to record the world as it is”. The documentary photographer is tasked with going to different places of the world, from palaces to slums, and documenting how the world truly is. The documentary photojournalist can make the people who live in the palace see the slum below them (take this metaphorically), which allows people to understand how others in the world live even if they can’t be there themselves. It brings the slum into the palace. Photodocumentary projects are typically longer-term projects and are more complex; while photojournalism is for more instant information (breaking news), but sometimes the two coincide. “Though one cannot say it is objective, the documentary photographer intends to bring to light some otherwise hidden reality or injustice” (The Art Story). In the broadest sense, documentary photography bleeds into many different areas of photography: fashion on the runway, landscapes, paparazzi jump-scaring celebrities in their worst moments, tragedy, and war. The rule is: to keep the images as it was in real life with less control of post-production. Important documentary photography “tells stories with intention and empathy”  (FORMAT, n.d.).

     According to The Art Story and the National Science and Media Museum, documentary photography can be traced back to when French inventor and pioneer photographer, Nicéphore Niépce, captured the first print photograph (technically) from his window in Chalons-sur-Saône in 1816. While the quality is no match to modern-age cameras, it’s still a view of what his world was really like: his view of the rooftop and the technology of his time, which by all technicalities creates a documentary photograph. Stemming from Niépce’s heliotypes, William Henry Fox Talbot created the calotype, which allowed for low light and shorter exposure times. His 1845 piece, “The Fruit Sellers” depicts a scene of life that was realistic in his time. Because of this work, we can see how much our culture has changed (for the better, for women because those dresses do NOT look convenient or comfortable). The architecture, the market, and many of the things we no longer have been documented thanks to early documentary photography before documentary photography was even a thing.  

     As dramatic world events were taking place in the mid-1800s to early 1900s (a civil war, two world wars, a global economic crisis, climate, and weather events, etc.). In the 1860s, Timothy O’Sullivan and Mathew Brady photographed the American Civil War: soldiers both dead and standing proudly at arms (see their images here).

     According to this Wikipedia article, Lewis Hine was a “sociologist and muckraker (journalist) photographer” in the early 19th century (I acknowledge that, yes, Wikipedia is not per se a scholarly source; but I also argue that it does serve as a great stepping stone in research and facts are easily verifiable).  As the demand for labor increased, many children were drawn into the workforce on lower wages than their parents’ already low wages According to the National Archives Educator’s Resources, “businesses liked to hire children because they worked in unskilled jobs for lower wages than adults, and their small hands made them more adept at handling small parts and tools”. Children working in industrial settings with little to no safety measures and worker’s protection, even for the adults, developed serious health problems and lacked education. The National Child Labor Committee was chartered by Congress in 1907 by a group of progressive reformers to end child labor. Hine left his job as a schoolteacher in New York City to become an investigative photographer for the NCA, often “tricking his way into factories to take the pictures that factory managers did not want the public to see”. This photo, taken by Hine in 1915, shows how journalism exploited and overworked young children.

     Between the two World Wars, the Great Depression left over 12 million people in America unemployed. Farmers were no longer able to uphold their lands, which left millions in poverty (FDR Library). President FDR’s 1933 “New Deal” opened up multiple agencies to help appease the economic crisis. The Farm Security Administration was established in 1937 and resettled farmers on productive land, promoted soil conservation, provided emergency financial relief, and loaned money to farmers to buy and improve their farms (National Archives). The FSA hired photographers to create the “Historical Section”, notably Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, to “document the living conditions, struggles, and resilience of rural Americans” (Hermand-Grisel and (Melville, 1985). One of the hurdles facing the FSA and farmers was “The Dust Bowl”, a period of severely damaging dust storms due to severe drought in the 1930s, affecting 10 western states directly and obliterating agriculture and ecosystems. Artur Rothstein, a commissioned FSA photographer, took this photo in Cimmaron County, Oklahoma in 1936 that shows how devesting the storms were: swallowing a family’s outhouse, forcibly displacing them, before they could pack the curtains.

     In 1971, a year after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was founded, the agency launched the DOCUMERICA project, a “photodocumentary project to record changes in the American environment”. The EPA employed over 100 photographers and collected over 20,000 photographs by the project’s conclusion in 1978.  (Simmons, 2009 and the EPA, 2023).

Gene Daniels (who later moved to the Silver City area) took this photo, of irresponsibly discarded pesticide containers by an airport runway; seeping and mixing potentially toxic chemicals (or creating a toxic chemical mixture) into the earth and air around it (BTW: Don’t be this guy. Instead, contact your state’s department of agriculture or your county’s Extension agent to dispose of chemicals!).

     For the sake of keeping this paper as concise as possible, the following is a short briefing of photographers that caught my eye during research for this paper with a sample of their work. The work above is displayed below in order from oldest to newest.

A reasonable argument could be that this photo fails to constitute a documentary photo. However, on a deeper level, this image documents what the culture and technology were like in 1845. There is not much known about this exact image and much of the information I gathered conflicted. In essence, the image itself may not be documentary by nature, but its existence is.
William H. Talbut, 1845
This photo was taken by Lewis Hine in 1915 while he was working as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee, which advocated for children’s rights to education, dignity, and well-being. This particular image smacks us with the reality that the profession of journalism has an ugly spot in its history. Here, 5-8 year-old, Freddie Kafer, is selling Saturday Evening Post newspapers at the entrance of the California State Capitol. Hine described his interaction with the boy, “He did not know his age, nor much of anything else. The bag weighed 24 pounds, and he weighed only 55 pounds. He carried this bag for several blocks to the car” (Library of Congress). The efforts of the NCLC photographers and other members ignited a movement toward a ban on child labor. Now, several federal laws prohibit children under 14 from working, regulate working hours and times dependent upon school hours, and regulate the type of work minors can do (Department of Labor).
Lewis Hine, 1915
Father-daughter duo, Frank and Frances Carpenter, traveled the world while writing and gathering photos for the multiple geography and travel books. One of his books, Carpenter’s Geographic Readers, was used for the next four decades as a standard geography book in American schools (much like the Scholastic or McGraw Hill we have today) (Ibach, 2006).
Frank/Frances Carpenter, 1920
Towards the end of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl era, the Farm Security Administration was founded by President FDR in 1937 to assist farmers back into production. (National Archives). Under the FSA’s Historical Section, Arthur Rothstein and other photographers were tasked with documenting the devastation of these events and the progress made with FSA assistance. This photo was taken in the Oklahoma county that borders New Mexico (the westernmost of the panhandle) and shows the aftermath of one of the dust storms caused by severe drought and heavy winds.
Arthur Rothstein, 1936
Olga Ignatovich enlisted in the Soviet army in 1941 as one of seven female photo correspondents and worked for various Soviet frontline newspapers. Only short and vague records remain of her post-war life today and her exact death date and burial place are unknown. Her images from WWII, including the one above, were found in a mold and fungus-infested shoebox after many had believed they were forever lost (WWII: Arthur Bondar Collection, n.d.).
Olga Ignatovich, 1943
In the 1950s, Robert Frank gathered his wife and two children and set off on a road trip across America to document the real America on film. In 1959, he published his photos, including the one above, in his book, The American. Critics responded to this book and accused Frank of being slopping and even anti-American. It’s important to note that he was born in Switzerland, which made his outsider’s eye even more valuable to capturing the reality as he saw it (O'Hagan, 2019). There is not much known about this specific image, but the clean streets and littered lawns on either side of the presumably drunk man play into an almost comical documentation of American priorities. There is not much know about this specific image, but the clean streets and littered lawns on either side of the presumably drunk man plays into an almost comical documentation of American priorities.
Robert Frank, 1955
Diane Arbus, like Frank, wanted to capture “the freaks” of America. Arbus had grown up in an upper-class family and felt “shielded from the effects of the Great Depression… it was like being a princess in a loathsome movie…and the kingdom was so humiliating” (Clifford, n.d.). Arbus took intimate portrait-style photos of people in the in-between of the New York City area. Her most famous works include sharp portraits of asylum inmates, midgets, nudists, and drug addicts. “She dared to photograph what people were not willing to look at and acknowledge.” (International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum, n.d.). There is not much information about this image other than what’s provided in the citation. However, it’s easy to identify with the rest of Arbus’s theme of documenting the unpleasantries of life. This image shows that no matter how things change, they always stay the same (or something like that).
Diane Arbus, 1960
In 1972, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hired Gene Daniels and hundreds of fellow photographers for the Documerica project. From 1971-1978, these photographers assisted the agency’s aim to document changes in the American environment. This photo is particularly daunting from my perspective gained from working with pesticide regulation with the aim of consumer and environmental protection. Another image from his collection, shows a massive hillside egregiously marked with black oil waste. (Daniels, 1972). Both of these images serve as a frightening visual before-and-after of improper chemical and waste disposal.
Gene Daniels, 1972
Derek Ridgers is a British who documented the 1980’s major club culture. He first focused on the bands that were performing at local London punk gigs, but then decided the crowd behind the front row was much more exciting (Hutchcraft, 2015). The above image was taken while on a family trip to Ibiza, the still-sought-after destination for clubgoers and ravers. Then, Ridgers would have been one of the few with a camera; leaving the partiers free of today’s phone distraction (notice the free hands and lack of arms in the air leading to posed selfies). When Ridgers first brought his images to the editors of The Face magazine the idea was rejected. However, a year later in the Sept. 1985 issue, the magazine ran his story and photos, and “Once people in the U.K. started to realize that Ibiza was cool – and had it confirmed by The Face magazine – everything changed” (Ridgers, 2018).
Derek Ridgers, 1984
Alex Hurst is a Liverpool-based social and culture documentary photographer. His simple description of this photo: “I stumbled across these kids whilst wandering around Toxteth” (Hurst, 1995). This image is purely here for comedic reasons. But I think it brings a sense of nostalgia from when we were cheeky kids; nostalgia that many generations can feel. This photo also documents the everyday life in the Liverpool area and how children interacted with those around them.
Alex Hurst, 1995
Hugo Pieter is a South African photographer who has worked on multiple photo documentary projects focusing on African culture, political issues, and life. For this project, Hugo photographed the “Gadawan Kura” (hyena handlers/guides) in Nigeria. He spent eight days traveling with a group, including the trio above, and photographed their time spent outside of the performance with the animals away from the crowds they entertained (Hugo, 2005-2007). This image shows how these animals are integrated into the family life. Like a child cuddling up to their childhood pet, the little girl is cuddled up to her hyena.
Hugo Pieter, 2005
This image I found while in a Google rabbit hole of documentary-style photography. Ian Welding is ‘not a wedding photographer’ based in New Castle, England (Weldon, 2024). His photos capture the family fiasco that weddings usually are. He forgoes poised and superficial portraits and instead documents these big days in the devastatingly wholesome moments. This image in particular shows the range of emotions and happenings of a wedding day: tears, slings, laughs, and hopeful smiles all while wearing gowns and suits.
Ian Weldon, 2020

REFERENCES:

Arbus, D. (1960). Couple arguing. Coney Island, New York.

Carpenter, F. C. (1920). Taj Mahal. Library of Congress, Agra, India.

Clifford, B. (n.d.). Diane Arbus, American, 1923–1971. Retrieved from The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/208

Cohn, A. (n.d.). Explore the purpose & history of documentary photography. Retrieved from Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography/discover/documentary-photography.html

Congress, L. o. (1915, May). Freddie Kafer… Retrieved from Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/resource/nclc.03963/

Daniels, G. (1972). Discarded Pesticide Cans. DOCUMERICA. National Archives Catalog: EPA, Fresno, California.

Daniels, G. (1972, May). OIL WASTE ON BARREN HILLSIDE. Retrieved from National Archives: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/542512

FDR Library and Museum. (n.d.). Great Depression Facts. Retrieved from National Archives: FDR Library and Museum: https://www.fdrlibrary.org/great-depression-facts#:~:text=How%20high%20was%20unemployment%20during,or%2012%2C830%2C000%20people%20was%20unemployed.

FORMAT. (n.d.). How To Get Started With Documentary Photography. Retrieved from FORMAT: Documentary Photography Portfolio: https://www.format.com/online-portfolio-website/documentary-photography/guide#:~:text=Documentary%20photography%20has%20long%20served,stories%20with%20intention%20and%20empathy.

Frank, R. (1955). “For Sid in America (FLORIDA 1955). Les Douches la Galerie, Miami, Florida.

Harding, C. (2013, November 25). N IS FOR… JOSEPH NICÉPHORE NIÉPCE, CREATOR OF THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH. Retrieved from The Science and Media Museum: https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/a-z-of-photography-joseph-nicephore-niepce-first-photograph/#:~:text=Ni%C3%A9pce%20called%20his%20process%20heliography,exposure%20of%20about%208%20hours!

Hermand-Grisel, S. (n.d.). A Brief History of Documentary Photography. Retrieved from All About Photography: https://www.all-about-photo.com/photo-articles/photo-article/1429/a-brief-history-of-documentary-photography

Hine, L. (1915). Freddie Kafer… National Child Labor Committee: Library of Congress, Sacramento.

Hugo, P. (2005). Mummy Ahmadu and Mallam Mantari Lamal with Mainasara. The Hyena and Other Men. Abuja, Nigeria.

Hurst, A. (1995). Toxteth Kids. Liverpool, England.

Hurst, A. (1995). Toxteth Kids. Retrieved from British Culture Archive: https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/product/toxteth-kids-liverpool-1990s-alex-hurst-open-edition-print/

Hutchcraft, J. (2015, October 8). Photos of Five Decades of Club Kids. Retrieved from Vice: https://www.vice.com/en/article/dp5wj7/derek-ridgers-documentarian-british-nightlife-529

Ibach, M. (2006, June). Carpenter Collection: About this Collection. Retrieved from Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/collections/carpenter/about-this-collection/

Ignatovich, O. (1943). A Red Army female soldier pulling a machine gun belt from a wooden box. 1st Ukrainian Front. Arthur Bondar Collection, USSR (Russia).

International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum. (n.d.). Diane Arbus. Retrieved from International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum: https://iphf.org/inductees/diane-arbus/

Melville, A. (1985). Farm Security Administration, Historical Section: A Guide to Textural Record in the Library of Congress. Retrieved from Library of Congress.

National Archives. (2017, February 21). Teaching With Documents: Photographs of Lewis Hine: Documentation of Child Labor. Retrieved from National Archives: Educator Resources: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hine-photos

National Archives. (n.d.). Overview: The Farm Security Administration. Retrieved from National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/files/atlanta/education/depression-curriculum/section-2.pdf

O’Hagan, S. (2019, September 11). Robert Frank: the outsider genius whose photographs laid bare America’s soul. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/sep/11/robert-frank-the-americans-outsider-genius-photography

Ridgers, D. (1984). At Ku, Ibiza 1984. Ibiza, Spain.

Ridgers, D. (2018, July). At Ku, Ibiza 1984. Retrieved from Derek Ridgers: https://www.derekridgers.com/blog/at-ku-ibiza-1984-rw866-pnfl3

Rothstein, A. (1936). Sand piled up in front of outhouse on farm. Cimarron County, Oklahoma. Farm Security Administration; Library of Congress, Cimmaron County, Oklahome.

Seiferle, R., & Antony Todd. (2019, May 21). Documentary Photography Movement Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from The Art Story: https://www.theartstory.org/movement/documentary-photography/

Simmons, C. J. (2009). DOCUMERICA: Snapshots of Crisis and Cure in the 1970s. Retrieved from National Archives: Prologue Magazine: https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2009/spring/documerica.html

Talbut, W. H. (1845). “The Fruit Sellers”. Carnegie Museum of Art.

The Grant County Beat. (2022, November 11). Silver City’s Youth Mural Program’s online auction of photography by Gene Daniels is now live. Retrieved from The Grant County Beat: https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-releases/75176-silver-city-s-youth-mural-program-s-online-auction-of-photography-by-gene-daniels-is-now-live

The Hyena and Other Men. (2005-2007). Retrieved from https://pieterhugo.com/Text-THE-HYENA-AND-OTHER-MEN

U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). Child Labor. Retrieved from https://www.worker.gov/child-labor-wages/#:~:text=Federal%20child%20labor%20law%20generally,18%20in%20any%20hazardous%20occupation.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2023, March 16). Historical Photos and Images. Retrieved from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/history/historical-photos-and-images

Weldon, I. (2020). Maitea & Rafel. Sicily.

Weldon, I. (2024). About. Retrieved from Ian Weldon: https://www.ianweldon.com/about

Wikipedia. (2024, January 3). Lewis Hine. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hine

WWII: Arthur Bondar Collection. (n.d.). Olga Ignatovich: a rare view at war through the lens of the Soviet female photographer. Retrieved from WWII: Arthur Bondar Collection: https://ww2abc.com/collections/olga-ignatovich-a-rare-view-at-war-through-the-lens

About Author

Maddy Mortimer

Born and raised in Durango, Colorado, Maddy is a Fall 2020-May 2024 undergraduate student at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces where she studies both Agricultural Communications and Journalism and Media Studies.

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