The Birth of Documentarians and Journalists

The term ‘documentary photography’ is broad and doesn’t have a st definition. However, according to Lewis (1995), the Life Library of Photography calls it “a depiction of the real world by a photographer whose intent is to communicate something of importance to make a comment...that will be understood by its viewers.” Lewis later expresses that modern documentary evolved over a century and had its roots in early photographers as ‘recorders’. They recorded things about families, friends, community and things unfamiliar, distant, exotic places and events. At that time the camera was known to preserve family history and it brought the world into the home, it saw more than the human eye. “In the 19th century, camera documents were literal records of truth” (Lewis 1995).

​Lewis, G. (1995). Photojournalism: content and technique (2nd ed.). United States of     America: McGraw Hill Publishing.