Sub-genres of documentary photography

As mentioned in my first post, documentary photography has lots of various sub-genres such as photojournalism, editorial, street photography, portraiture and landscape. However, the main aspects I am focusing on researching at this stage are social documentary photography, photojournalism and street photography.

What is photojournalism?

Photojournalism is a specific form of journalism which is news material for publication. The genre uses photographs in order to relay a news story. Still image are normally the main style of image employed. Photojournalism is differentiated from documentary photography and other sub-genres as it conforms to a fixed ethos. The genre requires the images to be accurate, truthful and unbiased whilst remaining to tell the story. The images should be a representation of the event’s content, nature and manner.

What is street photography?

Street photography requires no specific subject matter and certainly does not need the presence of a street or an urban environment in the image. Street photography is about reacting to the surroundings or atmosphere the photographer finds oneself in. It aims to show ‘a pure vision of something, like holding up a mirror to society.’ Street photography tends to focus on a single human moment, providing a literal and personal image the audience may or may not relate to. Street photography and documentary photography are very similar however have distinct differences which must be made clear. Documentary photography has an objective to record an event or capture a piece of history, whereas, street photography is more subtle with un-manipulated scenes and normally unaware subjects.