Pictorialism: 1880s-1920s

The desire for a photo graphical image to reflect and resemble a painting spurred the onset of pictorialism. Early pictorialsim portrayed romantic and religious themes, Reflective of the art forms of interest at the time. Women were mostly photographed due to the idea at the time being that males were seen as higher earners than women due to the gender pay gap, so therefore, Men were rarely the subjects of images and woman were therefore the subjects as a result as the men would typically be out working, whereas the women would typically be at home taking care of the children and doing household chores.

Structural elements of typical pictorialism, such as the joining together and combination of different images to form a composite image as a result. The recreation of atmospheric effects in nature are also a predominant feature and there is a heavy focus on tonality and focus within images. Pictorialism inspired works are typically framed and displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner

Street Photography 1930s- Present Day

Street photography is a photographical movement that arguably changed the course of portrait photography as we know it, by essentially capturing one off candid moments of people in urban environments. Street photography is said to have roots in Paris, With photographers such as Henri-Cartier Bresson being pioneers within the movement itself. Street photography aims to explore the human figure itself and Humanity’s interaction with everyday life and situations within an urban environment. Many street photographers also tend to interact with their subjects as a form of gaining context to a persons background and the situation being photographed. Street photography has been used throughout the years as a platform to adress issues to the public, such as homelessness, poverty and racism. Street photography aims to be spontaneous and capture a moment in time, with the prime purpose of telling a story and highlighting the subjects interaction with their environment. Street photography can also be classed as documentary photography dependent on the approach of the photographer. If a photographer is less spontaneous and more precise with capturing images with the sole intent of telling the story of the subject, then Street photography can fall into the bracket of documentary photography.