How can photography explore identity between documentary and tableaux?

‘never judge a book by its cover’

I would like to explore the topic of identity, broadly as a whole, as well as how people can have multiple identities. The direction i would like to go with this is mainly Alone vs Social identity. I find this comparison interesting because of the contrast that can be created between the two through the actual contents of the image as well as how the image can be edited. Ideas like group photos with faces covered could show that they have a social identity as a group, but each individual has a separate identity and life of their own outside of that environment. I feel like this matters to me because it applies to me and my friends. We all have our own identities individually. But when we are together we have a group identity and show the social side of our identity, as well as our own personality and identity showing through too. I find that everyone has this contrast between their identity when they are by themselves and when they are with others, their personalities come together and show through the image, especially with friend groups, less with strangers. I think when people see the images created they will be able to relate to them, creating a deeper meaning and making the image more personal. I plan to have sets of multiple contrasting images of a person, perhaps at different points of their life, showing how they have changed and how they can be judged in a certain way because of their social situation. These images will be more thought-provoking, meaningful and perhaps metaphorical in their finished state. The main styles of photography I will use is formal portraiture and a more casual, candid style of portraiture, street and event photography, referred to as snapshots. These will include multiple subjects and mostly be ‘old-school’ and ‘vintage’ looking as if they were taken on a film camera. As well as these two contrasting styles, I will include images blending the two, with one subject alone, but in a social environment, showing that even though the person is in a social situation, they still have their individual identity. I will then edit these images to further bring out the meaning and emotion behind them. The photographer I will be exploring and analysing is Paul M Smith, specifically his project ‘Make My Night’ which examines ‘lad culture’ and herd mentality amongst young males but conceptualises it by using himself to act out all the individuals in the group.

I will also explore the work of Polish photographer Maciej Dakowicz, and his project called ‘Cardiff at Night’. This project explores the rowdy environment of Cardiff after dark. Maciej Dakowicz’s photographs are documentary images whereas Paul M Smith’s photographs are tableaux, creating an interesting comparison between the staged and ‘real’ images, but both heavily explore ideas of identity in similar ways.

Documentary Photography

In a nutshell, documentary photography doesn’t only have one specific meaning, it includes a range of photographical approaches. it may be similar to photojournalist and street photography, but will never include a staged or posed scene. Documentary photography is used to display what is really happening out in the world, to tell a story or document an event usually through a series of photographs. The reason for documentary photography is to show what life is like at the time the photograph was taken, to tell a story without altering the contents of the shot for a ‘better’ photograph. As well as this, it can be used personally too, to document your family history or to tell your own story.

Maciej Dakowicz uses documentary photography to display what life is really like in Cardiff at night. The term ‘documentary’ was originally used in a review of a film by Robert Flaherty in 1926, by John Grierson, a British film director. The context of this is he was describing how the film seemed true to what was real, showing what life is like without changing a thing for the camera. Soon after, the term ‘documentary’ was used in photography too starting with some photographers describing their work as ‘documents’. Photographer Eugene Atget was the first to describe their work as ‘simply documentation’ when talking about his images of Parisian streets in the early 20’th century and other photographs where the photographer was seeking social change.

The start of documentary photography is shown to be linked with the development of print photography in the 1920’s and 1930’s and mass press photo magazines and newspapers. These images used in the magazine and newspaper articles were the start of the contemporary photojournalism movement. These new photographers were reporters who bring back visual knowledge to tell a story or what is happening in the world.

Documentary photography includes a range of different photography styles, all used in different events and situations to put across the desired meaning and story by the photographer including reporting, street-photography and photojournalism. These could be used for institutions, mass media, fine art and science, as well as story telling and documenting personal experiences.

Tableau Photography

Paul M Smith

Paul M Smith was born in 1969 in England and is a British photographer and educator.

He studied fine art at Coventry University from 1991 to 1995. Whilst studying he explored the meaning and construction of masculinity, focusing on the ‘alpha male’ identities.

One of Paul Smiths projects which caught my eye was ‘Make My Night’. Here he displays his take on the male identity having a ‘laddish’ night out. he did this by merging many self portraits together and layering them to make it seem as though he appears multiple time in the frame.

Here Paul M Smith takes the role of ever character in the frame, he becomes the ‘anonymous everyman’. He has set up the camera in a singular position and taken multiple frames of himself in different positions, editing them to make it seem as if the characters are interacting with each other. This type of photography drew my attention because of its ‘in the moment’ quality. They appear ‘professionally unprofessional,’ in the sense that some aspects are fuzzy, out of focus, or over/underexposed. However, these ‘unprofessional’ qualities add character to the shot, making it one-of-a-kind and seem as if someone just took out a disposable camera to take a quick photo. These images show the hectic events of a ‘lads night out’ whilst keeping a personal feel. The photos seem similar to ones in a personal photo album, memories that have been captured in the spur of the moment with little thought.

Paul M Smith heavily explores the idea of identity through his work. He does this using multiple techniques that blend together to create a sense of group identity within the image. One technique he uses is POV framing. This is where the photograph is taken from the point of view as someone at the event, making the viewer feel more involved in what’s happening in the image as well as getting a better idea of the group identity being portrayed. Another method Paul M Smith uses is editing the contents of the image so that every character in the frame is the same person. This also creates a feeling of group identity within the image singe they are all interacting with each other. The actual contents of the images explores the rowdy and hectic stereotype of men on nights out, drinking and smoking etc.

Maciej Dakowicz

Maciej Dakowicz is a popular Polish Photographer. He is an official Fujifilm X-Photographer and a member of a street photography group called UP photographers. One of his projects is called Cardiff After Dark which is his first monograph. The project consists of photographs he took over the course of 6 years from 2005 to 2011 of the hectic atmosphere at night of Cardiff over the weekend.

The images are focused around pedestrians out in the streets of Cardiff, drinking and smoking.