Apr 8, 20204 min read

Documentary by Karen Osdieck

Updated: Apr 9, 2020

Documentary family photography is modeled after photojournalism standards. Even though we are not capturing front page headline news documentary family photography is still quite different than lifestyle photography.

So how is documentary different?

Documentary does not have a specific visual aesthetic associated with it... it is an approach. A documentary photo does not have a certain way that it should look.

1. In documentary the photographer is driven by the moment unfolding without influencing it or by giving any direction to the subjects. We do not set up the scene to make a photograph. For example setting up your child’s favorite toy in the most pretty light is not considered a documentary photo and would be more of a lifestyle approach. Even though we are not fully posing the child while playing with their favorite toy is the pretty light we have already influenced the situation that would not have happened on its own.

2. We do not remove things from the scene or add things to the scene. For example I will not remove the clutter on my kitchen table before shooting an image. That clutter is part of my reality. Depending on my intent I can include the clutter of exclude it from my frame.

3. We do not manipulate the digital file (jpeg) by altering any pixels. That includes cloning, removing objects, headswaps, etc. Cropping is perfectly acceptable.

If you want to read the photojournalism code of ethics you can find it here https://nppa.org/code-ethics.

It is a common misconception that the photographer has no control over a documentary image but in fact we can control ourselves right? We all have differing visions which make our image unique.

We can control where we stand and what we include / exclude from the frame. We can tell the story that we see the most interesting. We can shoot literal or we can shoot surreal. We can tell the entire story in an image or we can leave some to the viewer’s imagination.

Two fundamental approaches.

There are two general approaches that I like to use while shooting documentary images.

The first method is if I see a good composition or an interesting spot I will set up my shot FIRST. I will stand in front of the “spot” I want to shoot and set up the composition in my frame and I will meter and then I WAIT! I will wait for my subjects to enter my frame while playing, walking, doing something interesting, etc. I don't always get lucky doing this but I’ve stacked the deck in my favor by already picking the environment and composition and then just waiting. I do not ask my boys to go to that spot or do something. It’s against the “code” of true documentary and I also want their actions to be authentic to them. With this being said often times I pick the PERFECT spot and composition and then wait..... and then NOTHING! It happens.

For example in the photo above I knew they were not moving because they were sitting at Starbucks. I set up my composition with the art on the wall and making sure to include my food and my empty seat. I just wanted for a quiet moment where they were somewhat connect to each other while ignoring that there is an empty seat with food waiting for another person. The viewer can assume the empty chair with the food could be for a parent that is somewhere out of the frame.

The second thing I do is to shoot “moment driven”. In this case I’m shooting for the moment first and watching what they are doing and then trying to adjust my angle, composition, position secondary. Usually in this case the “moment” is the most important element in the image to tell my story. Look at the photo below. I was racing against time to take this shot before he woke up and realized what I was doing or before he moved. The composition turned out ok but I did not give much thought to it at the time I just knew I need to capture him in this moment. I personally think the composition turned out well luckily because I had to squat down to shoot him so it just fell into place.

How to document the moment without inserting yourself.

Sometimes this isn’t easy to do especially when you're shooting your own family. When shooting my kids they are always looking to me or talking to me which is fine because I am mom. But I do not speak to them in a way that would influence the shot or tell them to do something to get a certain shot. My best shots are of them being themselves or doing things that were thought up all by themselves. I do not think like a 6 year old so he’s way ahead of me in the creativity department.

Also I shoot on and off because I still want to be in the moment with them. I keep my camera handy all the time and sometimes it’s easy to predict their behaviors so it is getting easier for me to know when I reach for my camera and when to shoot.

So how do you shoot a “good” documentary shot?

Shoot something that moves YOU or speaks to YOU. That’s what's important first of all. Like all the other genres everyone has different opinions about what is a good documentary photo. There are so many sub categories under the umbrella of documentary and you can shoot any subjects in any way that interests you the only thing is that we do not intervene as the photographer.

There is photojournalism that captures a literal moment, you can shoot not so literal where the story is not fully told in the frame we as the viewer will end up assuming some of the story, surrealism, abstract, poetic, you can shoot a series of photos that tell a story over time.... just to name a few.

My best and most favorite shots are ones where I am trying “say” something or I have a clear intent in my head while I’m shooting.