Documentary and Street Photography
Telling true stories with a camera, in public and over time: the documentary tradition, the ethics of representation, street photography and its approaches, seeing and anticipating moments, street technique, working with people, the law of photographing in public, long-term projects, research and fieldwork, sequencing, captions, and publishing and exhibiting.
PHOT-230 Year 2 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 1 min
Offered by HSM University · Photography
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Trace the documentary tradition from nineteenth-century records to contemporary practice, including Canadian and Indigenous photographers
- Analyze the ethics of representation, consent, collaboration and harm in documentary and street photography
- Describe the history, major figures and approaches of street photography and develop a personal approach
- Anticipate and capture meaningful moments using gesture, layering, juxtaposition, light and color
- Apply street technique including focal length choice, zone focusing, shutter speed and exposure strategies
- Work respectfully with people on the street and in the field, including handling objections and cultural differences
- Explain the law of photographing in public, private property, police encounters and commercial use in your country
- Plan, fund and sustain a long-term documentary project with a focused proposal
- Research subjects, negotiate access, work with fixers and plan safe, secure fieldwork
- Edit and sequence a photo essay using narrative structures, openers, closers, pacing and pairing
- Write accurate, verified, fair captions and project texts that preserve context
- Publish, exhibit and archive documentary work responsibly and complete a documentary capstone
Course content
12 lessons · 5 h 1 min total · final exam
- 1 The documentary tradition 25 min · quiz
- 2 Ethics of representation 26 min · quiz
- 3 Street photography: history and approaches 25 min · quiz
- 4 Seeing and anticipating moments 25 min · quiz
- 5 Technique for the street 25 min · quiz
- 6 Working with people on the street and in the field 25 min · quiz
- 7 Photographing in public in the US 25 min · quiz
- 8 Long-term projects 25 min · quiz
- 9 Research, access and fieldwork 25 min · quiz
- 10 Sequencing a story and the photo essay 25 min · quiz
- 11 Captions, context and text 25 min · quiz
- 12 Publishing, exhibiting, books and capstone 25 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Telling true stories with a camera, in public and over time: the documentary tradition, the ethics of representation, street photography and its approaches, seeing and anticipating moments, street technique, working with people, the law of photographing in public, long-term projects, research and fieldwork, sequencing, captions, and publishing and exhibiting.
Part of the Film & Photography stream, typically taken in year 2.