Social documentary is a form of documentary photography in which you record social issues and situations. In the 19th Century, social classes were the subject of photography, and due to the social impact that industrialisation had, England was the birthplace for social documentary.
HENRY MAYHEW
Mayhew was a journalist and playwright as well as a co-founder of the satirical magazine Punch. He was one of the first photographers of the genre, producing London Labour and the London Poor, a depiction of London’s working class.
THOMAS ANNAN
Also in early stages of the genre, Scottish photographer Thomas Annan photographed the slums of Glasgow. He was known for being the first photographer to record the bad living conditions of the poor.
BILL BRANDT
Brandt was considered a pioneer for this genre, renowned for his documentation of the Great Depression and experimental photography of the nude. His images of British society could be seen in Lilliput and Picture Post magazines.
NAN GOLDIN
Nan Goldin is an American photographer focusing on topics such as LGBT bodies and the opioid epidemic. Her work can be found in San Francisco museum of modern art and Elgiz Museum. At 18, Goldin fell in love with drag queens and they became the muse of most of her work until she moved onto photograph the post-punk music scene. Typically, her work was presented in slide shows with musical scores alongside and portrayed different aspects of her life including addiction and abuse.
MARTIN PARR
Martin Parr takes a satirical and anthropological take on social documentary, focusing on the wealth of the western world. His mantra is “I take serious photos disguised as entertainment”. Unlike the other two photographers I have looked at, his work is very colourful and playful in order to grab peoples attention. All his work has a deeper meaning, it’s hidden behind a mask and you have to (if you want to) analyse it for that meaning. His known aesthetic is close up, saturated images in order to ‘expose’ them or put them under a microscope.
ED GOLD
Ed Gold travels to unique and unusual places in order to document the lives of people living off the grid. His work can be found on the BBC with articles to compliment his research and photography. In this picture, Ed Gold visited Prophet River where he has been documenting the First Nation Community of the “Beaver People”. The community is British Columbia in Canada, around 50 miles south of Fort Nelson.
Photo Journalism 