Is reportage documentary style obsolete?

There are different styles of photography employed by the photographers all around the world. These include traditional style, formal style, fashion style, nature photography style etc. Each style has got its own advantages and disadvantages. Most of these styles are suited to a particular situation. There are unique photography styles also provided by highly talented photographers developing their own style of photography. The present essay is intended to analyze the advantages as well as shortcomings of reportage documentary style and to find whether the style has already gone out fashioned or obsolete.

Media drives today’s world. Therefore most of the people like the important events in their life to be photographed in a story telling manner. Here comers the importance of reportage documentary style also called as photo journalistic style of photography. Here the images of moments are captured spontaneously and the photographer never asks anyone to pose for the photo. Thus the real expression and beauty of each and everyone attending the event will be copied. Most of the shots will not be ordinary shots as seen traditionally. For example in a wedding the usual photographs one expects are the full-length photos of the bride, photo of kissing couple etc. But in this photography such pictures will be less. They will cover each and every moment as it happens then and there and therefore the true nature of the moment and the feelings involved are included in the pictures. This is the most preferred style for cultural, social as well as political events (This Year’s Photography Styles, 2008)

The disadvantage of the traditional style of wedding photography is that it will have only pictures, which are posed in old style, in locations that are old. So the viewer of the album will be bored easily. Another problem is the process of this photo session which will be so irritating and tiring on that wonderful day, when most people want to be real and want to enjoy each moment fully.  In reportage documentary style each and every funny moments will be captured and it will make people laugh each time they take the album to view these pictures. The creative ideas of the photographer is what matters most for the success of this photography (New ideas for perfect wedding photos, 2008)

Reportage documentary style is called as documentary style because of some reasons. The segments photography are edited in such a way that when it is joined together, it provides continuity. So the entire events of the day are documented with continuity and perfection in the order in which actually it happened. It will as if one is telling a story.

One of the drawbacks of this style, especially while covering a wedding is that there is no preplanned list of activities. So the scenes are unpredictable and it depends of the sense of photographer. So if the couple had wanted a traditional dramatic style of presentation, they would regret for having gone for this style. But even then most of the people prefer this style for their wedding and reception. However in order to avoid regret, people would like to include some traditional posed photos as well.  If there is low light on that particular day, the quality of the images may be affected. This is also a very important disadvantage of this style.

Since this style involves taking the photograph of the flow of events, there is no interference of the photographer in the event. The most important aspect in this style is the professional editing which is highly required to make people interested in this. There will be a sense of curiosity as the pictures are seen to see the next picture. So it will be more interesting to see the album compared to the usual traditional style. But in order to create this interest the expertise in editing is a must. In order to avoid extra light fittings, usually 3CCD camcorders are used for this purpose. So people will not notice the presence of a videographer and thus it will be easy to get the true expression and emotions.

Reportage documentary style of photography is most preferred to cover up sports events. The important factors, which determine the quality of image in this style of photography is location of the photographer, lens length and the techniques used to reduce blurring of the image. Special type of lenses known as telephoto lenses are used here and these lenses are having a focal length ranging from 60 mm to 1000 mm. In order to cover soccer events in sports, generally cameras of 35 mm with lens of focal lengths 300 mm to 600 mm are used. The photographer must be efficient to cover up the expressions and emotions in the face of participants as well as spectator. It is very important to have the images of expression like triumph and anguish accurately in the frame for the success of the photography.

Another use of reportage documentary style of photography is to write photo essays especially in news magazines and similar journals. Life, which is one of the most popular magazines in America, became so popular because of the photo essays. The entire story is told more through the photos than through the words. The true photos that are taken on the spot increase the curiosity of the reader and give a clearer image of what has happened at that moment (Tardiff, 2008)

It was the invention of small 35 mm hand held camera that made reportage style of photography possible. The camera could be carried anywhere without any difficulty and does nor require any particular lightings to capture the images. Thus the presence of photographer will be unnoticeable in the whole event (Tardiff, 2008). It is a flexible tool that could be used anywhere.

As a result of the advent of new documents and exhibitions of social landscapes, the photography has become more multifaceted and complicated. Personal journalism is the most important trend of the day. The journalists try to express the world in their own view in this type of journalism. Here reportage documentary style of presentation has got a significant place.

There are special courses on photojournalism and documentary photography in many of the Universities around the world. Here students are taught how to create photographs for photo essays, news, documentaries, and other special events. The theory as well as practical classes actually increase the viewpoint of the students towards this subject and thus enable them to be more professional in their approach (Photojournalism and Documentary Photography 2009 Entry, 2008). The students are taught how to tell a story through images and how to communicate effectively through photography.

Thus it can be seen that reportage documentary style of photography is the most wanted type of photography by most of the modern people to cover the events in their important days, such as wedding day or any such important events. It gives the true expressions and emotions on the face of each and every one in the scene and provides the event in the form of a story. Thus the viewer of the photographs are never getting bored even years after the event. This is the sole type of photography that is used to cover sport events, photo essays, news and personal journalism. There are courses offered by many universities on this subject. So there is no point in telling that this style is obsolete.

References

New Ideas for Perfect Wedding Photos (2008). http://www.iqphoto.com/photoideas/index.html (Accessed on 29 November, 2008)

Photojournalism and Documentary Photography 2009 Entry (2008). http://www.glos.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/pjd/Pages/entry2009.aspx (Accessed on 29 November, 2008)

Style (2008). http://www.windsorvideo.com/weddstyle.html (Accessed on 29 November, 2008)

Tardiff, R. (2008). Reportage and the hand held camera http://www.tardiffphotography.com/essay.html (Accessed on 29 November, 2008)

This Year’s Photography Styles (2008) . http://www.awebwedding.com/2008/04/this-years-photography-styles.html (Accessed on 29 November, 2008)