the photographic essay
Working styles
The photographer working on a story often has to switch between creating images (portraits,
overall and detail images) and capturing images (action or decisive images). The styles of working
are very different, each requiring a different mind-set, and photographers can fi nd the switch
between the two uncomfortable. Many photographers tackle the different images required for a
photographic essay separately rather than alternating between the two styles of work.
Receptive
Decisive images and action shots require a receptive approach where the photographer is
focused solely on the environment and the activities, facial expressions or mannerisms of the
characters. The photographer working receptively is not looking for specifi c images but is accepting
circumstances ‘as they are’. The photographer aims to increase their awareness of the activities
and their surroundings as they change or unfold, many of the resulting images being photographed
‘intuitively’.
The ability to photograph intuitively rests on the degree of familiarity photographers have with
their equipment. Many professional photojournalists are able to operate their cameras instinctively
without even looking to change shutter, aperture and exposure compensation controls. The
camera becomes an extension of the hand and eye and the photographer is primarily concerned
with seeing images rather than with the equipment necessary to capture them.
Moving in close
The standard equipment for a photojournalist is a DSLR camera equipped with a wide angle lens.
Many photographers choose a fi xed focal length lens rather than a zoom for the advantage that
the wider maximum apertures afford in low light. Wide angle lenses are chosen above standard
and telephoto lenses due to the steep or dramatic perspective they give the images when working
very close to the subject (see page 90). The steep perspective and the relative position of the
photographer to the action has the effect of involving the viewer. Viewers feel like participants
rather than spectators.
ACTIVITY 4
Research a photographic essay where the photographer has made extensive use of a wide
angle lens.
Discuss the composition and communication of each image.
Without resorting to the use of telephoto lenses, take ten images of people engaged in a group
activity.
Create depth by the use of foreground, middle distance and distant subject matter.
Make use of edge of frame detail to create the feeling of involvement.