1. Documentary Photography:
Data Collection
Karen Gregory
Instructional Technology Fellow
Hunter College
Department of Sociology
CUNY Graduate Center

2. Seminar Three Final Project
• Writing thematic, short paper (individual papers)
• Mapping various neighborhoods
• Visiting neighborhoods (in groups) and while there taking: field notes,
photographs, and possibly video. You may go more than once.
• Compiling class data into a final presentation (<10min)
• This workshop should help you collect photographs while in the field, as
well as help you think about your final presentation.

3. What is a “documentary” photograph?
• Aren’t all photos documents? What distinguishes a documentary photo
from an advertisement, from a family photo, from an “art” photo?
• What type of evidence can photos provide? When and how are photos
deceptive?
• What does a “documentary approach” entail?
• What about style and composition?

4. Four Aspects of Photo Data:
• Details: Cameras love details: architectural details, signage, artful objects,
textures.
• Contexts of social life: A photo can place human behavior in a larger social
environments.
• Social Interaction: In documentary photos, we often see people living and
acting together
• Portraits: Cameras love individuals and attempting to “portray” them or tell
their story.

5. Detail
Cartier-Bresson, 1931
Hungary Windowshop
Atget, 1900
Hotel des Archeveques de
Lyon, rue Saint-Andre-
des-Arts, 58

6. Context
Stephen Shore, 1982
Uncommon Places

7. Interactions
Weegee, 1943,
Lovers with 3D Glasses
at the Palace Theater

8. Portraiture
Dorothea Lange, 1936
Destitute peapickers
in California; a 32 year old
mother of seven children. Also
known as “Migrant Mother”

9. Today’s Experiment: Part One
• Work in groups of four or five. Make sure at least two people have a camera. One
person can be the note-taker for the group.
• Select food-themed “field spots” at Hunter: Food Venders, Cafeteria, Cafe,
Street Corner, Lounges. Groups will go to the “field spots” for 25 minutes.
• There, collect one of each type of photo: a detail, a context, an interaction shot,
and, if possible, a portrait.
• You will also need to take the following notes: Where is this? Who or what are we
looking at, what day/time of day is this, what is happening (if not obvious), any
names or credits that you would like to give (particularly for portrait)
• Your notes are as important as your photos. You need them to appropriately
caption your photos.

10. Experiment: Part Two
• Return to class. For 30 minutes, work with your group to look at images and
select between three and six images that can tell the (very brief) story of where
you just were (at the least what is happening and who is there, perhaps even
why.)
• You need to insert images into an iMovie or Powerpoint/Keynote format. Make
sure to caption images. Try to put images in an order that can tell a story or is the
most effective order you can think of.
• Title your work with the name of your “field spot.” Include date, time, and the
group authors.
• If you have created powerpoint, upload to www.slideshare.com and send me the
link. If movie, upload to Vimeo and share with me. (Can do this after class.)

11. Final Project: Photo Ideas
• Neighborhoods are not just data, but also lived experiences. Through photos and
video you can elaborate on the research that you have collected over the course
of the class. A couple ideas for photo projects are:’
• Food Access: Where is food for sale? Document the availability of particular
projects or go on a visual search for one food product, i.e. oranges
• The Life of Food: Where does the food we eat “live”? How does it travel?
• The Life of the Street: Document the storefronts of a neighborhood. What stores
are there? Which stores are not?
• Portrait of Storeowner: Interview a storeowner (let’s talk about this before you
do.)