DOCUMENTARY PORTRAIT: CHARACTERISTICS, TYPES AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The documentary portrait is a form of photography used to narrate significant and historical events. Generally, it is usually related to professional photojournalism, although it is also usually seen as an amateur, artistic or academic activity. It is a form of social and aesthetic communication.

The intention of the photographer is to produce a truthful, objective and usually candid photograph of a particular or social subject. The documentary portrait, as its name implies, gives a total prominence to people.

Source: flickr.com

On the other hand, it is a personal and intimate photography style that manages to capture the real moments, emphasizing the narrative of the photography. For these types of photographs, the equipment is not as important as the patience and the construction of the idea that must be had when capturing the images.

It is important for the photographer to be able to establish an affective bond with the subjects, since he is not just a person with a camera; it's about understanding the situation, highlighting it to capture the perfect moment.

The documentary portrait is a powerful visual weapon with the objective that the world knows the social situation of cultures.

characteristics

Tells a story

According to many professional photographers around the world, a quality documentary portrait is one that tells a story. In this sense, it goes beyond capturing faces, as there are fantastic documentary portraits that do not show the faces of the subjects.

With the fact of capturing a still image of the sky, the Earth, some boots without capturing the face, it is possible to know the occupation of the person, as well as their form and lifestyle. A documentary portrait is more than a photograph, it is an unfolding story.

According to professionals who dedicate themselves to these types of photographs, great portraits are not made just by taking a quick photo.

Just as an author needs to study his characters, a photographer must think about how he is going to tell his story through a still image.

Show the everyday

The essence of the documentary portrait is to capture the daily life of the subjects, their lifestyle, their day-to-day expressions with the intention of reaching the hearts of the people who are viewing the photography.

The photographer captures people as they are, the diversity on each face and the challenges of everyday life.

Address social issues

The documentary portrait exalts the story of an anonymous character and recognizes his nature through photographs. The story that is generally told is of a social nature, capable of representing the reality of societies with a composition.

Like an audiovisual documentary, a documentary portrait is intended to capture the reality of social actors only in a fixed image. Many photos are retouched with programs like Photoshop, for example.

The documentary portrait moves away from editing for the same reason to capture the reality of the social environment.

No poses, spontaneity prevails

The photographer does not direct the events to photograph them, but takes photographs as they unfold, in such a way that they are spontaneous and not premeditated.

In documentary portraiture, photographers do not often ask their subjects to pose to capture the moment. Most commercial photographers suggest that their subjects pose in order to seek the artistic in photography.

The nature of the documentary portrait is to represent the naturalness of the daily life of the subjects, so it will be difficult to find a photographer who suggests any pose. The best portraits come from the naturalness of the expressions.

The idea is to represent the subjects as they are, without imposing a particular mask or making it look in a specific way.

Types

Traditional portrait

In the traditional documentary portrait the photography focuses on the faces of the subjects. In this sense, the purpose of this type of portraits is the real representation of the subject, as well as to capture their facial expressions in order to understand how the subject can feel.

This type of portrait is essential to build your story. On the other hand, the subject is expected to look directly at the camera. You can use two-thirds, a full-body frame, or a type of American shot.

Environmental portrait

In this type of portrait the subject is photographed in a natural and everyday environment; In other words, the face of the person no longer prevails, but usually gives part of the prominence to the environment in which it operates.

The environmental portrait helps to better tell the subject's story, in addition to more clearly representing their social reality. For example, a farmer looking at the camera while collecting the fruits of the trees.

Candid portrait

In a candid portrait, the photographer captures the image without the subject expecting it or recognizing that the photographer is photographing it. In candid portraits, the subject is generally performing routine activities. It focuses on capturing purely unsuspecting images.

Examples

Get to know different cultures

Many photographers who dedicate themselves to documentary portraiture take long trips to capture the different cultures and situations of the world.

The documentary portrait seeks for the world to recognize, admire and understand the situation of universal cultures, as well as their condition and lifestyles. It is not only intended to inform, but to show the reality and history behind a still image.

Source: pixabay.com

For example, a naked Nepalese boy, about 5 years old, who plays hide and seek, looks out and is captured by the photographer's lens.

Conflicts and social movements

In addition to making known the different cultures of the world, the photographers capture conflicts such as the consequences of wars, the movements of the LGTB group and the conditions of poverty in certain countries of the world.

Other issues addressed in the documentary portrait is immigration due to war, poverty or the political situation of the countries.

Dorothea Lange

For example, the situation of extreme poverty that a woman lives in with her three young children. In most of these types of photos, the photographer captures a natural and unsuspecting image in which through their facial expressions the situation that the subject lives or how they can feel is denoted.

References

1. Dan Milnor on Great Documentary Portrait, Topher Kelly, (2013). Taken from creativelive.com
2. Documentary Photography - A Story in Every Frame, Portal 121 Clicks, (2011). Taken from 121clicks.com
3. 9 Fundamental Styles of Portrait Photography, Sasha Guitin, (nd). Taken from learnmyshot.com
4. 25 Examples of Powerful Documentary Photography, Speckyboy editors, (2016). Taken from speckyboy.com
5. 5 documentary portraitists to follow, Nagusi, (2016). Taken from blackkamera.com