PhotoJournalism
Photojournalism emerged as a distinctive form of photography in the late 1920's and early 1930's. The term denoted picture making that was spontaneous, topical and rapid. This was facilitated by the introduction of small, hand-held cameras such as the Ermanox and the Leica, which enabled photographers to record fast-moving events and catch their subjects unawares. Meanwhile, political turmoil and the rise of mass-circulation news stimulated a huge demand for illustrated magazines. Picture Post, Life and Vu were all established at this period. Picture agencies expanded and new professions evolved – not just that of the photojournalist, but also the picture editor and agent.
In the 20th century publicity became an obsession. Even artists and intellectuals, like Frida Kahlo, Virginia Woolf and Albert Einstein, took care to shape their image for a mass audience. The photo-story could project the activities of artists and cinema stars as if they were part of a film narrative. Hollywood actors, like Lana Turner and Marlene Dietrich, might present themselves as ‘real people’, while others such as Gloria Swanson appeared as untouchable icons.
The photojournalist reveled in gaining access to private places and moments, though often the subject was complicit in this – as in the ‘day in the life’ of Helena Rubenstein. The disclosure of celebrities in intimate situations, like Erich Salomon’s surveillance shot of media mogul William Randolph Hearst at dinner, looked forward to the post-war phenomenon of the paparazzi and ultimately to contemporary ‘Reality TV’.
In the period from 1936, illustrated magazines promoted a new kind of humane photography embodying liberal-Left aspirations. This formed the basis for post-war ‘concerned’ photography, epitomised by the work of the Magnum photographers' collective, of which David Seymour was a founder member.
Photojournalism was the product of global technology. From the 1930's, images could be sent by electronic means from remote locations to picture agencies and magazines. The future appeared to be tied to technological advance and signs of progress lay on all sides – from a space-suited nuclear family to the first Concorde, recorded in the year of the Moon’s conquest.
The increasing use of rolled photographic film from the 1920's enabled photographers to take a sequence of images. The picture - or photo-story (photographs plus captions) could then assume a narrative character akin to early cinema. This became the mainstay of the illustrated magazine, for news and features alike, and picture editors became adept at laying out a double-page spread to maximise its impact.
In the 20th century publicity became an obsession. Even artists and intellectuals, like Frida Kahlo, Virginia Woolf and Albert Einstein, took care to shape their image for a mass audience. The photo-story could project the activities of artists and cinema stars as if they were part of a film narrative. Hollywood actors, like Lana Turner and Marlene Dietrich, might present themselves as ‘real people’, while others such as Gloria Swanson appeared as untouchable icons.
The photojournalist reveled in gaining access to private places and moments, though often the subject was complicit in this – as in the ‘day in the life’ of Helena Rubenstein. The disclosure of celebrities in intimate situations, like Erich Salomon’s surveillance shot of media mogul William Randolph Hearst at dinner, looked forward to the post-war phenomenon of the paparazzi and ultimately to contemporary ‘Reality TV’.
In the period from 1936, illustrated magazines promoted a new kind of humane photography embodying liberal-Left aspirations. This formed the basis for post-war ‘concerned’ photography, epitomised by the work of the Magnum photographers' collective, of which David Seymour was a founder member.
Photojournalism was the product of global technology. From the 1930's, images could be sent by electronic means from remote locations to picture agencies and magazines. The future appeared to be tied to technological advance and signs of progress lay on all sides – from a space-suited nuclear family to the first Concorde, recorded in the year of the Moon’s conquest.
The increasing use of rolled photographic film from the 1920's enabled photographers to take a sequence of images. The picture - or photo-story (photographs plus captions) could then assume a narrative character akin to early cinema. This became the mainstay of the illustrated magazine, for news and features alike, and picture editors became adept at laying out a double-page spread to maximise its impact.