When I started my A level in photography, it was always my intention to continue to degree level and hopefully develop a career within photography. I was aware that photography takes many forms and I hoped that over time I would show an aptitude in one genre or another.
Before we even picked up a camera, we were presented with the history of photography, exploring each genre with examples from the masters. For me, it was social documentary that drew me like a magnet. It isn't difficult to see why. Here we have photography in its most noble form, a genre that can expose suffering and exploitation and ultimately, has the power to evoke change. It is little wonder that Trinity are inundated with requests from students (see my previous blog), as the most obvious example of human suffering in the UK would be the homeless.
People often ask what I hope to do with my degree when I leave University, and my answer is never my ultimate ambition, social documentary. I find myself reluctant to say the words aloud, as it seem an unrealistic dream. After all, most people assume that I am going to do wedding photography. To be honest, if I do manage to earn a living (by photography of any means) it will be to fund my pursuits in the social documentary field.
Social documentary is something that takes time and money to do well. I know that my own efforts will have to start small, and might actually never progress further than that. If my fellow students and I were to have a reality check, many of us will never see our work published. Photography is a market saturated with both professionals and amateurs. To my mind, your best chance of success is if you are shooting something you love, something you believe in. What I am just getting my head around is that it isn't enough to produce an accomplished image, it has to have other elements as well. We are told that we should be thinking of fresh, exciting, contemporary ways of seeing, but I can't see that this can be applied to all aspects of social documentary. How can you give a contemporary feel to famine stricken Africa? Perhaps it is something we need to find an answer to in a world where phrases such as "compassion fatigue" exist. I have heard it said that social documentary has had its day, and I suppose it is true that we are now more aware of what is going on in the world, that there are now other mediums with perhaps even greater power to expose suffering and exploitation. For me though, photography will always have the edge, you can't turn it off, it has a physical, personal presence.
When you consider the above , a career in social documentary seems more unlikely than ever! By my next blog I will hopefully have received Image Makers, Image Takers, providing an insight into those that have succeeded in this elite genre.
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