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Documentary

From the cruelty of war to intimate shots of our private lives, documentary photography captures life as it really is. In this project you’re challenged to document a slice of reality and not to be afraid to let your camera expose the truth.

Documentary photography is far removed from the control of the studio. Candid and never posed these are photos snatched in real time, capturing life as it’s lived moment by moment.

It’s a genre made famous by photojournalists who have ventured into war zones and the underbelly of society to document our most uncomfortable subjects and open our eyes to that which we’d rarely be able to see for ourselves.

Catching us at our most unguarded, documentary photographs can also reveal a lot about our private worlds; the human truths and beauty present in the everyday.

Your next brief is simply this - take a documentary photo of a real life situation as it unfolds.

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Date Posted: 04/01/2008

2100 submissions

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Please leave a helpful comment here. When you give feedback make sure you let people know exactly what is great about their photo as well what does not work for you, always include useful suggestions on how the photo could be improved.

timemaker said...

This was a chance photo that I felt I had to capture. The irony of a car loosing control and hitting a garden wall, narrowly missing the camera activated speed limit sign. The local press have now used it to improve road safety in the area.

Posted on 07/01/2008 00:17

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tan-tan1 said...

I would like to touch up the photo to make it more sharp in places where it needs it and just clean it up a little. I didn't set up the photo, it was a spontaneous capture but if i did set it up I would have had a plainer background so the picture wouldn't be too busy. I do like how it looks though, especially as a spontaneous thing and have had many positive comments on it!

Posted on 07/01/2008 01:08

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michaela.waddell said...

Took this picture of a street performer at the Fringe during summer 2008. Used PS Elements to give this image a bit more oomph.

Posted on 07/01/2008 11:47

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PhantomWard said...

I didn't really know what to upload for the idea of war at first and then I thought of the killing of the innocent and what could symbolize that. War is only the destruction of the innocent.

Posted on 08/01/2008 16:26

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mysnapz said...

Tell me how do the images one the first page of the gallery get selected, perhaps a random selection would bring some of the other little gems in these galleries to the top. me I'm on page 10 or something : (

Posted on 10/01/2008 21:26

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cybersmudger said...

If I take a photograph of a person, do I need that person to sign a model release form if I intend to upload that photograph to this website?

Posted on 29/01/2008 00:56

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