Photography

Photographs are everywhere — As a mean of communication, it is unparalleled, beating text and video where the topic is perceived in seconds, eliminating the chance of a quick swipe. One way of differentiating imagery is by using documentary-style photography which not only can tell a story but also help to eradicate the chances of getting the typical ‘stock image’ look.

And this is where I come in. :-)

(If you want to skip this TL;DR, you can look at some pretty images on my web site instead)

A fly on the wall

Documentary-style photography is the opposite of an arranged studio style photo. Here, the photographer is not involved in the shooting but acts as a documentarist rather than a portraitist. This makes for more candid shots, characterised by the photographer’s style, overview, and intuition and captured in ‘the decisive moment’ (Bresson).

Likewise, the images will portray a more personal and unique angle, as opposed to what you can achieve with a more ‘traditional’ approach. For example, people have a tendency to act more relaxed and as themselves when not being forced to (re)act in a certain way in front of a huge lens.

Furthermore, there will also be a stronger focus on the little or quirky details that may be overlooked by most people, but which adds excellently to the underlying ‘story.’

Poverty – taken for the Danish NGO, Kirkens Korshær who helps people, who are stigmatized and often feel abandoned by the community as such because they live in poverty, loneliness, homelessness, psychological illness or substance abuse. © Massimo Fiorentino, all Rights Reserved

Documentation

Like any other photojournalist, photo documentarist or the like, I will be present in an x amount of hours or days and try to capture the images needed according to the ‘story’ that needs to be told.

That means that I (unless the assignment requires me not to) will observe and photograph with a minimum of interference.

Essence

Afterward, I will go home and pick out and refine the best and most covering images concerning the underlying story. The number of images may often vary — also according to how they’re going to be used.

Can be used for:

Blogging, newsletters, etc. - If you’re a professional blogger, the editor of a newsletter or the like and you need to have an event or a feature documented.

Image profile - For small or larger companies who need images as a mean of corporate identity. This could be anything from behind-the-scenes images for a restaurant to a corporation that needs to capture the essence of their corporate culture on their home page.

Personal branding - If you have a more or less public profile in your line of work, you can also here create a more intimate or different portfolio of images for press, website use etcetera.

Documentation - And of course it can be directly used as means of documentation for example if an NGO needs campaign images from “the field” or if, like stated above, they need to document an event or the like.

My web site with cases can be seen at fiorentino.me.

Art Photography