Andrew Heller Studio vs Documentary

Andrew Heller

To me, the major difference between studio and documentary photographs in African American photography is the intended audience. As we discussed in reference to Keita and Parks, the Keita photos were usually pre planned by both the photographer and the person being photographed. These studio photos were made to capture the finest qualities in a person so that they could later exhibit the picture in their homes as a sign of self worth. In this case the intended audience would be anyone coming in contact with the person being photographed. Whereas many of Parks photographs were taken with the idea to be shared with a much larger audience that may never come in contact with the people in the photograph, thus making them documentary. Additionally, Parks had a much broader meaning for his intended audience. Rather than simply highlighting the people in the photograph, his photos were intended to capture natural images of every day life that people could relate to. So essentially, the main differences, in my eyes, between studio photography and documentary photography are the intended audiences the pictures are taken for and the meaning that they carry to that audience. Specifically, with studio photography catering to a much more localized community of an audience with a singular purpose in mind, while documentary photography is meant to serve a much larger audience with a more universal meaning.

Although, despite these differences, there does seem to be some fundamental similarities between the two concepts. One similarity that the two styles have in common is the emphasis on displaying the beauty within African and African American communities. Another similarity involves the inclusion of a somewhat  staged scenario. Whether the style is documentary or studio, each requires some sort of idea about how to present an image. While documentary photography may be more spontaneous, the photographer most likely still has an idea in their mind as to what they want to do with the photo. In this sense, the meaning of the picture is just as staged and predetermined as the meaning in the studio portrait.