"Humanistic documentary photography" is obviously a Chinese word, but there is no corresponding English translation. English includes documentary photography, street photography and cityscape photography. But I think, as far as the scope of humanistic documentary photography is concerned, its corresponding English concept should be photojournali *** * * * * * documentary photography * * *. The following is my documentary photography about human nature, hoping to help everyone!

What is humanistic documentary photography?

The concept of "humanity" is very broad and deep, including history, astronomy, geography, philosophy, literature, art, archaeology, language, science and so on. And with "photography", it is even more lively.

I'm afraid everyone knows "human geography". Just saying the term "humanistic documentary photography" makes the concept feel very clear and confusing. The absolute function of photography is visibility, which is the means, process and method of preservation. The camera is a tool, the human eye is a radar explorer, and the mind is the soul. But not everyone can have these things in harmony. A masterpiece of "humanistic documentary photography" that reflects the world and can produce social effects may not be difficult, but it is certainly not small. Because opportunities are unequal to everyone, it is important that events in time and space cannot be grasped ... Personally, I think that "humanistic documentary photography"-only through photography practice can we sum up the connotation and extension and gradually realize her definition. ......

I think that humanistic documentary photography in the usual sense has entered the misunderstanding of paying attention to the' vulnerable groups', but why is there such a misunderstanding? I think it's because people like some non-mainstream things and tragic effects. Let's not talk about "humanistic documentary photography", but talk about film and television works. You may be concerned that successful film and television works often have such elements: either touching stories, non-mainstream themes, or a combination of the two. However, those common phenomena do not have such great visual impact, so they become "humanities", but after a long time, once these mainstream phenomena become history, people begin to miss these humanities again.

Humanistic documentary photography seems to be a big topic, but "humanity" is only an attribute before "photography". The original purpose of photography is nothing more than to preserve images and convey what photographers see. So, what's the message? * *' s winter jasmine conveys the vitality of spring, and the vast grassland conveys the flavor of sunshine and land. What about the eyes opposite the camera? When the photo is placed in the hands of a third party, does he see the thoughts of the subject or the photographer?

I think documentary photography, as an expression, should convey the photographer's thoughts, or what the photographer wants to convey to the audience. My understanding of humanistic documentary photography is that the picture reflects the basic physiological characteristics, social or national environment, consciousness and "value" orientation of human individuals or groups with social or national consciousness; History; Culture; Basic economic structure; Industry or operation structure; Geographical location, natural environment and living environment; Religion or its beliefs; Education; Degree of scientific understanding and development.

The scope of human activities is actually very wide, with productive labor. Folk customs, ideological activities, war and peace, poverty and luxury, etc. All human activities should be recorded by using this feature of documentary photography. How the photographer records these things and expresses what he wants to express to the audience is the most important thing.

There is such a passage in Mr. Wang Guowei's "Words on Earth": "Where there is a creative environment, there is a writing environment. This ideal is differentiated from the realism school. However, it is quite difficult to distinguish the two. Because the environment created by great poets must conform to nature, the environment written must also be adjacent to the ideal. "

Creating and writing scenery is just a technique. Of course, this technique plays a vital role in the effect of the work. The key is what the photographer wants to express. Some people seem to think it's "humanistic" to photograph a few people wearing ethnic costumes. That really underestimates these two words.

The so-called "humanistic documentary photography" should be the social significance behind the subject expressed by photographers through equipment and technology, and it is the photographer's thought and thinking. There are infinite painters in the world, and a piece of sadness can't be painted. This kind of performance is hard to say.

The "humanities" films we usually shoot do belong to the category of humanities, but they can't be completely said to express humanities. At best, they are more or less subjective personal reports, because we really seldom spend too much time researching, inspecting and observing the "humanities" theme we shoot before shooting. Humanity is a very broad concept. To fully express the essence of "human nature" involves many disciplines, observations and investigations, which is the main reason why NG or Discovery spent so much time and money on an album.

The relationship between photographer and subject in humanistic documentary photography

I have been thinking, what is the relationship between the photographer and the subject in humanistic documentary photography? Some people say that photographers should be higher than the subject, shoot with heart and try to change the subject's mentality. Whether this sentence is considered or not, I know that many photographers in the history of photography have done this. For example, Churchill's famous portrait was shot many times, but the photographer was not satisfied. Finally, he went up and pulled out the cigar in the Prime Minister's mouth. Churchill was furious after being surprised, and this moment was photographed and became an immortal work.

Cartier-Bresson, his principle is to seize the decisive moment without disturbing the subject. He put himself in an equal position with the subject to think. If his works are interpreted according to the relationship between the subject and the photographer, they should belong to the documentary category, but he shows his views on the subject in his works. For example, in his collection A Propos De Paris, he photographed the upper and lower classes in Paris in different ways, at least in terms of the works he selected and put into the album, his feelings were different. This extends to another question: whether to add personal color.

It is often difficult to avoid not adding personal preferences and feelings when shooting. Just like filming the Iraq war, if the topic is the US troops stationed in Iraq, some people may film the heroic and combative side of the US troops, and some people may film the frustrating side of the US troops in the war. This has shown my personal feelings.

The distinction between documentary and humanities is actually very vague. As for "care" and "influence", I think it is not enough to be a sign to distinguish the two. And the position relationship between photographer and subject in humanistic documentary photography can not be the standard to judge the quality of works.