'How text aids Documentary Photography', and 'Adding text to change an image'

Documentary photography is a type of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events, to the more commonplace of current affairs. The shocking and tragic photographs are the ones that tend to get more noticed, such as photographs documenting the results of war and poverty. I suppose it’s because people don’t think about it too deeply. They hear the stories on the news, but they don’t put a face to the nameless casualties. Seeing the images brings the situation closer to home and actually makes people take notice. These kinds of images don’t need text to accompany them, it’s obvious what they say, but more modern documentary photography focuses on the lives of real ordinary people, it tells their story, and text can aid this by putting the image in context. Without knowing the context, the image would be a mystery. It enables understanding. I went to the Steve McCurry exhibition in Birmingham in September and was blown away by his work; he is probably most famous for his photograph of a girl from Afghanistan, used for National Geographic. His use of vivid colour, coupled with the textures of his surroundings. He utilises this mystery by only revealing the place and date where the photograph was taken. The rest is up to the viewer to decide, to create their own story of what the subject’s life is like. It evokes a response, it makes you question, but it doesn’t tell you how to view the image, that’s up to you.

Text as a visual tool can be quite expressive. It adds impact to an image, and can be especially arresting in advertising and campaigns. It is also necessary as it adds context to the whole image. Without it you would just have a picture, whereas with the text you could have so much more. Barbara Kruger uses text in her work which is often unexpected when you really look at the images. If the text wasn’t there, the images she uses wouldn’t be spectacular, they probably wouldn’t garner attention, but the fact that she then uses text to question the viewer about feminism or consumerism makes people take notice. I think that text can definitely change an image, many people have done it before, and many will continue to do so, but I think that it’s most effective when the text surprises you. When what it’s saying is almost going against the image, making you question it and showing you an alternative way to view it.