Documentary Photography For Sale

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Original Conceptual Abstract Photography by Angelo Dorigo

Photography

, 11.8 W x 15.7 H x 0.1 D in

$995

Prints from $100

Original Documentary World Culture Photography by Pedro Abreu
Original Figurative Kids Photography by Cody Choi

Photography

, 60 W x 40 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$2,055
Original Conceptual Cities Photography by Xan Padron

Photography

, 35 W x 27.5 H x 1 D in

United States

$2,830
Original Conceptual People Photography by Xan Padron

United States

$4,280
Original Documentary Architecture Photography by Igor Vitomirov

Photography

, 19.7 W x 19.7 H x 0.4 D in

$1,140

Prints from $79

Original Conceptual People Photography by Xan Padron

Photography

, 24 W x 36 H x 1 D in

United States

$1,570
Original Documentary Still Life Photography by Ula Wiznerowicz

Photography

, 16 W x 16 H x 0.2 D in

Netherlands

$680

Prints from $40

Original Documentary Architecture Photography by Igor Vitomirov

Photography

, 39.4 W x 27.6 H x 0.4 D in

$1,420

Prints from $79

Original Conceptual Seasons Photography by Angelo Dorigo

Photography

, 15.7 W x 19.7 H x 0.1 D in

$995

Prints from $100

Original Documentary Nature Photography by Carlos Canet Fortea

Photography

, 39.3 W x 47.2 H x 0.1 D in

Original Documentary Performing Arts Photography by Alessandro Passerini

Photography

, 19.7 W x 29.5 H x 0.1 D in

$1,070

Prints from $100

Original Documentary Landscape Photography by Igor Vitomirov

Photography

, 19.7 W x 19.7 H x 0.4 D in

$990

Prints from $80

Original Realism Travel Photography by Serge Horta

Photography

, 47.2 W x 31.5 H x 0.2 D in

$1,850
Original Documentary Nature Photography by Ziesook You

Photography

, 30 W x 20 H x 0.1 D in

United States

$410

Prints from $100

Original Contemporary Rural life Photography by Milan Terzic

Photography

, 55.1 W x 78.7 H x 0.4 D in

$15,190
Original Fine Art Landscape Photography by Nadia Attura

Photography

, 23.6 W x 23.6 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$890
Original Documentary Car Photography by Ernest Sebastien

Photography

, 47.2 W x 31.5 H x 0.1 D in

$2,640

Prints from $100

Original Conceptual People Photography by Xan Padron

United States

$4,390
Original Conceptual People Photography by Xan Padron

United States

$2,850
Original Conceptual People Photography by Xan Padron

Photography

, 30 W x 45 H x 0.1 D in

United States

$2,360
Original Abstract Places Photography by Angelo Dorigo

Photography

, 11.8 W x 15.7 H x 0.1 D in

$995

Prints from $100

Original Black & White Landscape Photography by Ziesook You

Photography

, 24 W x 16 H x 0.1 D in

United States

$360
Original Documentary Nature Photography by Alessandro Passerini

Photography

, 19.2 W x 25.6 H x 0.1 D in

$1,010

Prints from $100

Original Fine Art Animal Photography by Pierre Debroux
$1,320

Prints from $80

Original Conceptual People Photography by Xan Padron

United States

$1,570
Original Fine Art Landscape Photography by Nadia Attura

Photography

, 21.3 W x 14.2 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$510
Original Documentary Landscape Photography by Pete Edmunds

Photography

, 47.2 W x 31.5 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$1,470
Original Conceptual Landscape Photography by Marlies Plank

Photography

, 23.6 W x 15.7 H x 0.1 D in

$1,190
Original Portraiture Portrait Photography by Cody Choi

Photography

, 20 W x 30 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$760
Original Conceptual People Photography by Xan Padron

Photography

, 30 W x 30 H x 1 D in

United States

$2,800
Original Documentary Architecture Photography by Tom Hanslien

Photography

, 46.8 W x 33.1 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$1,939

Prints from $90

Original Modern Architecture Photography by Serge Horta

Photography

, 19.7 W x 19.7 H x 0.2 D in

$960
Original Conceptual Cities Photography by Xan Padron

United States

$4,390
Original Documentary Landscape Photography by M Tchaikovsky

Photography

, 47.2 W x 70.8 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$2,069

Prints from $100

Original Conceptual People Photography by Xan Padron

Photography

, 30 W x 45 H x 0.1 D in

United States

$2,350
Original Portraiture Religious Photography by Cody Choi

Photography

, 40 W x 60 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$2,055
Original Conceptual Cities Photography by Xan Padron

United States

$820
Original Documentary Nature Photography by Pete Edmunds

Photography

, 35.4 W x 23.6 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$818
Original Conceptual Architecture Photography by Ed Freeman

Photography

, 46 W x 40 H x 0.2 D in

United States

$3,590
Original Conceptual Landscape Photography by Marlies Plank

Photography

, 39.4 W x 27.6 H x 0.1 D in

$2,020
Original Documentary Abstract Photography by Igor Vitomirov

Photography

, 19.7 W x 19.7 H x 0.4 D in

$890

Prints from $71

Original Abstract Landscape Photography by M Tchaikovsky

Photography

, 88.5 W x 59 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$2,979

Prints from $100

Original Conceptual Still Life Photography by Flynn Newton

Photography

, 39.4 W x 39.4 H x 0.1 D in

$2,320

Prints from $60

Original Documentary People Photography by Xan Padron

United States

$4,350
Original Conceptual Architecture Photography by Joshua Benmore

United Kingdom

$780

Prints from $94

Original Documentary Architecture Photography by Igor Vitomirov

Photography

, 29.5 W x 19.7 H x 0.4 D in

$940

Prints from $77

Original Conceptual Cities Photography by Xan Padron

United States

$1,570
Original Contemporary Architecture Photography by Guy Sargent

Photography

, 39.4 W x 27.6 H x 0.1 D in

United Kingdom

$865
Original Conceptual People Photography by Xan Padron

1 - 50 of 31,583 photographs

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With 31,583 limited edition and open edition prints to choose from, Saatchi Art offers high quality Documentary photography perfectly suited for your space.

Documentary photography candidly captures real-life events as they occur--from the shocking and gritty to the contemplative and serene. These captivating, slice-of-life images make wonderful additions to any photography collection, and we’re proud to offer work in this style by some of the world’s most talented emerging photographers. Explore Saatchi Art’s international selection of documentary photography for sale today.

History of Documentary Photography

As technology improved since the invention of camera prototypes in the 1830s, photography became a more mobile medium, freed from the constraints of studio practices. Documentary photography, a style that aims to chronicle historical events as well as everyday life, emerged by the 1870s. Travel photographers documented far off locales to entice tourists, and governments often funded scientific photography projects to document major events and survey unexplored lands. Faster and easier reproduction methods spurred a shift from the photographers’ focus on archiving historical events to exploring aspects of city life, both good and bad, during the 1880s. Photographers set out to document urban and rural living conditions during the Great Depression, for example, to incite reform movements. During major wars and postwar eras, photographers also turned to social documentary photography, aiming to capture the social experience of those caught in battle and its effects. Documentary photography is strongly linked to photojournalistic practices, though many photographers today have put an artistic spin on the style, garnering the attention of galleries.

Documentary Photography Techniques

Documentary photography, though used to record events in history, is not always objective. The artistic style pulls from photojournalism but produces images that tell a specific side of a story. Social documentary photographers, for example, focus on depicting groups with socioeconomic and cultural similarities to encourage social reform. These images usually focus on working and living conditions, revealing issues like poverty, homelessness, neglect, and child labor. Some artists take a street photography approach to the documentary field, snapping candid images of people in public places to produce a mirror of the human condition. Documentary photographers today use a variety of photographic mediums, though the most common are DSLRs, ideal for rapidly producing quality images.

Artists Known For Documentary Photography

Jacob Riis, an early social documentary photographer, is known for focusing on poor living conditions in New York in images like “The Children of the Slums” (1892) to garner support for social reform. The United States’ Farm Security Administration commissioned photographers like Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, of “Migrant Mother” (1936) fame, to document living conditions during the Great Depression. Nick Ut’s “Napalm Girl” (1972) is an iconic documentary photograph, depicting the brutality of the Vietnam War. South African photographers Ernest Cole and David Goldblatt are recognized for documenting life in apartheid South Africa. Martha Rosler attacked the traditional documentary genre in her “The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems” (1974-1975), providing an alternative to the cliche photographic subjects usually associated with the Bowery in New York City. Other artists known for their documentary photography include Diane Arbus, Pieter Hugo, Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, Don McCullin, Timothy O’Sullivan, George N. Barnard, Marion Post Wolcott, Russell Lee, John Vachon, Steve McCurry, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastiao Salgado, and fashion photographer Bill Cunningham.

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