Documentary Photography vs Photojournalism

Although I have covered documentary photography and its close relationship with photojournalism before, there are still some loose ends, and many people still lack a clear idea of the main difference between the two genres. Today, our main goal is to establish a more solid concept for each genre and leave us with a clear understanding of what documentary photography and photojournalism are and are not. The line that divides both genres has become extremely thin for people who are not plugged into photography. That’s why this topic deserves a deeper dive. But before we start talking about each of them, we need to recognize acknowledge that these genres usually get along very well with each other and are not mutually exclusive. They simply encompass certain things to different degrees, and hence the confusion in defining both.

What is documentary photography?

This is the genre of photography that includes all photographic work that aims to chronicle events and circumstances relevant not only to history, but also for us as human beings. The purposes for pursuing a documentary photography project are quite broad, and include:

• Complaints
• Research
• Awareness
• Entertainment