Categories of Photographs

Descriptive photograph: All photos describe, at some level, but some are not intended to do anything more than that. This photograph is describing the woman in the photograph's pure happiness and joy.

Gary Winogrand, Couple Dancing at El Morocco, 1955, Accessed on October 26th 2017, http://paintingbohemia.org/culturalstudies/genders-sexualities/the-honest-image-garry-winogrand-a-retrospective-at-the-metropolitan-museum/

 

Explanatory photograph:A  photo describes something happening. These photos are intended to document a way of life. This picture fits this category because it is a series that shows water falling and how it forms.

Andrew Davidhazy, Sequence of Water Dripping From a Faucet, 2010, Accessed on October 26th 2017, http://art180gizellependang.weebly.com/critiquing-photography.html

Interpretive photograph: These photos do not strive for scientific accuracy and are more for personal or subjective interpretations. They tell us how things are, but there is an interpretation of how things are embedded in the photo.

Lewis Hine, 5 Year-Old Boy Picking Cotton, 1916, Accessed on October 26th 2017, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/685110162033597211/

Ethically evaluative photograph: These photos make ethical judgments. They praise or condemn aspects of society. The photograph below condemns society and how they view war vs peace.

Marc Rebout, The Ultimate Confrontation: The Flower and the Bayonet, 1967, Accessed on October 27th 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/07/jan-rose-kasmir-anti-vietnam-rally-pentagon

Aesthetically evaluative photograph: These make judgments not about social issues but about aesthetic issues. They show us what the most beautifil view of the most beautiful things. Yosemite looks like a waterfall of glowing lava once a year and this photograph captures it perfectly.

J. Baylor Roberts, Yosemite National Park, 1958, Accessed on October 29th 2017, http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/16/once-a-year-the-sunset-lines-up-to-make-yosemite-national-parks-waterfall-glow-like-its-on-fire-6451629/

Theoretical photograph: These comment on art and the making of art. They raise questions about the making of photos. For example, they may deliberately make fun of ethically evaluative photos. This photo shows the impossible and mocks the laws of physics and gravity
 
Sam Taylor Wood, Gracefully Suspended, 2010, Accessed on October 30th 2017, http://mymodernmet.com/sam-taylorwood-gracefully/