Documentary photography seeks to portray real-life events without altering them in any way, which requires photographers to remain objective while photographing subjects as they are. Therefore, photographers often request that subjects remain at an arm’s length so that images of them as they exist can be captured accurately. This can prove particularly challenging when shooting an emotionally charged scene or when subject relucts posing for the camera.

Documentary photography’s beginnings can be traced back to the late 19th century when daguerreotype and calotype cameras allowed photographers to document historic buildings, archaeological sites and landscapes that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to visit directly. Early documents often became part of larger archives at national or historical institutions such as Smithsonian Institution in America or Societe Francaise de photographie in France – with photographers like Lewis Hine’s work documenting child labor abuses or Jacob Riis’ depictions of poverty both contributing significantly towards its evolution.

Between World Wars I and II, the Farm Security Administration hired photographers such as Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans to document social issues including rural poverty and agricultural concerns. This change from antiquarian landscape photography to documenting everyday lives led to a revival of documentary photography as an art form with its blend of historical artifacts, evidential records and personal testimonies.

Today’s photographers continue to create photographic documents that raise social issues and blur the line between reality and fiction, like Diane Arbus’ atmospheric portraits of marginalised individuals or Don McCullin’s photographs of shell shocked soldiers from various war zones. These styles can be seen everywhere from books on photography to films such as Avatar.