SM5089 - Documentary Photography (2025/26)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2025/26 | ||||||||||
| Module title | Documentary Photography | ||||||||||
| Module level | Intermediate (05) | ||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 15 | ||||||||||
| School | School of Computing and Digital Media | ||||||||||
| Total study hours | 150 | ||||||||||
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| Running in 2025/26(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
This module provides an understanding of the history, theory and practices of documentary photography, and facilitates the development of key skills pertinent to contemporary practices of documentary photography. The module is weighted towards practice, and provides opportunities for students to develop photographic skills and/or enhance existing photographic skills, as well as their understanding of documentary photography. The module provides practical tuition in the skills of candid photography, portraiture, photographing objects in motion, and narrative photography; it will encourage and support students in the conception and development of their own documentary photographic projects. The module will facilitate students' critical reflection on their own practice as documentary photographers.
• You will become confident in the use of digital cameras in various modes, and for different purposes relevant to the practice of documentary photography.
• You will develop an understanding of the history of, and contemporary trends in documentary photography, and will be introduced to some of the key current debates about the status of documentary photography.
• You will be introduced to practices of editing and sequencing images, and final processing of images for publication using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
• You will be encouraged to adopt a rigorous, critical perspective on your photographic practice.
Syllabus
The module is organised around a combination of practical photography workshops (LO4) and more traditional lecture/seminar sessions focusing on historical and theoretical knowledge of the origins and development of documentary photography (LO1). The module engages with contemporary trends and practices, including consideration of ethical and legal constraints on the practices of documentary photographers (LO2). The module encourages students to actively pursue engagement with areas of social experience through the medium of photography and empowers students to adopt a critical and reflective stance towards their own creative work and that of other photographers (LO3).
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
Weekly lectures and workshops will provide students with feedback on their work and will introduce students to areas of the theory, history and practices of contemporary documentary photography. Each week also includes a practical photography session, in which students will have the opportunity to develop their photographic skills and practice. Web based resources will be used, in addition to print based materials, to enable students to access a broad range of materials pertinent to the subject. Students are expected to devote time to developing their practice in-between weekly sessions in order to obtain a substantial body of material that can be used to develop their final portfolio.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this module students who attend classes regularly and engage diligently with all aspects of the module will be able to:
1. Position contemporary documentary photographic practices within broader historical and theoretical contexts.
2. Appreciate the ethical and legal issues that arise in contemporary documentary practice
3. Critically appraise their own images and those of other photographers.
4. Produce a small portfolio of photographs of a publishable standard
Bibliography
https://rl.talis.com/3/londonmet/lists/0D299F57-0CE8-9DF1-264C-282B3A895A1B.html?lang=en-GB&login=1