Shooting the Shooter: The Image of Professional Photographers in Contemporary Documentary Film. Issue 1 (2nd January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McDaniel, Kyle
• Is Part Of: Visual communication quarterly. Volume 23:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 14
• Page End: 25
• Publication Date: 2016-01-02
• Subjects: Visual communication -- Periodicals; 302.23
• DOI: 10.1080/15551393.2015.1128336
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1555-1393

Abstract

Abstract : While scholars have reviewed characterizations of photographers in feature films, they have neglected the image of real-world photographers in the documentary genre. This study incorporates visual representation theory to engage with several of the ways in which documentary filmmakers use the visual aspects of motion pictures to glamorize the lives and careers of photographers. As witnessed in four case study films, the analysis of this research highlights film's ability to generate representative character types. Specific aesthetic conventions of filmmaking are found to affect the on-screen projections of the photographer-subjects. The mostly positive depictions of "celebrity" or noteworthy real-world photographers also suggest that the documentaries under study primarily exist as marketing or publicity materials for the professional and his or her body of work .