The Photo Essay

Abstract

This invited essay reflects upon the use of the photo essay within documentary photography. In particular, it compares Righteous Dopefiend, the much-lauded anthropological text by Philippe Bourgois with photographs by Jeff Schonberg, to work by photographers exploring similar subject matter. It aims to tease out some of the essential elements of the photo essay as well as the connections between the practices of visual anthropology, documentary photography, and photojournalism. It is accompanied by a separate online article that describes an approach to shooting, editing, and constructing a photo essay and offers guidelines for the submission of photo essays to VAR.