Jon Levy - the intentions of the photographer

Jon Levy, founder of Foto8 and Ei8ht magazine, discusses his criteria for documentary photographers.

Ei8ht magazine has always been a photographic vehicle for 'story-telling' reportage and journalistic rather than fiction. Following on from the Gavin interview at the beginning of this section, Levy is also very aware of the morphing of the boundaries between genres. His observations are that artistic portfolios are 'developing', or trying to develop, journalistic credentials after they have been written; this has lead him to review submissions against a new criteria - the intention of the photographer. This is very much about getting inside the head of the photographer to understand reasons and rationale of the individual and the work - understanding the inception of the work more often than not determines the nature (and history) of the work.

Levy believes that regardless of the boundary shifts, photojournalism is not just about the "pressing stories with intensity" i.e. the front-page news, but quieter, local and emotional stories are just as important and have an equal right to be communicated. Historically, the view of the western world has been to look at the rest of the world for its news, today news is everywhere including in your own living room.

Levy is not sure about the term vernacular, in terms of a local person being better suited to cover a local story, he believes the key to the success is down to the capability of the photographer to effectively communicate a point-of-view! He does however concede that accessibility has benefits and photography is a very accessible medium; so, if a local can communicate and share the work that's great because it introduces new people with different views and varied perspectives.

So finally...

Further confirmation that its not always easy to determine the genre of a piece of work. Again I ask, why is it so important to define the genre of an image or a portfolio? As Levy discussed, is it all about the credentials of the piece of work?

Just because someone is passionate about something, doesn't mean they're the best to communicate the story - even using photographs, communication is an acquired skill!

As a photographer understand the purpose of your work from inception, clearly define your brief and make sure it works for you. I wonder, if you don't have a point-of-view, does that automatically mean your work is art rather than documentary?