Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

War, much like the practice of photography, has the ability to change how people view the world around them. From this, we can infer a real need for the documentation of war. War photographers find themselves in a unique role where they can influence how the rest of the world views and interprets war (Kliever). As creative photographers have the freedom to decisively frame an image, so do war photographers. Men maintain a numerical advantage in journalism over women in the field, even during the industry’s current shift, holding a majority percentage of 60-64% (Elber). With this in mind, the commentary on female war photographers and correspondents has recently been the topic of many news outlets as a diverse group of female correspondents is responsible for much of what we see of the war on Ukraine. This raises the question as to what thought process inevitably goes into the aesthetic choices made by war photographers. More specifically, is there a gendered aesthetic choice? Do female war photographers make different and unique aesthetic decisions while creating their imagery? This paper explores how the aesthetic and technical decisions made by four female photographers differ from those of their male counterparts. It will also show the contrast between the styles of these four female photographers in comparison to each other. Each of these photographers lived and worked during varying times throughout the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, adding a deeper contrast between their creative choices.