Photo from a documentary project by David Cross.

Documentary photo by Neil Goodwin.

How do documentary photographers express their views?

The photographers work on their own projects documenting in words, photographs and sometimes video the lives and events around them, and in doing so they create compelling bodies of work which are important not just for the viewer/photographer experience but also for the subject. Good documentary photography is a vehicle to express the emotions and reactions to the people that are discovered and so the photographs leave us elevated as well as informed. Our Homepage is dedicated to sharing the important humanistic stories, giving our image makers the chance to share their stories so that you too, can bear witness to our fast changing world. Though sometimes a little sadness is clearly evident, these documentary photographers work to a better good, aiming for a  positive outcome and wider understanding. Our members are listed below, please take a look.

Find British Documentary Photographers working at the CBDP.

What is documentary photography and its purpose?

The work looks at society and change not just in Britain but in Finland and India, America, etc. The photographers are very much a concerned group, the photography is free of sensationalism and gimmick, the work considers the effect on the individual and the surroundings. Having a rich and divergent talent pool allows the CBDP to mount British photography exhibitions as well as publish a leading magazine on documentary photography, plus, all of the projects are rooted in social documentary.
Other themes are of course explored and the photographers are free to work on and display whatever documentary stories that they are drawn too. There isn't a particular style that is required, more of a feeling of what to photograph and how to get your response across to the viewer, in a way, much like Magnum but without the difficulty associated with joining. Below you can view examples of the work produced by photo-journalists with the Centre for British Documentary Photography, the buttons above will send you to their respective CBDP galleries and from there you can find their own dedicated websites or other social media sites, with more examples of modern documentary photography, and modes of practice.
Please click to see more examples of Modern documentary photography, presented in exhibition format.

How is documentary photography used today?

Remember, if you want to be involved the concept is simple: Here is a an opportunity for you to send us your work - FOR FREE - and we will build you a page with slide show all of your own. Please note: due to space limitation and funding, we cannot achieve this for all of you, but right now the door is open to photographers that are creating work that is interesting and relevant to the here and now. What has been created is an open platform so that everyone can share their vision in a balanced way. 
This is an attempt at building a professional publishing base for modern British documentary photographers.
Grassroots documentary work is important, and it is worth sharing, it empowers the subject and the viewer and it also inspires. 
For all involved there is the potential to be included in our paid publishing structure, this will work on a fixed fee per issue sold.
Please get in touch with us if you feel that you would like to be a part of the CBDP and have your work included here on the website and then maybe in print format too.
We are a friendly bunch happy to help and advise where we can. 
Note that the Centre will display work only, the copyright is obviously retained by the photographer.
The CBDP does not act as agency or cooperative. You must be willing to submit work for inclusion in our magazine or at least consider this as a place to aim for.