War Photography

War photography is the act of creating a photographic record of armed conflict, largely by professional photojournalists who are assigned to cover the hostilities. Since the early part of the 20th century, the concept of war photography has included video recordings made by both journalists and participants.

Since its advent in the mid-19th century, the photographic documentation of war and its impact on society has significantly altered sociocultural portrayals of violent conflict. Residing at the intersection of propaganda and journalism, war photography has been used to present wars in both positive and negative contexts. Government propagandists and their allies have utilized war photographs to highlight the heroic, sacrificial, and patriotic aspects of armed conflict in an effort to elicit support for military action. Concurrently, photographic evidence ...