What is "photo-essay"

n. (alternative spelling of photo essay English)

A photo-essay is a set or series of photographs that are made to create series of emotions in the viewer. A photo essay will often show pictures in deep emotional stages. Photo essays range from purely photographic works to photographs with captions or small comments to full text essays illustrated with photographs.

Examples of photo essays include:

• An article in a publication, sometimes a full page or a two-page spread
• A book or other complete publication.
• A web page or portion of a web site.
• A single montage or collage of photographic images, with text or other additions, intended to be viewed both as a whole and as individual photographs. Such a work may also fall in the category of mixed media.
• An art show which is staged at a particular time and location. Some such shows also fall into other categories category.
• In fashion publishing especially, a photo-editorial – an editorial-style article dominated by or entirely consisting of a series of thematic photographs

Photographers known for their photo-essays include:

• W. Eugene Smith
• Ansel Adams
  • Adams's Born Free and Equal (1944) documented Japanese Americans held at the Manzanar War Relocation Center during World War II.
• James Nachtwey