Unmasked: A Visual Documentation of How Covid-19 Affects the Lives of Central New Yorkers

Abstract

Photography, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, has become a widely used and popular artform for people documenting this unprecedented time in history. With the emergence of Covid-19 in March of 2020, photographers of all skill levels set out to document history in the making. Photography is an artform that helps bridge parallels between people, places, and things, and being able to make sense of it all through visuals brings us closer to each other's core of understanding. Photography is not a one-size-fits-all medium. There are many photography styles, including portraiture, landscape, action, architecture, documentary, and street photography. This literature review will explore how street and documentary photography, photography styles, and philosophies accentuate life during a global pandemic.