Street photography is a type of documentary photography — without explicit social agenda — that usually features people in candid situations in public places such as streets, parks, beaches, malls, political conventions, and other settings.

The Museum began to collect photographs in 1930 and established the department in 1940; its holdings of more than 25,000 works dating from approximately 1840 to the present constitute one of the most important collections of photography in the world. As diverse as photography itself, the collection includes work not only by artists, but also by journalists, scientists, entrepreneurs, and amateurs.

In photography, the golden hour is the first and last hour of sun during the day when a specific photographic effect is achieved with the quality of the light during these hours.

Typically, lighting will be softer ( more diffuse ) and warm in hue, and shadows will be quite pronounced as a result of the sun being so close to parallel with the horizon. This is because (1) the sun light is travelling further through the atmosphere, and (2) coming from a less harsh side angle, instead of straight down. The Golden Hour is a mild version of Alpine glow, as described by Galen Rowell.

Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from the FSA period uses the large-format 8x10in view camera, which when used directly in front of a subject can create the appearance of a dispassionate viewpoint. Evans and other FSA photographers used this technique, and others, to emphasize the plight of America's poor and workers during the Great Depression. In some ways, Evans is perhaps the first and greatest photographer of the American social landscape.