Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis was a self-taught photographer. He took it upon himself to begin taking his camera with him everywhere so that he may be able to document what is going on in lower income communities. He was then able to show the greater good how the communities were functioning in sub par facilities. He helped create a new meaning for photography and the way it could be used to make a difference and help those dealing with tough working conditions.
Full Biography

Source

This photo is another photo of young boys sleeping in sub-par conditions. They appear to be sleeping outside on some metal grates, surrounded by rocks and nothing that appears comfortable. They are also holding one another close and sticking together despite not having nice clothes, any socks or shoes. All of them are wearing what they must wear to work and have not changed and Jacob Riis captured them during their hardship.

This photo captures the essence of the kids and how they are feeling and how they are interacting closely with one another and how they are tired enough that they are able to fall asleep inside when they are obviously supposed to be paying attention to something. They are all wearing somewhat rugged clothes and are sleeping in dirty conditions. Also, by looking at their facial expressions you can see that they appear slightly upset and very tired. The young boys have been categorized with everyone older than them and everyone in the picture looks overworked and too young to been working the extremely long hours.

Documentary photographer Ken Light was inspired by Jacob Riis and now uses his photos to document life in New York City. Through this he is able to tell stories and the stories of other people and the hardships that they are going through and how they can be helped. He has looked up to Jacob Riis as an inspiration and is continuing to show what is going on in our world through the documentation of photography.  Below is an example of his work, similar to that of the style of Jacob Riis and using the intense coloring and black and white to capture the issues of the world.

Source