In his photographs, Riis showed that the unincorporated
could be dangerous; that their abodes were dirty;
that neighborhood streets were crime-ridden. By
appealing to the consciences and fears of middle-class
and upper-class city residents, Riis helped initiate
Riis's photographs had a certain
shock value. He looked for images that would have
a strong effect on his viewers—dirty children
on the streets, men living in dumps and cellars.
Riis's photographs challenged Victorian notions
of mothers and children. One of his photographs
shows a mother with her naked children standing
on a rooftop. In others, children play out on
the streets unattended. These photographs contrasted
sharply with images of children in late-nineteenth-century
Riis's photographs also challenged Victorian notions
of the home. In one photograph, a tenement family
makes cigars at the table. In another, a man sits
down to a solitary meal in a coal cellar.
In addition to people, Riis
photographed empty barracks and dilapidated housing.
De-Emphasizing the Individual
He often de-emphasized the individual in favor
of the total setting. Accordingly, he photographed
many of his subjects at a distance to show them
in their squalid surroundings.
It was not Riis's custom to
provide the names of his subjects. When he did
provide identifying material, it was often condescending.
Such commentary revealed Riis's own ambivalence
to his subject matter. Like many middle-class
Americans, Riis disapproved of immorality and
disorder, and he found both in the neighborhoods
in which he worked.
Riis's lack of experience
as a photographer sometimes worked to his advantage.
His blurred, half-lit images both fascinated and
frightened his audiences.