Reportage photography with a story of its own

"Reportage photography must capture the atmosphere of the moment and tell its own story through images. The photographer has to observe constantly and respond alertly. He should actually be able to anticipate situations before they even happen. A reportage photographer can therefore never be objective. His interpretation is always subjective, the vision of one individual."

Jeroen Bouman started his career as a reportage photographer with a sociopolitical interest in human issues. He was connected to photoagency Sipa Press in Paris as a freelance photojournalist and has travelled and documented a large part of the world. His interest in people has remained unchanged, although nowadays Jeroen specializes mainly in portraits, corporate and commercial photography. But when an interesting photo reportage comes along -commissioned or as personal work- he usually finds it impossible to resist.

"It can be a relief to leave the safe surroundings of my photo studio in The Hague for unknown places and new faces. Whether far abroad or closer to home in Rotterdam, Utrecht or Amsterdam, a reportage photographer finds an interesting story around every corner."