Abstract
Soviet photography has been the subject of various disciplines. The role of photographic handbooks and magazines in the creation of iconic images remains uncovered. The following questions remain ambiguous: What is the type of photographic handbook content? How were handbooks designed in different countries? Is there a connection between the handbook’s content and the images they create? The base for the study was manuals for photographers published in the USSR and the USA in 1920–1960s; images from retrospective editions of photographic collections; photographs published in the Soviet Photo; photo collections presented on the website of the State Catalog of the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation. Based on the analysis and comparison of the content of handbooks, research shows the main trends in educational strategies for photographers. Comparison of the representative part of the works of Soviet and American photographers of the 1920s–1960s gives an idea of similar plots and themes with differences in each chronological period. The article contributes to the study of photography as a tool of political ideologies and demonstrates the universality of photographic images in countries with different socio-economic policies. This work provides a basis for future studies of Soviet educational programs in photography.
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