Lewis Hine, Child in a Carolina Cotton Mill, 1908, gelatin silver print, photograph in the Public Domain.
Trained sociologist Lewis Hine wanted to improve the working conditions for immigrants in America at the turn of the 20th century, so he picked up a camera. He met families on Ellis Island and then followed them to other regions in order to document their lives.
In particular, Hine wanted to document the grim realities of child labor and he used the photographic medium to its best advantage when he captured his moving images. For example, in his Child in a Carolina Cotton Mill he photographed a young girl from a low point of view with a sweeping perspective to accentuate the size of the factory machinery. Hine also chose to emphasize her isolation, which is tragic for a girl who should be with other children in school.
Hine toured around the country with his photographs, giving lectures about the plight of these children. He also published his photographs in newspapers and magazines. Largely as a result of his efforts, the U. S. government passed the first child labor laws.
