Lewis Hine Tricked His Way Inside
Hine frequently tricked his way into factories or mines, taking pictures of things managers and owners never wanted the public to see. Sometimes he posed as salesman, or waited outside of factories for workers coming or going from their shifts. He asked the subject questions to get them talking, carefully recording their responses, noting every fact and detail. After speaking with them, he learned their ages, length of employment, and story.
Sometimes he had to do this covertly, with his hand, pencil, and paper hidden in his pocket. His interviews humanized the workers, giving readers of his reports and captions a glimpse into their personal lives and the conditions they faced at work. Because he had to trick his way in and conducted his interviews on the sly, he knew he had to be “double-sure that my photo data was 100% pure – no retouching or fakery of any kind.”
