--- description: 'First Take' is a weekly video series on the art and craft of photography title: Ruddy Roye's Take on the Role of Photography image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta930e0643c1be7ae/6988ab2dcf40a8e7f7c45459/ruddy-roye-lead.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ruddy Roye's Take on the Role of Photography by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/) and [Kenneth Bachor](/author/kenneth-bachor/) Oct 24, 2016 10:00 AM CUT  TIME by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/) and [Kenneth Bachor](/author/kenneth-bachor/) Oct 24, 2016 10:00 AM CUT This week, TIME’s First Take series features Brooklyn-based documentary photographer Ruddy Roye. Known for his raw and gritty editorial and environmental portraits, Roye sees himself as more than just a photographer – he’s also an activist whose images present society’s injustices. Roye’s motivation is simple: “I look for dignity,” he says. “I look for what is familiar. I find it easier to look for it in somebody else and to photograph it as a way of talking about it.” Watch this TIME video to hear Roye’s take. **_Ruddy Roye_** _is a Brooklyn based documentary photographer specializing in editorial and environmental portraits._ [**_First Take_**](http://time.com/tag/first-take/ "undefined") _is an ongoing video series curated by TIME’s photography editors. Watch the previous episodes_ [_here_](http://time.com/tag/first-take/ "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4447567/first-take-ruddy-roye/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4447567/first-take-ruddy-roye/"},"headline":"Ruddy Roye's Take on the Role of Photography","datePublished":"2016-10-24T10:00:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:04.464Z","description":"'First Take' is a weekly video series on the art and craft of photography","url":"https://time.com/4447567/first-take-ruddy-roye/","keywords":["LightBox","photography","Instagram","portraits","First Take","On Our Radar"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta930e0643c1be7ae/6988ab2dcf40a8e7f7c45459/ruddy-roye-lead.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivier Laurent","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/olivier-laurent/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Kenneth Bachor","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kenneth-bachor/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta930e0643c1be7ae/6988ab2dcf40a8e7f7c45459/ruddy-roye-lead.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ruddy-roye-lead","caption":"Ruddy Roye","creditText":"TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4447567/first-take-ruddy-roye/","name":"Ruddy Roye's Take on the Role of Photography"}}]}] ```