Dorothea Lange was an American photographer born on the 26th of May in 1895 and lived until she was 70 years old in 1965, she passed away in October. Throughout her life, Lange had been subject to a tough environment, this was a defining factor that shaped Lange's life and therefore her photographic practice. This is shown through her very famous photograph, 'Migrant Woman' 1936 as it is one that documents harsh conditions and a grim future. 

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'Migrant Woman' was taken during a time period of terrible poverty and many people were very poor in America, it was called the Great Depression and it occurred just after World War I. Lange's image successfully documents the experiences of ordinary Americans during this time. She has done this by implementing key characteristics and aspects into the photograph that were common and relevant while the Great Depression was taking place. 

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The photo depicts a migrant woman, holding a grim and worried face. Surrounding her, are three children with greasy and badly cut hair and everyone is all dirty and unclean. They are also wearing rags that barely pass as clothes and are shown with few possessions and are clearly are a very poor family. All of these characteristics and traits shown by the subjects in the image 'Migrant Woman' successfully shows and documents the experiences of ordinary Americans during the Great Depression due to all of these examples.