I am interested in Visual Anthropology, but I just looked at a gif of George Bush interacting with African Americans... (Yes I sound like an asshole I know) - My question is: Is there anyone who studies Visual History? If so, is it just me or have presidents of the USA had a certain glorified look to them that they are over the people they govern (probably since the end of WW2 on my off handed recollection)
Also- what are some names I should look up if the visual history field is not overly crossed with documentaries?
The short answer is yes.
There are many historians who focus on visual media and its impact on people. I think the most famous example in my field is probably John Dower's War Without Mercy, which examines the US and Japanese propaganda campaigns and their representations of opponents during the pacific war.
If you are interested in looking at the history of the rise of visual representation in modern society, I recommend that you look at the works of Jonathan Crary, particularly his Techniques of the Observer.
They certainly do. I'm not sure that this is the most representative list of scholars, but I'm including a partial reading list from the syllabus of a visual history course I took below. Most of the texts below deal, to some extent, with the problem of how to use images as an historical source -- and not just to illustrate the points you're already making from textual or other sources. As I recall, some of these scholars are influenced by visual anthropology as well.
Baxandall, Michael. Patterns of Intention: On the Historical Explanation of Pictures. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.
De Wall, Edmund. The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance. Picador, 2010.
Hall, Edwin. The Arnolfini Betrothal. California, 1994.
Hideo, Kuroda. “Picturing Japanese History: Toward an Historical Iconology.” In Historical Studies in Japan (VIII) 1988-1992. Tokyo: Yamakawa Shuppansha, Ltd., 1995.
Hostetler, Laura. Qing Colonial Enterprise: Ethnography and Cartography in Early Modern China. Chicago, 2001.
Panofsky, Erwin. Perspective on Symbolic Form. Zone, 1996.
Toby, Ron. “Imagining and Imaging ‘Anthropos’ in Early Modern Japan.” Visual Anthropology Review 14, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 1998): 19–35.
Wood, Dennis. The Power of Maps. Guilford Press, 1992.