Photojournalism, What is it?

Photojournalism Paper

The line that separates photojournalism and others forms of photography is that of news worth events. Photojournalism pushes a photographer to go that extra mile to capture the perfect picture. Photojournalists don’t go for the “normal” photographs such as a person, place, or thing. They travel all around the world in search of pictures that tell a story of events going on in the world. The stories can be beautiful but at the same time they can be soul crushing images. Taking images risks and sometimes putting themselves in the face of danger is what a good photojournalist does. Another thing that a photojournalist has to make sure of is that the photos have validity to them, in other words the photograph can’t be altered in any way. “Photojournalism as a Career” states, that one must provide high quality work, truthful images, and a meaningful message. (Ford, 1998)

            A photojournalist would make a living by selling their work for a limited amount of time to one agency; and then re-selling their work to a different agency after the other contract has been terminated. According to the article “Photojournalism Career- Tell a Story with Pictures” Most photojournalists are free lancers and go from one place to another looking for newsworthy events. (The Art Career Project, 2014) The clients involved would be media outlets like newspapers as well as magazines. Some of the organizations that represent photojournalists are, The Nation Press Photographers Association and the New York Press Photographers Association, among others. The benefit of joining such associations is basically that they get your name out there, and it benefits the career by introducing you to others in that career. The price of joining these kinds of organizations varies depending on the organization you decided to go to. For example the NPPA has a professional membership for $110 and the NYPPA has a membership as low as $35 per year. A photo agency functions like a library but for pictures, and holds a collection of photographers work. Agencies looking for photographs can go to the photo agency, see the pictures, and purchase them for a negotiated fee.

The Golden Age took place between the 1930’s and 50’s, where it was possible for journalists to have flexibility in photography. It was a time where there was a lot of competition for the photographers involved. Some of the top photographers of that era were, Dorothea Lange, Tony Vaccaro, Robert Capa and Margaret Bourke-White to name a few. An awesome photojournalist that I found to see as a mentor is Lynsey Addario. Her photojournalism focus is on conflicts and human rights issues, particularly those of women in traditional societies. She has photographed for the New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Time, Newsweek, and National Geographic.

Ford, Nancy. “Photojournalism as a Career.” Nlford.com.1998.Web.30.Aug.2015

No name. “Photojournalism as a Career- Tell a Story with Pictures.” The Art Career Project. 2014. Web. 30. Aug. 2015

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Amanda Chavez

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