What is Photojournalism

What is photojournalism? Photojournalism is a very specific type of journalism. Instead of employing the use of words or broadcast to communicate news stories. Photojournalism can define itself against the other branches of photography because of its strict ethical guide lines and rapid speed of production. Unlike other genres of photography, photojournalism is a continuous medium. Just as the news is always updating and events occur, the images of these events must be taken, edited, displayed, and sensationalized for the world to see. Unlike documentary photography or street photography where a strong story or contrast and juxtaposition are the singular subjects, photojournalist must be able to produce images with a taste of both.

The “Golden Age of Photojournalism” is considered to be from around the mid 1930’s to the end of Life magazine’s shut down in the 1970’s. Around the time of the Great Depression was when journalistic media’s realized people would be interested in photographic essays, and began to implement photos into their publications. At the same time photographers began to move outside the studios to photograph people in their every day lives. A few famous photographers of the time were Dorthea Lange, Walker Evans, and Gordan Parks. Dorthea Lange took one of my personal favorite photographs; a portrait of a women living amidst the Dust Bowl.

Today photojournalism has changed with the technological era. With most people having access to a camera at almost all times, photography has become more common practice. But the ability to communicate stories and photos across multiple different mediums almost instantly half way around the world, has expanded the way photographers can practice. Some societies today that help support photojournalists around the world are the National Press Photographers Association, Magnum Photos, and VII Photo Agency. Some benefits of being a part of one of these organizations are the mentoring and critiquing by professional photographers, job banks, and a professional organization’s support in publishing your photographs.

My personal favorite source of modern photojournalism today is National Geographic. It manages to capture a sense of awe, adventure, nature, and humanity in many of its photographs. I personally like Steve McCurry’s work. I find that his images capture that perfect balance of story, composition, and juxtaposition. I also admire the hard work, travel, and cultures that he had to immerse himself into in order to make the images that he did. I feel in order communicate through the images the way he does, you truly have to become part of your subjects lives and immerse yourself in their culture. I hope to emulate his work by immersing myself in my subject’s lives and culture, in order to truly produce images that capture my own perspective on their world.