What is Photojournalism Today?

Photojournalism to me in 2018 is informing the public in different ways. There is news photography which can be classified under photojournalism, but there is also documentary photojournalism which informs the world on one topic after weeks of research. I do not know if I have found my “hero” yet, but I would say that most wildlife photographers are definitely influencers because that is what I hope to do when moving near the ocean. I also love portrait photography and would say that Dorothea Lange is a big “hero” to me. The “Golden Age” of photojournalism was between the 1930’s and 1950’s, a time when photojournalism was really taking over. In my opinion, photojournalism is taking over more now because of the many genres within photojournalism. It also is reaching high limits due to social media and everyone owning a camera and or phone with a camera.

Photojournalism definitely does not seem like an easy industry to be a part of. Most photojournalists I’ve had conversations with have told me they started at the bottom (like any other job), but it was hard to get to the top and it is mainly about connections and networking. According to Salary of a Photojournalistby Jennifer Alyson,

“Photojournalist pay varies by medium. Television photojournalists made mean wages of $45,000 in 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Photojournalists working for newspapers, magazines or book publishers earned mean salaries of $41,000. That pay was higher than the annual mean wage of $34,000 for all U.S. jobs. However, photojournalists’ mean income was lower than pay for other photographers. Photographers in the aerospace industry made the most in 2011, with mean wages of $65,000. Motion-picture and video photographers took home $64,000. Photographers who snapped shots for science-related research and development companies earned $55,000” (Alyson, 2017).

I would say that any BBC Earth photographers would be some of my influencers. I hope to be able to document wildlife, especially ocean life, and the ocean environment and how humans today are destroying the ocean. David Doubilet is also a big influencer for me because he shoots underwater photography for National Geographic. “Exploring the world’s waters, Doubilet has photographed in the depths of such places as the southwest Pacific, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Tasmania, Scotland, and the northwest Atlantic” (Hayes, 2016).His work can be viewed on the National Geogrphaic website under:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/contributors/d/photographer-david-doubilet/

Ocean photography definitely falls under the photojournalism scale because it is informing the world on ocean life, whether it be good “news” or bad “news.” Society needs to know about our ocean and what inhabits it and how we can preserve such a wonderful life.

National Geographic photographers make a good amount of money depending on what they do. “National Geographic employees with the job title Senior Director, Talent Management make the most with an average annual salary of $139,063, while employees with the title Art Consultant make the least with an average annual salary of $35,762” (National Geographic). I’m sure many people, including myself, hope to work for National Geographic. It is its own agency and is known worldwide. I wonder if National Geographic will ever die out? Or if it will continue to be well known across the world and expand even more due to new photographers and more to photograph?

Attached are pictures shot by David Doubilet. Without his work, how would we be informed about what lives in our oceans? It is simply incredible to know that photography can inform the world about endless things.

References

Alyson, Jennifer. “Salary of a Photojournalist.” Chron.com, 21 Nov. 2017,

work.chron.com/salary-photojournalist-5248.html.

Hayes, Jennifer. “Photographer David Doubilet Biography.” National Geographic, 25 Apr. 2016,

www.nationalgeographic.com/contributors/d/photographer-david-doubilet/.

“National Geographic.” Cardiovascular Technologist Salary,

www.payscale.com/research/US/Employer=National_Geographic/Salary.