Photojournalism
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Wikipedia-Article "Photojournalism"
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such as documentary photography, street photography or celebrity photography) by the qualities of:
- Timeliness — the images have meaning in the context of a published chronological record of events.
- Objectivity — the situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate representation of the events they depict.
- Narrative — the images combine with other news elements, to inform and give insight to the viewer or reader.
Photojournalists must make decisions instantly and carry photographic equipment under the same circumstances as those involved in the subject (fire, war, rioting)—often while being exposed to the same risks.
Photojournalism as a descriptive term often implies the use of a certain bluntness of style or approach to image-making. A wedding photographer would not typically be described as a 'photojournalist', even though they cover a timely event and their images may be published in the press.
A similar and related term is reportage.
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History
Photojournalism has been a major element of newspaper and magazine reporting since the early twentieth century, although its historic origins have been traced to mid 19th century European battlefield photography by British press reporters in the Crimean War. Its use was greatly spurred by the development of the commercial 35mm Leica camera.
The invention of the term "photojournalism" is commonly attributed to Cliff Edom (1907–1991), who taught at the University of Missouri School of Journalism for 29 years. Edom establish the first photojournalism workshop there in 1946. Some attribute the word, instead, to the then-Dean of the School of Journalism, Frank L. Mott.
The Golden Age
In the "golden age" of photojournalism (1930s–1950s), some magazines (Picture Post (London), Paris Match (Paris), Life (USA), Sports Illustrated (USA)) and newspapers (The Daily Mirror (London), The Daily Graphic (New York)) built their huge readerships and reputations largely on their use of photography, and photographers such as Robert Capa, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Margaret Bourke-White, W. Eugene Smith became well-known names.
Farm Security Administration
From 1935 to 1942, the Farm Security Administration and its predecessor the Resettlement Administration were part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, and were designed to address agricultural problems and rural poverty associated with the Great Depression. A special photographic section of the agency, headed by Roy Stryker, was intended merely to provide public relations for its programs, but instead produced what some consider one of the greatest collections of documentary photographs ever created in the U.S. If such documentary photography can be called 'photojournalism' remains debatable, since the FSA photographers had much more time and resources to create their work than would usually be the case.
World War II
World War II brought a tremendous increase in the supply and demand for quality photojournalism. In its latter stages, the war also stimulated the supply of new faster and smaller cameras from Japan to Europe and the USA.
Magnum
In 1947, two years after World War II ended, the Magnum Photos photographic agency was founded by four photographers: Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger, and David Seymour. Magnum differed from other agencies in that it was a cooperative (all members of the agency were also partial owners). Magnum is a highly respected photo agency and membership is extremely selective. There is a review process once a year during which portfolios from applicants are viewed by all current members. From there, the few who are invited to join must withstand a several-year probationary period before (with a vote every year by full members to see if the probationary members recent photo work is up to par) they can be considered full members.
Many probationary members are asked to leave after one or two years. Some of the most famous contemporary Magnum photographers have left the agency for various reasons either to be independents or to begin their own agencies (James Nachtwey is a founding member of the VII photo agency. Sebastião Salgado founded Amazonia Images). Magnum Photos has more or less been experiencing financial troubles for the last 40 years.
Acceptance by the art world
Since the late 1970s, photojournalism and documentary photography have increasingly been accorded a place in art galleries alongside fine art photography. Luc Delahaye and Chien-Chi Chang, both Magnum photographers, to name a few among many, exhibit in galleries regularly.
Professional organizations
The Danish Union of Press Photographers (Pressefotografforbundet) was the first national organization for newspaper photographers in the world. It was founded in 1912 i Denmark by six press photographers in Copenhagen. Today it has nearly 800 members.
The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) was founded in 1946 in the U.S., and has approximately 10,000 members. Others around the world include:
- British Press Photographers Association, 1984
- Hong Kong Press Photographers Association, 1989
- Northern Ireland Press Photographers Association, 2000
- Pressfotografernas Klubb Sweden, 1930
- PK — Pressefotografenes Klubb Norway
News organisations and journalism schools run many different awards for photojournalists. Since 1968, Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded for the following categories of photojournalism: 'Feature Photography', 'Spot News Photography' and 'Capture the Moment'. Other awards are World Press Photo, Best of Photojournalism and Pictures of the Year.
Ethical and legal considerations
Photojournalism works within the same ethical approaches to objectivity that are applied by other journalists. What to shoot, how to frame and how to edit are constant considerations.
Often, ethical conflicts can be mitigated or enhanced by the actions of a sub-editor or picture editor, who takes control of the images once they have been delivered to the news organisation. The photojournalist often has no control as to how images are ultimately used.
The emergence of digital photography offers whole new realms of opportunity for the manipulation, reproduction, and transmission of images. It has inevitably complicated many of the ethical issues involved.
The U.S. National Press Photographers Association, and other professional organizations, maintain a Code of Ethics to address what are thought to be the proper approaches to these issues.
Major ethical issues are often inscribed with more or less success into law. Laws regarding photography can vary significantly from nation to nation. The legal situation is further complicated when one considers that photojournalism made in one country will often be published in many other countries.
The impact of new technologies
Smaller, lighter cameras greatly enhanced the role of the photojournalist. Since the 1960s, motor drives, electronic flash, auto-focus, better lenses and other camera enhancements have made picture taking easier. New digital cameras free photojournalists from the limitation of film roll length, as thousands of images can be stored on a single microdrive or memory card.
Content remains the most important element of photojournalism, but the ability to extend deadlines with rapid gathering and editing of images has brought significant changes. As recently as 15 years ago, nearly 30 minutes were needed to scan and transmit a single color photograph from a remote location to a news office for printing. Now, equipped with a digital camera, a mobile phone and a laptop computer, a photojournalist can send a high-quality image in minutes, even seconds after an event occurs. Video phones and portable satellite links increasingly allow for the mobile transmission of images from almost any point on the earth.
There is some concern by news photographers that the profession of photojournalism as it is known today could change to such a degree that it is unrecognizable as image-capturing technology naturally progresses. There is also concern that fewer print publications are commissioning serious photojournalism on timely issues.
Another concern is the concept of media convergence, or the merger of news media businesses of different mediums. Such instances could put a print photojournalist side-by-side with a broadcast or video photojournalist. Such is the case at The Tampa Tribune in Florida, which shares its newsroom with TBO.com and WFLA-TV. There is increasing pressure in the industry to re-train all journalists in a wide variety of mediums, which may one day include training many still photojournalists with video. Video adds a new dynamic of movement and sound, foreign concepts to photojournalists trained to capture moments frozen in time.
Some notable photojournalists
- Eddie Adams
- Felice Beato
- Werner Bischof
- Robert Capa
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
- Walker Evans
- Roger Fenton
- Kaveh Golestan
- Lewis Hine
- Walter Iooss
- André Kertész
- Dorothea Lange
- Neil Leifer
- Mary Ellen Mark
- Don McCullin
- Steve McCurry
- Susan Meiselas
- James Nachtwey
- Ruth Orkin
- Jacob Riis
- James Robertson
- George Rodger
- Sebastiao Salgado
- David Seymour
- W. Eugene Smith
- Weegee
- Li Zhensheng
Further reading
- Don McCullin. Hearts of Darkness (1980 — much reprinted).
- Susan C. Zavoina & John H. Davidson, Digital Photojournalism (Allyn & Bacon, 2002). ISBN 0205332404
- Kenneth Kobre, Photojournalism : The Professional's Approach 5th edition (Focal Press, 2004).