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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:
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. The photojournalist approach to candid photography is becomming popular as a unique style of commercial photography. For example, many weddings today are shot in photojournalism style resulting in candid images that chronical the events of the wedding day. A similar and related term is Reportage . 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 established 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. produced the seminal image of the Great Depression . The FSA also employed several other photojournalists to document the depression.]] During much the same period, other photographers working anonymously for the two news agencies - United Press International (UPI) and Associated Press (AP) -- produced work that was often as good or better than ''Life Magazine's'' famed staff photographers'. UPI routinely put bylines -- reporters’ names -- on stories, but not on pictures until the 1970s, and then only after '' The New York Times '' and other large newspapers began requesting names so they could credit photographers along with the agencies they worked for. Perhaps there was no rush to name the photographer, and the photographer wasn’t eager to be named, because for years even the finest photographs given the most prominent display were poorly reproduced in the newspaper. Until the 1980s, most large newspapers were printed using turn-of-the-century “letterpress” printing technology using easily smudged oil-based ink, off-white, low-quality “newsprint” paper, and coarse engraving screens. The words stayed legible on the page, but the photoengraving dots that formed the pictures almost always smeared and became fuzzy and indistinct, so that even when newspapers used photographs well -- a good crop, a respectable size -- murky reproduction often left readers re-reading the caption to see what the photo was all about. Not until the 1980s had a majority of newspapers switched to “offset” presses that reproduce photos with fidelity on better, whiter paper. By contrast ''Life'', one of America’s most popular weekly magazines from 1936 through the early 1970s, was filled with photographs reproduced beautifully on oversize 11x14-inch pages, using fine engraving screens, high-quality inks, and glossy paper. ''Life'' often published a UPI or AP photo that had been widely reproduced in newspapers, but the quality magazine version appeared to be a different photo altogether. In large part because their pictures were clear enough to be appreciated, and because their name always appeared with their work, magazine photographers achieved near-celebrity status. ''Life'' became a standard by which the public judged photography, and many of today’s photo books celebrate “photojournalism” as if it had been the exclusive province of near-celebrity magazine photographers. ''The Best of Life'' (1973), for example, opens with a two-page (1960) group shot of 39 justly famous ''Life'' photographers. But 300 pages later, photo credits reveal that scores of the photos among ''Life’s'' “best” were taken by anonymous UPI and AP photographers. Farm Security Administration From 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 . 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 . 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:
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 Camera s free photojournalists from the limitation of film roll length, as hundreds 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
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