An Introduction to Photojournalism

Photojournalism is a demanding and creative outlet for visual information. In no other field is the photographer expected to be as well-versed in such a variety of skills. And in no other field is the photographer expected to produce this material with limited gear on tight deadlines. The modern photojournalist is a generalist, not a specialist.

The Versatile Photographer

The traditional news and sports assignments often play a minor part in "news" photography. Newspapers today expect staff photographers to shoot fashion, food, features, fires and football at a moment's notice. Limitations of time, light or equipment, however, should not keep them from exercising creative expression.

This is not as difficult as it sounds. Photographic knowledge forms interrelationships, so skills usually reserved to one specialty may have surprising uses in another. For instance, a familiarity with studio work can help you visualize and control light in the field. Understanding how filters control contrast in black-and-white helps with both color printing and balancing color temperature for slides. Experience pushing film for news and sporting events can help with contrast control when shooting environmental portraits, fashion and stage shows. Newspapers offer unique educational opportunities.

As you develop new skills and integrate these skills with each other, you see a constant improvement in your pictures. Assignments you once had to struggle through are suddenly easy, and you find yourself with more time to develop creative approaches.

Another big reward of news photography is that you don't take your work home with you. If you feel that you did well that day, you go home satisfied. If you feel that you could have done better, well, tomorrow is another day, a fresh slate.

Why News Photography?

But another little-discussed reason photographers enjoy this business is the adrenaline kick from being on the scene of local, national or even international news events. News photographers get to see and do more extraordinary things in a year than most people do in a lifetime.

Nothing can compare to the kick of rushing to the scene of a breaking news story. A natural disaster, angry strikers picketing, or even covering a world leader or a movie star generates a certain excitement. The childlike thrill of news work should never be lost. Should you ever stop having fun in your job, it is a danger signal of burnout and it's time to more on to another field.

Additional satisfaction comes from knowing that you truly perform a public service. By covering the news, you supply insight into society and the events that shape it. As cliché as it sounds, I believe that a societies' freedom is largely effected by freedom of the press. Newspapers entertain and inform in a fashion no other media can duplicate.

Some Trade-Offs

It's not all fun and games, though. This business can be tough on personal relationships. News photographers often work unusual shifts, or may be called in the middle of the night to cover a breaking news story, or may be sent to another part of the world at a moment's notice. Married people with children may have some difficulties; yet most adapt to these stresses.

There are pressures, yet most glory in a tight deadline or challenging assignment. To many, photojournalism is not what they do, but what they are. There may even be danger. A photojournalist covering a fire, a hostage situation, or even those few who visit war zones must have an uncommon amount of common sense.

I'd be less than honest if I didn't mention an especially unpleasant aspect to the newspaper business. The newspaper business is in trouble. People simply don't have TIME to read the paper anymore--everyone is working like fiends just to stay ahead of the economy. Many fool themselves into thinking that they are staying current with the news by watching television. Also, the U.S. has the tremendous problem of growing illiteracy. Illiterate people don't buy papers. Therefore many newspapers are cutting staff, not hiring, or closing their doors forever.

Newspapers are Timely

Television and radio serve their purpose better than papers can ever hope to achieve. They entertain or can bring an event right into the viewer's home as it happens. Yet with today's technology, a newspaper is on the street in hours and will give a more balanced and thorough analysis of a situation. This has produced a profession almost fanatical about honesty and accuracy.

Photojournalists have kept pace with the changing standards of the newspaper industry. There's room for improvement, but today's news photographers should be applauded for doing such a fine job. They must be reporter, editor, humanitarian, psychologist and technician. Modern newspaper photographers have taken great strides in turning the craft of photography into the profession of photojournalism.

Beauty on a Budget

Although papers rarely have the budget to produce the slick work that magazines do, they still expect the photographer to shoot images of similar quality. Yet editors often require stories and pictures to appear in print the next day. Surprisingly, much of the newspaper's work is indeed comparable to the finest magazines. This creative flexibility under deadline pressure produces some of the best photographers in the world.

Often a photographer's first contact with a major photo agency or magazine comes from news work. Magazines routinely buy pictures or hire photographers sight-unseen instead of going to the time and expense of flying a staff member across the country. Newspapers are the primary source for these photographers.

A magazine editor obviously wants to hire the seasoned pro who can operate under difficult conditions and deadlines. Every time an editor or art director hires an unknown, he puts thousands of pounds and his reputation on the line. If the photographer fails, he fails. By hiring the press photographer, he comes as close as possible to getting guaranteed results.

A satisfactorily completed assignment may generate future business and contacts. This is a small profession and most agencies and photographers learn of one another by reputation. As a result, many photographers working on magazine staffs started out on newspapers.

But newspaper work should be considered on its own merits, not just as a stepping stone to another career. There are far more permanent positions available on newspapers than on the small number of magazines that rely solely on staff photographers.

Career Goals

Set goals for your future, dare to dream big. What do you really want to do? Work shooting fine art? Be a fashion photographer? Win the Pulitzer Prize? A little self-evaluation and honesty at this point will have far reaching impact on your life and career. Try to set one-year, five-year and ten-year goals. As time passes, you may wish to modify your goals, but keep striving for an ideal.

You are already ahead of most people because you enjoy photography. Most people never question why they work in their jobs or what the future holds. As a result, many people are unhappy with their chosen careers and fewer still ever reach their full potential. It is almost as if it is too difficult to visualize what to do with their lives or they fear to set their sights too high. It is difficult to be honest with yourself about your goals, but once you realize what you truly want, you can develop a "mind set" that channels all your energy toward this ideal.

Photojournalism is easier to break into than some other specialties, yet this does not mean an untrained individual can just walk into a newspaper office and get a job. Many years ago an editor would shove a Speed Graphic at the janitor, show him the basics of operation, and the victim was on his own.

Meet the Press

Photographers entering this field today will find competition stiff. Most have a bachelor's degree in photography, journalism or photojournalism, and an increasing number even have master's degrees. They are dedicated, professional and aggressive in advancing their careers. A photographer may take one job with an eye toward getting experience and working on another.

Yet great opportunities arise for the newcomer breaking into newspaper photography for precisely these reasons. Because photojournalists often switch jobs, sudden openings can occur. Someone may be told by a photo chief to expect no openings in the foreseeable future, only to be called a few days later and asked, "When can you start?"

Try to get some experience in the publishing and photo industries before entering the full-time job market. If you are in school, try to secure a temporary job with a newspaper, magazine or even public relations agency. Many newspapers offer internships that give beginners a chance to gain some valuable experience and tear sheets.

Shooting freelance assignments for hospitals, large companies, advertising agencies and even social gatherings helps illuminate different facets of newspaper work. It also helps if you have some writing skills. A few publications want their photographers to be a "double threat"--both a writer and a photographer.

At first, your best bet for breaking into the business is on a smaller newspaper. These jobs are easier to secure and will supply experience and confidence. Then it becomes a much easier step to move onto the larger publications.

Yet even the smaller papers want to see proof of your photographic expertise. So what are you supposed to do? Newcomers cannot be expected to have a pile of tear sheets or major journalism awards as they apply for their first job.

It is not nearly as hopeless as it sounds. A solid portfolio and a confident, pleasant personality make tear sheets unnecessary. Even newcomers have landed prestigious positions on major publications with solid preparation--and luck.

Future Shock

There have been many superb and dedicated news photographers in the past. But in recent years an explosion of highly trained and motivated photographers have dedicated their lives to photojournalistic excellence. It is more than a change from Speed Graphics to 35mm cameras. The changes in attitude, ethics and economy have created a vast difference between old and new.

The public has shown a growing desire for morning publications, so many afternoon newspapers now produce special a.m. editions with updates all day long; others have switched completely to morning production. Others have folded, merged, or been purchased by chains. Cities that once boasted two or three dailies now rarely support more than one paper.

But these signs are only the tip of the iceberg in the turbulent waters of the newspaper industry. Technology has wrought a far greater change on the business than has the global recession or changing lifestyles.

Gone forever are the days of the clattering typewriters and running copy messengers. The sound of modern news rooms has changed overnight to the hum of video display terminals and computers. Even newsprint's appearance has changed, from the letterpress of the past to the more flexible and higher-quality offset press. This lets papers devote more attention to photographs, graphics, layout and design. Some are even experimenting with their own all-news cable channels, satellite links and headline news via computer modem.

Most newspapers now use more color to compete with magazines and other papers; some have even converted to an all-color format. High quality color separations are often made via laser forming a dot matrix instead of the standard separation process. The wire services like AP, AFP, UPI  and Reuters routinely transmit color from transmitters in the field. Clearly, the switch to color is far advanced in the newspaper industry.

But the switch to color may be minor compared to some other changes. In ten years or so our present silver technology may be replaced with advanced electronic cameras using microchips. Even today's electronic cameras are serious contenders when working overseas, trying to make a tight deadline, or shooting for the internet.  Those starting out today should remain flexible and keep expanding their education.

Many feel uneasy about this revolution. Their fears are unnecessary. Today's knowledge and skills are easily revised to fit in with future technology.

For instance, the past thirty years have witnessed the demise of Speed Graphics and 2-1/4 cameras for news work. They have metamorphosed into today's auto-exposure, auto-focus, motor-driven 35mm cameras. Yet those individuals who once used the Speed Graphic now use the 35mm with equal or better results, just as VDT's and laptop computers proved little problem for reporters brought up with manual typewriters and glue pots. Remember: the one thing that makes a photographer valuable is what is in the mind, not what is in the camera bag.