What is a photojournalist?

A photojournalist documents people, places, things, and events through photographs that tell a story. A professional photojournalist creates commercial-quality photographs, and needs both technical expertise and creativity. Producing a commercially viable picture means choosing a subject of interest to others, often pertaining to a news story. Capturing some aspect of the larger story is often the key to successful photojournalism. What sets different photojournalists apart, is which aspect they notice or decide to focus on. Educational Requirements for Photojournalists Formal education is recommended. A degree program from a reputable photography school usually helps you build a portfolio, which is a must if you want to get a job. Your portfolio should demonstrate your expertise with a wide range of photographic subjects, and should cover a range of project scopes--a single photograph of a bank robbery alongside a photo essay of a long-term construction project. The sooner you can ...  more

A photojournalist uses pictures instead of words to tell a story. This type of journalist has a skilled professional eye that is able to interpret an event or subject and communicate meaning through photographs. A photojournalist may also use words to help narrate the pictures he or she has taken. Magazines, newspapers, and books can all make use of the work of a photojournalist. Sometimes, an entire book is dedicated to the work of a particular photographer. It is also not unusual for a photojournalist to hold exhibitions of his or her work. A lot of photojournalists specialize in a particular field, such as portraits, war, celebrities, or world events. The photographs themselves should be newsworthy, as that is how the majority of photojournalists make their living. There are a large number of employment areas available to the photojournalist, including print, television, and the Internet. If one is talented enough, one can command huge fees for his or her work. Hard to get ...  more

The most exciting part of being a media photographer is that you have the opportunity to meet great people and witness events first hand. Unlike commercial photographers, whose work remains nameless, the photojournalist’s identity is revealed to the world through the photo credit. Most importantly, a photojournalist is given the awesome responsibility of recording the history of a community, perhaps the world, from his perspective. I spent about 20 years working for newspapers. I’ve photographed rock starts, professional athletes and presidents as well as the local heroes. I’ve seen death. I’ve captured birth and true love in front of my lens. But, just as important as all the history passing in front of me is the style in which I depict it. Each image needs to tell its own story. Some people would say many of the great early photojournalists such as Robert Capa where not very good photographers. I’ve heard it said that what made them great was that they were there and they got the ...  more

Unlike commercial photographers, whose work remains nameless, the photojournalist's identity is revealed to the world through the photo credit. Most importantly, a photojournalist is given the awesome responsibility of recording the history of a community, perhaps the world, from his perspective.  more

A journalist tells stories. A photographer takes pictures of nouns (people, places and things). A photojournalist takes the best of both and locks it into the most powerful medium available - frozen images. Photojournalists capture "verbs." This sounds simple, but a room of professional photographers was dumbfounded by this realization. Even after a full-length lecture with documentation and visual evidence, half of the photographers still had no clue what the difference was. At the end of the presentation. One man said (he really did), "So, what's the difference between photography and photojournalism?" Luckily, two people (only two) turned to him and yelled, "Verbs!" Although photojournalists can take properly exposed and well composed photographs all day long, they hunt verbs. They hunt them, shoot them and show them to their readers. Then, they hunt more. A photojournalist has thousands of pairs of eyes looking over his shoulder constantly. The readers are insistent: "What are ...  more