Photojournalism has been crucial in daily life, which would be of the history of the world, of countries, of social movements, of families and of the individual without photography , the one that makes us remember sometimes what our mind forgets.
The livelihood of a country, its culture and people, working conditions, social problems, the displaced, have always been the subject of interest for artists who fragment and expose reality in a photograph.
What would social networks be without the images that confirm, deny, reveal and accuse. We are images, memories, we are what we see. The best element of a photojournalist is his eyes, he has a keen talent, an incisive gaze that allows him to see beyond the obvious.
In this article you will know and learn theoretically everything about photojournalism, what it is and what it consists of, definition, equipment, techniques, differences and all the knowledge that you should consider to get a great result in this style like a pro.
What is photojournalism?
It is a genre of journalism that has to do directly with photography , with the aim of communicating through photographs certain events, problems, characters , events or social conflicts.
Photojournalism is a profession where you must be at the right time, but also have selection criteria to raise awareness, it allows you to give a voice to those who do not have it.
What does a photojournalist do?
The photojournalist is a high-risk and precautionary job, photojournalists or photojournalists seek to capture a shocking scene that reflects and counts the history of the place where you are . They seek to transmit, communicate or raise awareness about local, national or international issues and problems, they often work for news agencies, since the way they work is very different.
To be a photojournalist you need too extensive training, since photojournalism is centralized in what happens to people, everything that is culture. It takes a lot of training until you discover what you want to photograph.
A photojournalist leaves a part of the story with his artistic vision and journalistic flair. In addition, they seek to disseminate, communicate and inform, to raise awareness and inform society about the stories that need to be told , so that viewers question what they see, if they have weapons to make a change , do it.
Ethics photojournalism
A photojournalist must be a person of integrity and their behavior in everyday life must be very similar to that of their professional life.
You must be very clear the ethical limits, respect all those people who were photographed or with whom they are working and taking images, sometimes when a person asks you not to photograph them it is because that can harm them. They must question whether or not what they are doing is right.
A good professional has the sensitivity to respect the victim or to respect family members or people who are going through a situation.
They must work honestly, what they feel with what they think is in accordance with what they are doing. Since that is above professional success or having the image that will make the cover of a newspaper.
What should a photograph designed for photojournalism have?
Mainly it has to inform , it must have a balance, to the content, but also an aesthetic and technical care.
You must be clear what you are going to tell and how you are going to tell it . In addition, this helps us to stop talking about technical things and talk about what really matters, what the images are and how they have to be made.
It’s about being in the right place at the right time , to capture an image that contains so much emotion that it catches the viewer’s attention and continue a reading to inform yourself, so that it can last in each person.
Photojournalism and its importance in society
It has a great weight in society because it is like a mirror to the world and the photographer must know how to do his job not to flatter himself but to show truthfully through an image what is really happening at any given time.
Photojournalism allows us to question ourselves, have an identification, have an understanding of what is happening in our community and in our society. Because in the The moment we have an understanding, we can judge with reason. In the same way, not everything has to be criticized and not all stories are negative. The photojournalist goes further to look for all those questions that have to find something that makes us change, that leaves us an illusion or that leaves a message
The risk of photojournalism today
Photojournalists or photojournalists are currently facing the advance of the digital world , due to digital photography and immediacy in the media .
In addition, a risk is the quality of the information that reaches citizens, due to the control by the institutions, political parties, companies that seek control of information.
As image creators or photojournalists, each one will decide which part of the stories to tell and how they want to tell them, so it is a risk to take lightly the consequences that it may have a photo and more if it is informative.
Photographs inevitably generate a reaction, even if it is an own vision of the world if it becomes media or if thousands of people look at it, it will provoke something, which can become an action tangible with social consequences. Taking this into account shows the interest that there is a relationship between power and photography.
In any country, the control institutions have sought and will seek that culture is on their side, even using photographic manipulation .
That is why as image creators, photographers or photojournalists we have a responsibility to take care of the use of our photos because that is where our credibility also goes or even the manipulation of our work for purposes or meanings other than what we wanted to give it.
Similarly, those who exercised before the appearance of social networks have detected a growing intolerance to the exposure of the world’s ugliness. As if, when we cover our eyes, the tragic part of life is no longer there. Experience shows that the opposite happens: deception only increases indifference towards those who suffer it.
So we need photographers who open their eyes to the risks of falls and the consequences of repeating past mistakes, we must defend and take care of our work.
Photographic equipment for do photojournalism
It depends on each photographer, it is not a rule to choose or have any photographic equipment that will be mentioned, but it is a recommendation of some photojournalists, however, you can use any equipment with the one you already count.
Some preferred camera brands are Canon and Nikkon :
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 5D Mark IV
Canon 1DX
Nikon D4s
Nikon D810
Photojournalists prefer cameras with a reflex system with focal lengths of 35-50mm.
Any photographer is worth doing good work with almost any equipment that calls itself professional. The only thing that stands out is that in photojournalism the angular ones stand out, since they need to cover entire scenes, in which the background is as important as the subject, or in which they need to include several elements in the scenes to make them coherent, which if they want highlight something, just zoom in or out.
Difference between photojournalism and documentary photography
It is very common for both definitions to be confused due to a certain degree of similarity. But since the invention of photography, the types of photography that spontaneously arise naturally with the objective of this type of art, to capture and capture the surrounding reality, have always been present.
Photojournalism aims to transmit information in an instantaneous way, in addition to never ceasing to be part of a journalistic genre, this is based on the present, just what is lived at the moment, capturing photographs that serve to show situations from conflicts to sporting events. Very different from the documentary , that the priority is to have a more outlined and structured work, with a sequence of time in yesterday, today and tomorrow of the situation that is being documented, it is about making a photographic series to capture some situation of a certain group and their ways of life.
Photojournalism photographs have characteristics such as:
Every image has a representation.
The images are with current news.
They aim to report real events.
They lean towards events.
Documentary photographs have characteristics such as:
They are descriptive images.
Attribute historical shots.
They lean towards symbolic details of an event.
Both undoubtedly seek to portray the reality that is being experienced , so that viewers can realize what is really happening.
For more information on photographic equipment and documentary photography you can read the following article https://masterclassphotographers.com/equipo-que-necesitas-para-fotografia-documental/
What is the World Press Photo?
The World Press Photo Foundation is an independent non-profit organization, its purpose is to connect the world with the stories that matter.
It is the most prestigious photography contest , it is an annual photojournalism international contest , who believes in the power of display and the importance of viewing high-quality visual stories.
Guide visual journalists, storytellers, and audiences around the world through this challenging and exciting landscape.
Check their website for more complete information https://www.worldpressphoto.org/
Examples of photographs of photojournalists
If you are starting and you are interested in starting with this photographic style, you can get inspired by the street photography genre with Gaby Olmedo https: // www. youtube.com/watch?v=6W1MZptp4tg
Photojournalism has great strength. In a world in which we are full of images with platforms where we see every day photographs with an incomparable immediacy, we must take a break, learn to see, observe and differentiate things that are happening around you. If we are going to like or share a story, see if they are doing something for your community, what they are liking, remember that it is better to share and lika something that can serve and transcend.