36 Visual Communication & Photojournalism

Unit 3: Photojournalism
Notes
Structure
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Concept of Photojournalism
3.3 Power of Visuals
3.4 Attributes of a Good Photograph (Aesthetic and Technical)
3.5 Resolution and Correction
3.6 Photo as a News: Text vs. Photo
3.7 Attributes of a News Photo
3.8 Summary
3.9 Check Your Progress
3.10 Questions and Exercises
3.11 Key Terms
3.12 Further Readings

Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
 Understand the concept of photojournalism
 Know attributes of a good photograph
 Explain power of visuals
 List attributes of a news photo

3.1 Introduction
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting
of news material for publication or broadcast) that employs images in order to tell a
news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases
the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is
distinguished from other close branches of photography (e.g., documentary
photography, social documentary photography, street photography or celebrity
photography) by complying with a rigid ethical framework which demands that the work
be both honest and impartial whilst telling the story in strictly journalistic terms.
Photojournalists create pictures that contribute to the news media and help
communities connect with one other. Photojournalists must be well informed and
knowledgeable about events happening right outside their door. They deliver news in a
creative format that is not only informative, but also entertaining.

Timeliness
The images have meaning in the context of a recently published record of events.

Objectivity
The situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate representation of the events
they depict in both content and tone.

Narrative
The images combine with other news elements to make facts relatable to audiences.

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Like a writer, a photojournalist is a reporter, but he or she must often make
decisions instantly and carry photographic equipment, often while exposed to significant
obstacles (e.g., physical danger, weather, crowds, and physical access). Notes
3.2 Concept of Photojournalism
Every morning we wake up and read the newspaper. There is always a picture on the
first page which shows the important news of the day. Such a picture is a result of what
we know as photojournalism. Once photography grew popular and became easy to do,
it started getting specialized in its use. By this, you must understand that soon after the
discovery of photography people were very excited and busy getting their photos taken.
Soon they started travelling with the camera, gathering pictures of far off places and
showed them to people who could not get there. Wars were happening in the world;
photographers went to such places and took pictures. Such photographers were the
first war photojournalists. Still it was not possible to print these pictures on the
newspaper alongside the written news.
Around the 1880s, a technology called half tone developed by which photographs
could be printed in the newspapers. Photojournalism as we know today is news
photography. Photographs that support the story of a news event fall in this category
and photographers who specialize in this are called photojournalists.

Types of Photojournalism
Photojournalism has grown into a very specialized form of photography and it has many
more avenues. This is because news itself has many areas wherein a particular person
is assigned to work in. So photographers according to their likes and dislikes have gone
into specific areas. When a photographer is gifted with the ability to write in support of
his photograph in a few words, he becomes a photojournalist. Let’s find out the different
types of photojournalism. • Sports photojournalism: As sports events are a big part of
news, there are photojournalists who specialize in photographing sports. This is also
because sports photography requires a specialized skill as well as equipment.
Nowadays there are photojournalists who specialize in photographing individual sports.
For example in India, there are photojournalists who are dedicated to cricket
photography as it is the most popular sport and is now played throughout the year
irrespective of it being day or night.
 War photojournalism: This is the earliest form of photojournalism, where
photojournalists have covered wars and sent photos from the centre of action. In
India we see a lot of photographs in newspapers, of conflicts within the country
such a terrorist activity or a riot where the photographer is in a dangerous situation
and yet he manages to send us pictures, risking his life.
 Glamour photojournalism: Film stars and other famous personalities have
become a major part of news coverage as most people want to peep into the lives
of the rich and famous. There are photojournalists who specialize in this kind of
photography only are also called paparazzi, which is an Italian word.
 Spot news photojournalism: This means covering events that make day to day
news, like political events, crime, accidents etc. This is in fact the most common
type of photojournalism and is most demanding for a photojournalist.
 Travel photojournalism: This type of photojournalism involves the documentation
of an area’s landscape, people, cultures, customs and history. Travel photographs
are taken by professionals or even amateurs. Photographs taken by amateurs are
shared online with friends, relatives etc. through photo sharing websites.

Wildlife Photojournalism
This is regarded as one of the more challenging forms of photojournalism. Advanced
photographic equipment as well as a good knowledge of the animal’s behaviour as well
as the terrain is needed to take wildlife photographs.

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Though these are only some of the many specialised categories of photojournalism,
each newspaper has its set of photojournalists who cover all affairs that may make
Notes news around the globe.
Photojournalists can be of two kinds, those who are employed by the newspaper
and the others who work as freelancers i.e. those who work independently and sell the
pictures that they take to newspapers and other news agencies.
Photojournalism is now no longer limited to newspapers. With the emergence of the
internet as a major source of news, the scope of photojournalism has extended itself
into what is known as web based photo journalism. Some of you who use the internet
would have seen websites that are like newspapers. These sites also employ journalists
as well as photojournalists to gather news for their organizations.
Now with so many people carrying the camera in their phones, it may be of interest
for you to know that newspapers and websites use photos sent by people like us to
them, because we as ordinary people may be present with our mobile phone cameras
at places when an incident of interest to the newspaper may take place!

Composition
Any photograph must speak for itself. This means that on seeing a photograph the
person watching it must immediately understand what it is trying to convey. There is a
saying that “a single picture is worth a thousand words”. This means that a picture can
convey a message more convincingly than a thousand words. You may have seen
many photographs that leave a lasting impression on you. Have you wondered why it is
so? This is because the subject which is photographed is placed in the picture frame in
such an intelligent manner that it leaves an impact on the viewer. This placement of the
subject or subjects within the picture frame is called composition.
Composition has a special meaning when it has to convey news to the public as is
the case in photojournalism. It is the placement of the subject being photographed that
leaves an impact on the viewer. Let us consider a situation where you have to show a
photograph of a poor man. You can take a simple photo of a beggar on the street and
convey your message. But if the same photograph is taken in such a manner that the
beggar is close to the camera but at a distance is also a rich man sitting in a big car.
This picture will have a greater impact because its composition shows the contrast in
the two people in the same picture and highlights the condition of the beggar as against
the rich man. One can think of many such instances.
Composition also deals with making the picture look more appealing to the eye.
Action photographs of war or sports show a kind of energy that should make the viewer
feel that he is in the midst of those actions.
Composition also demands balance, that is to say a photograph must be taken in
such a manner that it should not seem to make our eye wander to a corner. The various
subjects should be so organized that the picture has a pleasing effect. There are some
basic rules of framing, of which the rule of thirds is the most common. It states that
elements in a frame must be so placed that they roughly fall on the intersection of the
lines that divide the frame in three rows and three columns. This is no hard and fast
rule, yet it helps in leaving a positive impact on the viewer.
Camera angle is another factor that has an impact on composition. If the person in
a picture is an important person like a leader or a film personality, one composes the
picture by keeping the camera below the person’s eye level. When this is done the
person shall appear much larger. Similarly taking a picture from above a person’s height
also called top angle makes the person appear small. All such methods of composition
are employed to make the picture more effective in terms of what it is trying to say, so
that the viewer can immediately understand its meaning

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Photo Feature and Photo Editing
A photo feature is also called a photo essay. As the name suggests it is a story or an Notes
essay on a subject told using photographs. It can be done on anything that is
photographed, a place or person etc. You may have come across photo features in
magazines on certain interesting issues. How does a photojournalist work on a photo
feature? A photo feature is generally conceived at the desk of the editor of the
magazine or newspaper who will brief the photo editor about it.
A photo editor is the overall in charge of the photo section in a newspaper or
magazine. He chooses the photographer and discusses the topic. He may also choose
a reporter who will write the story around the photo essay. It is also the job of the photo
editor to decide and select on the best pictures that convey the whole story. You have
already learnt that a single picture is worth a thousand words”. Therefore, a good photo
essay which comprises of few very nice pictures will have a greater impact on its viewer
than the best written essay. Let us consider the example of a photo feature that will be
based on a family and attempts to list five photographs which shall introduce them to
others. If there are parents, their daughter, and grandparents in the family, you may
have the following photographs:
 Group photo of the whole family having a meal together.
 Father leaving for work
 Mother preparing food in the kitchen
 Daughter coming home from school
 Grandparents watching television
These are the few photographs that will make a brief photo essay on the above
family. Of course, there may be many other interesting pictures that could be taken.
Here you will have to be your own photo editor or take the opinion of a senior person to
pick up the best photos that make a complete photo essay on the family.

History

Origins in war photography

The practice of illustrating news stories with photographs was made possible by printing
and photography innovations that occurred in the mid-19th century. Although early
illustrations had appeared in newspapers, such as an illustration of the funeral of
Lord Horatio Nelson in The Times (1806), the first weekly illustrated newspaper was
the Illustrated London News, first printed in 1842. The illustrations were printed with the
use of engravings.
During the Crimean War, the ILN pioneered the birth of early photojournalism by
printing pictures of the war that had been taken by Roger Fenton. Fenton was the first
official war photographer and his work included documenting the effects of the war on
the troops, panoramas of the landscapes where the battles took place, model
representations of the action, and portraits of commanders, which laid the groundwork
for modern photojournalism. Other photographers of the war included William
Simpson and Carol Szathmari. Similarly, the American Civil War photographs
of Mathew Brady were engraved before publication in Harper's Weekly. Disaster,
including train wrecks and city fires, was also a popular subject for illustrated
newspapers in the early days.

Expansion
The printing of images in newspapers remained an isolated occurrence in this period.
Photos were used to enhance the text rather than to act as a medium of information.
This began to change with the work of one of the pioneers of photojournalism, John
Thomson, in the late 1870s. In collaboration with the radical journalist Adolphe Smith,
he began publishing a monthly magazine, Street Life in London, from 1876 to 1877. The
project documented in photographs and text, the lives of the street people
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of London and established social documentary photography as a form of
photojournalism. Instead of the images acting as a supplement to the text, he pioneered
Notes the use of printed photographs as the predominant medium for the imparting of
information, successfully combining photography with the printed word.
On March 4, 1880, The Daily Graphic (New York) published the first halftone (rather
than engraved) reproduction of a news photograph.
In March 1886, when General George Crook received word that the Apache
leader Geronimo would negotiate surrender terms, photographer C. S. Fly took his
equipment and attached himself to the military column. During the three days of
negotiations, Fly took about 15 exposures on 8 by 10 inches (200 by 250 mm) glass
negatives. His photos of Geronimo and the other free Apaches, taken on March 25 and
26, are the only known photographs taken of American Indians while still at war with the
United States. Fly coolly posed his subjects, asking them to move and turn their heads
and faces, to improve his composition. The popular publication Harper's
Weekly published six of his images in their April 24, 1886 issue.
In 1887, flash powder was invented, enabling journalists such as Jacob Riis to
photograph informal subjects indoors, which led to the landmark work How the Other
Half Lives. By 1897, it became possible to reproduce halftone photographs on printing
presses running at full speed.
In France, agencies such as Rol, Branger and Chusseau-Flaviens (ca. 1880–1910)
syndicated photographs from around the world to meet the need for timely new
illustration. Despite these innovations, limitations remained, and many of the
sensational newspaper and magazine stories in the period from 1897 to 1927 were
illustrated with engravings. In 1921, the wire photo made it possible to transmit pictures
almost as quickly as news itself could travel.

Golden Age
The "Golden Age of Photojournalism" is often considered to be roughly the 1930s
through the 1950s. It was made possible by the development of the compact
commercial 35mm Leica camera in 1925, and the first flash bulbs between 1927 and
1930, which allowed the journalist true flexibility in taking pictures.
The Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung pioneered modern photojournalism and was widely
copied. Photo the cover of the issue of 26 August 1936: a meeting between Francisco
Franco and Emilio Mola.
A new style of magazine and newspaper appeared that used photography more
than text to tell stories. The (Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung was the first to pioneer the format
of the illustrated news magazine. Beginning in 1901, it began to print photographs
inside the magazine, a revolutionary innovation. In the successive decades, it was
developed into the prototype of the modern news magazine.
It pioneered the photo-essay, had a specialized staff and production unit for pictures
and maintained a photo library. It also introduced the use of candid photographs taken
with the new smaller cameras.
The magazine sought out reporters who could tell a story using photographs,
notably the pioneer sports photographer Martin Munkácsi, the first staff
photographer, and Erich Salomon, one of the founders of photojournalism.
Other magazines included, Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung (Berlin), Vu (France), Life
(USA), Look (USA), Picture Post (London)); and newspapers, The Daily Mirror(London)
and The New York Daily News. Famous photographers of the era included Robert
Capa, Romano Cagnoni, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Margaret Bourke-White and W. Eugene
Smith.

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Henri Cartier-Bresson is held by some to be the father of modern photojournalism,
although this appellation has been applied to various other photographers, such
as Erich Salomon, whose candid pictures of political figures were novel in the 1930s. Notes
The photojournalism of, for example, Agustí Centelles played an important role in
the propaganda efforts of the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War in the late
1930s.
Soldier Tony Vaccaro is also recognized as one of the pre-eminent photographers
of World War II. His images taken with the modest Argus C3 captured horrific moments
in war, similar to Capa's Spanish soldier being shot. Capa himself was on Omaha
Beach on D-Day and captured pivotal images of the conflict on that occasion. Vaccaro
is also known for having developed his own images in soldier's helmets, and using
chemicals found in the ruins of a camera store in 1944.
Until the 1980s, largest newspapers were printed with turn-of-the-century
"letterpress" technology using easily smudged oil-based ink, off-white, low-quality
"newsprint" paper, and coarse engraving screens. While letterpresses produced legible
text, the photoengraving dots that formed pictures often bled or smeared and became
fuzzy and indistinct. In this way, 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. The Wall Street Journal adopted stippled
hedcuts in 1979 to publish portraits and avoid the limitations of letterpress printing. Not
until the 1980s did a majority of newspapers switch 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
11×14-inch pages, using fine engraving screens, high-quality inks, and glossy
paper. Life often published a United Press International (UPI) or Associated Press (AP)
photo that had been first 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.
In 1947 a few famous photographers founded the international photographic
cooperative Magnum Photos. In 1989 Corbis Corporation and in 1995 Getty Images
were founded. These powerful image libraries sell the rights to photographs and other
still images.

Decline
The Golden Age of Photojournalism ended in the 1970s when many photo-magazines
ceased publication. They found that they could not compete with other media for
advertising revenue to sustain their large circulations and high costs. Still, those
magazines taught journalism much about the photographic essay and the power of still
images.
However, since the late 1970s, photojournalism and documentary photography
have increasingly been accorded a place in art galleries alongside fine art photography.
Luc Delahaye, Manuel Rivera-Ortiz and the members of VII Photo Agency are among
many who regularly exhibit in galleries and museums.

Professional Organizations
The Danish Union of Press Photographers (Pressefotograf forbundet) was the first
national organization for newspaper photographers in the world. It was founded in 1912
in Copenhagen, Denmark by six press photographers. Today it has over 800 members.

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The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) was founded in 1946 in the
U.S., and has about 10,000 members. Others around the world include the British Press
Notes Photographers Association (BPPA) founded in 1984, then relaunched in 2003, and now
has around 450 members. Some of them are Hong Kong Press Photographers
Association (1989), Northern Ireland Press Photographers Association (2000),
Pressfotografernas Klubb (Sweden, 1930), and PK — Pressefotografenes Klubb
(Norway).
Magnum Photos was founded in 1947 by Robert Capa, David "Chim"
Seymour, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger, William Vandivert, Rita
Vandivert and Maria Eisner, being one of the first photographic cooperatives, owned
and administered entirely by its members worldwide.
VII Photo Agency was founded in September 2001 and got its name from the
original seven founders, Alexandra Boulat, Ron Haviv, Gary Knight, Antonin
Kratochvil, Christopher Morris, James Nachtwey and John Stanmeyer. Today it has 30
members, along with a mentor program.
News organizations 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'. Other
awards are World Press Photo, Best of Photojournalism, and Pictures of the Year as
well as the UK based The Press Photographer's 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. Photographing news for an assignment is one of the most ethical
problems photographers face. Photojournalists have a moral responsibility to decide
what pictures to take, what picture to stage, and what pictures to show the public. For
example, photographs of violence and tragedy are prevalent in American journalism
because as an understated rule of thumb, that "if it bleeds, it leads". The public is
attracted to gruesome photographs and dramatic stories. A lot of controversy arises
when deciding which photographs are too violent to show the public.
Photographs of the dead or injured arouse controversy because more often than
not, the name of person depicted in the photograph is not given in the caption. The
family of the person is often not informed of the photograph until they see it published.
The photograph of the street execution of a suspected Viet Cong soldier during the
Vietnam War provoked a lot of interest because it captured the exact moment of death.
The family of the victim was also not informed that the picture would run publicly.
Other issues involving photojournalism include the right to privacy and the
compensation of the news subject. Especially regarding pictures of violence,
photojournalists face the ethical dilemma of whether or not to publish images of the
victims. The victim's right to privacy is sometimes not addressed or the picture is printed
without their knowledge or consent. The compensation of the subject is another issue.
Subjects often want to be paid in order for the picture to be published, especially if the
picture is of a controversial subject.
Another major issue of photojournalism is photo manipulation – what degree is
acceptable? Some pictures are simply manipulated for color enhancement, whereas
others are manipulated to the extent where people are edited in or out of the picture.
War photography has always been a genre of photojournalism that is frequently staged
– see war photography: history for early examples. Due to the bulkiness and types of
cameras present during past wars in history, it was rare when a photograph could
capture a spontaneous news event. Subjects were carefully composed and staged in
order to capture better images. Another ethical issue is false or misleading captioning.
The 2006 Lebanon War photographs controversies is a notable example of some of
these issue, and see photo manipulation: use in journalism for other examples.

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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. Notes
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 organization. The photojournalist often has no control as to how images are
ultimately used.
The United States National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) is a
professional society that acknowledges concern for the public's right to freedom in
searching for truth in a photograph and the public's right to be informed about the
events that occur in the world. Since the same ethical approaches are applied to
photojournalism as to other journalism forms, photographs should illustrate news in an
object manner to keep the public accurately informed. The following are the Code of
Ethics that the members of NPPA follow:
The practice of photojournalism, both as a science and art, is worthy of the very
best thought and effort of those who enter into it as a profession.
Photojournalism affords an opportunity to serve the public that is equaled by few
other vocations and all members of the profession should strive by example and
influence to maintain high standards of ethical conduct free of mercenary considerations
of any kind.
It is the individual responsibility of every photojournalist at all times to strive for
pictures that report truthfully, honestly and objectively.
Business promotion in its many forms is essential, but untrue statements of any
nature are not worthy of a professional photojournalist and we severely condemn any
such practice.
It is our duty to encourage and assist all members of our profession, individually
and collectively, so that the quality of photojournalism may constantly be raised to
higher standards.
It is the duty of every photojournalist to work to preserve all freedom-of-the-press
rights recognized by law and to work to protect and expand freedom-of-access to all
sources of news and visual information.
Our standards of business dealings, ambitions and relations shall have in them a
note of sympathy for our common humanity and shall always require us to take into
consideration our highest duties as members of society. In every situation in our
business life, in every responsibility that comes before us, our chief thought shall be to
fulfill that responsibility and discharge that duty so that when each of us is finished we
shall have endeavored to lift the level of human ideals and achievement higher than we
found it.
No Code of Ethics can prejudge every situation, thus common sense and good
judgment are required in applying ethical principles.
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.

Unethical Practices
Most photojournalists consider stage-managed shots presented as candid to be
unethical. There have been examples in the history of photojournalism of photographers
purposefully deceiving their audience by doing so.
Mike Meadows, a veteran photographer of the Los Angeles Times, was covering a
major wild fire sweeping southern California on 27 October 1993. His picture of a Los
Angeles County firefighter, Mike Alves cooling himself off with water in a pool

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in Altadena ran both in the Times and nationally. Prior to submitting the photograph for
a Pulitzer Prize, Meadows' assignment editor, Fred Sweets, contacted the firefighter,
Notes who reportedly said he had been asked by Meadows to go to the pool and splash water
on his head. Meadows denied the accusation, claiming "I may have been guilty of
saying this would make a nice shot, but to the best of my recollection, I did not directly
ask him to do that. ... I've been doing breaking news stories for years and years and I've
never in my life set up a picture." Meadows was suspended without pay for a week and
picture was withdrawn from any prize competitions - the Times called it a "fabrication"
and the paper's photography director, Larry Armstrong, said "when you manipulate the
situation, you manipulate the news."
Edward Keating, a Pulitzer Prize winner from The New York Times, photographed a
young boy pointing a toy gun outside a Middle Eastern grocery store, near a town
where the FBI raided an alleged Al Qaeda cell. Other photographers at the scene
claimed that Keating pointed with his own arm to show the boy which way to look and
aim the gun. After the Columbia Journalism Review reported the incident, Keating was
forced to leave the paper.

Impact of New Technologies

As early as the Crimean War in the mid-19th century, photographers were using the
novel technology of the glass plate camera to record images of British soldiers in the
field. As a result, they had to deal with not only war conditions, but their pictures often
required long shutter speeds, and they had to prepare each plate before taking the shot
and develop it immediately after. This led to, for example, Roger Fenton traveling
around in a transportable dark room, which at times made him a target of the enemy.
These technological barriers are why he was unable to obtain any direct images of the
action.
The use of photography as a way of reporting news did not become widespread
until the advent of smaller, more portable cameras that used an enlargeable film
negative to record images. The introduction of the 35 mm Leica camera in 1925 made it
possible for photographers to move with the action, take multiple shots of events as
they were unfolding, as well as be more able to create a narrative through their
photographs alone.
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. Although the number depends on
the amount of megapixels the camera contains, whether one's shooting mode
is JPEG or raw, and what size of memory card one is using, it is possible to store
thousands of images on a single memory card.
Social media are playing a big part in revealing world events to a vast audience.
Whenever there is a major event in the world, there are usually people with camera
phones ready to capture photos and post them on various social networks. Such
convenience allows the Associated Press and other companies to reach out to the
citizen journalist who holds ownership of the photos and get permission to use those
photos in news outlets.
The content of photos tends to outweigh their quality when it comes to news value.
On February 18, 2004, The New York Times published on their front page a photo of
AT&T CEO John Zeglis which was taken with a camera phone. 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. Camera phones and
portable satellite links increasingly allow for the mobile transmission of images from
almost any point on the earth.

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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. Staff Notes
photojournalism jobs continue to dwindle in the 2010s and some of the largest news
media outlets in the U.S. now rely on freelancers for the majority of their needs. For
example, in 2016, the New York Times employed 52 photo editors and relied on
freelancers to provide 50 percent or more of its visuals; The Wall Street Journal
employed 24 photo editors and relied on freelancers for 66 percent of its features
imagery and 33 percent of its news imagery; The Washington Post employed 19 photo
editors and relied on freelancers for 80 percent of its international news imagery, 50
percent of its political news imagery, and between 60 and 80 percent of its national
news imagery.
The age of the citizen journalist and the providing of news photos by amateur
bystanders have contributed to the art of photojournalism. Paul Levinson attributes this
shift to the Kodak camera, one of the first cheap and accessible photo technologies that
"put a piece of visual reality into every person's potential grasp." The empowered news
audience with the advent of the Internet sparked the creation of blogs, podcasts and
online news, independent of the traditional outlets, and "for the first time in our history,
the news increasingly is produced by companies outside journalism". Dan Chung, a
former photojournalist for The Guardian and Reuters, believes that professional
photojournalists will have to adapt to video to make a living. Most digital single lens
reflex bodies are being equipped with video capabilities.

iPhone Journalism
iPhone journalism is a relatively new and even controversial mean of photojournalism,
which involves the use of pictures taken and edited on iPhone by professional or non-
professional photographers.
In recent years, as social media become major platforms on which people receive
news and share events, iPhone photography is gaining popularity as the primary tool for
online visual communication. An iPhone is easy to carry and always accessible in a
pocket, and the immediacy in taking pictures can reduce the intervention of the scene
and subjects to a minimum. With the assistance of abundant applications,
photographers can achieve a highly aesthetic way of conveying messages. Once the
pictures are uploaded onto social media, photographers can immediately expose their
work to a wide range of audiences and receive real-time feedback from them. With a
large number of active participants online, the pictures could also be spread out in a
short period of time, thus evoking profound influence on society.
Having noticed the advantages of the combination of social media and
iPhoneography, some well-known newspapers, news magazines and professional
photojournalists decided to employ iPhone journalism as a new approach. When
the London Bombings happened in July 2005, for the first time, both the New York
Times and the Washington Post ran photos on their front pages made by citizen
journalists with camera phones. As work of witnesses and survivors, the images were
less the outcome of documentary intent than a response to a traumatic shock. These
photos represented 'vivid, factual accounts of history as it explodes around us', as
described by Washington Post journalist Robert MacMillan. In another instance, when
superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, causing great damage and casualty, Time sent
out five photographers with iPhones to document the devastation. Photographers dived
deep into the site and captured pictures in close proximity to the storm and human
suffering. One of the shots, raging ocean waves collapsing on Coney Island in Brooklyn,
taken by Benjamin Lowy, made the cover of Time's November 12 issue. Then in 2013,
the Chicago Sun-Times got rid of its entire staff of 28 photographers, including John H.
White, a Pulitzer Prize winner in photography. The newspaper cited viewers shifting
towards more video as a reason. They then employed freelance photographers and
required them to train in how to use an iPhone for photography to fill the gap. Some
viewers online were quick to point out an at times reduction in quality in comparison to
the newspaper's previous full-time professionals.
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3.3 Power of Visuals

Notes Visual messages surround us every day. We watch real and fictional stories on
television, we view advertisements in magazines and on billboards and we review
charts, graphs and tables in books. We consider photographs that we want to display
around our home, and we design visual aides to accompany our presentations at work.
Throughout all of these activities, we engage with and use visual communication to
send and receive messages. Even though verbal communication, the ability to
communicate messages through language, is often viewed as a more important or a
more central type of communication, visual communication has many benefits and
advantages in both personal and professional situations.

Immediacy
One of the primary benefits of visual communication over verbal is immediacy. Whether
you are seeking to communicate complex information, such as with statistical
information, or seeking to emphasize the importance of an idea, visual communication
can often accomplish these tasks much more quickly than verbal communication.
For example, if you are seeking to illustrate decreased sales for a specific product
line, you can show that information through a graph or chart and communicate the
necessary information to your audience almost instantaneously. The immediacy of
visual communication also allows for easy visual comparison of two or more items and
the illustration of a new product line or business development. Visual communication
can bring a thing, location and even idea to life in dynamic ways.

Simplicity
Another advantage to visual communication is simplicity. For example, if you seek to
give driving directions to a friend, you may find it easier and even quicker to draw a
visual map. Often, visual communication can simplify the information or ideas that you
are seeking to pass on to another person or group of people. If you work as an
engineer, you will often use diagrams along with written instructions to illustrate how a
product or item works with simplicity and clarity. Visual communication can also
demonstrate the relationship between two entities or ideas in accessible ways. The
internal structure of an organization, for example, may be the most clearly
communicated and understood through an organizational chart.

Flexibility
Visual communication can also be more flexible in many ways than verbal
communication. For example, if you are seeking to communicate a marketing or
advertising message to hundreds or thousands of people across diverse geographic
areas, visual messages will often allow you to do so with more flexibility than verbal
ones. Visual communication not only can bridge geographic distance, it also can span
cultural differences.
If you are seeking to appeal to a broad demographic audience, such as a television
or cable audience, visual images may allow you to reach more people with your
message. For example, if you want to promote a new vacation destination, appealing
visual images will often be more persuasive than verbal sales pitches.
Not only do visuals bring a reader into the story, but they help the reader better
understand the content. “Publications understand that some information is
more efficiently and effectively presented through these means [graphics] than by the
paragraph,” said James Glen Stovall, author of Journalism: Who, What, Where, When,
Why and How.
Not only do graphics draw in readers and help them understand the content, but the
attention given to graphics is far greater than that of written text. Poynter’s Eyes on the
News research said that the chance of someone reading some of the text in a story

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increases by three times when a visual is included. Headlines are also more likely to be
read if a photograph is included. The research also said that size of a picture matters,
the bigger it is, and the more a reader will read the cutline. Notes
Like all things in journalism, credibility is key. In 2004 USA Weekend printed two
racial epithets that were printed in the background text of an illustration. Papers
were forced to pull the supplement from their delivery. Anne Van Wagener,
of [Link], said that “an illustration, or any visual, is no different than a carefully
crafted story. The elements of an illustration–line, color, concept, text, and texture–all
need editing.”
The importance of visuals in media is becoming more clear as media expands into
the digital age. The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” has never been more
true.

3.4 Attributes of a Good Photograph (Aesthetic and Technical)

In photography composition is the arrangement of parts of a scene to form a particular

visual outcome. Composition can also be about picking a viewpoint to form a pleasing
visual outcome. In practical terms, the photo tends to use both “arrangement” and
“choice of viewpoint”.
In general composition aims to direct the viewer to see the point of the photograph.
The “point” may simply be an aesthetically pleasing scene, or something containing a
more complex story. Even a visually disturbing or discordant outcome are the result of
efforts in composition.
The finer points of a particular composition relies on a range of “photographic
elements” and the “principles of photographic art” for using them.

Elements of Photographic Art

The visual elements in a photo have attributes which are called the “photographic
elements”. These are:
 Line: Lines and edges that the eye follows within the scene.
 Colour: the variety of colours and individual hues (and intensities/brightness of
each).
 Shape: A two dimensional area, marked out by edges, which exhibits similar
textures/colours and may be geometric or defined by organic or natural processes.
 Form: three dimensional structure with length, width and height.
 Tone: Shade and light variations that define ‘form’ persuading the eye of its three
dimensionality.
 Texture: The surface detail of ‘shapes’ or ‘forms’ that persuade the eye they would
have the feel of the real thing if touched.
 Space:
 Positive space: The space occupied by a shape or form.
 Negative space: The space between shapes or forms.
 Depth: The viewers perception of distance between ‘foreground’ and the
‘background’ in the picture.
 Sharpness: The degree to which an object or particular part of the picture is sharp
or blurred.

Principles in Composition
How the individual elements are used are the “Principles of photographic art”. They may
be defined as the organisation of the elements of a picture. They are arranged into a

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coherent or harmonious whole (sometimes known as the “Unity”). The whole creates
the picture and the photos intended statement for the piece.
Notes
The difference between a “photographic element” and a “principle of photographic
art” is simple. An example of a line in a photograph could be a road. How that road is
shown affects the way the eye moves through the picture. It could be depicted as going
into the picture creating depth (by converging edges) and drawing the eye into the
distance. Or, possibly, the road could cross the picture creating a dynamic side-to-side
impact. These alternatives have the opposite impact created through arrangement
alone.
How elements are used is governed by the “Principles of photographic art”. These are…
 Unity – the concept of the whole piece, how it forms one piece and how well the
elements are organised overall.
 Harmony – a consistent overall theme which seeks to make a well ordered and
simple outcome. The aim is to reduce discordant and unnecessary elements.
 Colour – individual colours act as independent elements in a picture. Overall
control of colour, its contrasts and complementary properties make it an important
part of the organisation of the picture.
 Variety – the degree to which different type of things, forms, and shapes are used.
This is also about how contrast and emphasis are deployed.
 Movement – shows action or partially completed action, implied movement into a
scene or along a line. Movement can also be through the expression of motion blur.
It may even the passive control of eye movement through the scene using elements
of composition (particularly lines and edges).
 Contrast – expressed through light and shade; brightness and darkness; colour
differences; texture variations; pattern differences; juxtaposition and so on –
contrast has a powerful effect on the eye.
 Balance – the arrangement of elements to create a harmonious distribution of
visual weight in the picture. If an element occupies too much of the picture, or
seems too heavy the picture is unbalanced. The eye tends to be drawn to the
heavier elements.
 Proportion – the relative size of shapes and forms; the relative quantity of an
element; or the relative quantity of different elements
 Pattern and rhythm – use of recurring elements in an organised or rhythmic way
introduces a dynamic to the picture. Pattern and/or rhythm can be used to imply
movement, activity or organisation.
 Geometry – the way shape and form is organised overall. Is the picture constructed
using symmetry/asymmetry, the golden mean, rule of thirds or other geometric
principles to organise the final picture.
 Focus – through the depth of field, focus controls how much sharpness there is at
any given point or individual element and where that sharpness is centred. The eye
is naturally drawn to the sharpest part of the picture. However the transition from
sharp to unsharp can be relatively abrupt. Equally it can be distributed through the
depth of the picture. Focus also includes the quality of the unsharp (blurred) areas
of the image (bokeh).
 Viewpoint – often not considered a principle of art. Viewpoint is important in the
principles of photographic art. The birds-eye view, adult eye-height view and ground
level view offer three very different perspectives and probably different elements of
the same scene. The point of view is therefore be an important principle in
organizing individual elements.
A composition is pleasing if the viewer feels empathy with the photograph subject or
gets pleasure from viewing it. The aesthetic success of a photo could be measured by
the pleasure it gives. Generally photographers work to find pleasing aspects to a scene.
They word to draw the viewer’s eye into the picture and capture their interest.
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Aesthetically pleasing outcomes for photographs are not always the intentions.
Composition could be deliberately discordant. One possible intention may be to show
chaos and disarray. On occasion the composition can be aimed at shock or concern or Notes
any of a range of uncomfortable emotions. Ugliness and discord, horror and shock all
have a part in art. Photographers are no different to other artists in bringing those things
out in a picture.

Messages and ‘Unity’

Every photograph carries a message or story with which the viewer is influenced. A
successful picture is a complete and convincing whole. It carries not only the subject but
a convincing environment or background too. If the composition is not convincing then
the impact is lost. The artist must plan or pick a scene that supports the main idea of the
picture. The composition is therefore the arrangement of the elements of the picture
through conscious planning. It may involve using the rules of composition or artistic
principles. It may also mean building the scene from scratch in a way that creates what
we want the lens to see.
A coherent, harmonious unity in the picture will create a story. If successful it will be
clear and convincing. Poor composition, discordant elements and inappropriate or
complex inclusions break down the message and spoil the unity of the picture.

Photo Size
Standard photographic print sizes are used in photographic printing. Cut sheets of
paper meant for printing photographs are commonly sold in these sizes.

Size Names
They are often denoted with a code of the format nR, where the number n represents
the length of the shorter edge in inches. In the normal series, the long edge is the length
of the short edge plus 2 inches (10" or less) or 3 inches (11" and above). The
alternative Super series, denoted SnR, has an aspect ratio of 3:2 (or as close as
possible) and thus provides a better fit for standard 135 film (35 mm) at sizes of 8
inches or above.
In Japan, the same print sizes (and several additional ones) are known by different
names. The Japanese L is equivalent to 3R, while 2L—twice the size—matches
5R. KG represents the size of a traditional 4"×6" (4R) Japanese postcard
(hagaki). The nP or cut series are defined in reference to a full page size (zenshi) of
457×560 mm, with smaller numbers (fewer cuts) indicating larger sizes.
Unlike ISO 216 paper sizes, the aspect ratios of photographic prints vary, so exact
scaling of prints is not always possible. However, there are some logical
correspondences between the sizes, noted below when applicable.
Many of the standard sizes are the same as sheet film formats, and are appropriate
for making contact sheets from these films.

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Common Sizes

Notes US JP
Alias
Size Pixels at Aspect
Notes
code code (in. & mm) 300 PPI ratio

2×3
Wallet 600 × 900 3:2 (1.5)
(51 × 76)

2½ × 3½ 750 ×
2R Wallet 7:5 (1.4) older standard
(63.5 × 89) 1050

3¼ × 4½
974 × 16:11 Size in inches is
E (82.5 ×
1417 (1.45) approximate.
120)

9 × 13 cm,
3½ × 5 1050 × 10:7
3R L B7,
[3] (89 × 127) 1500 (1.43)
Enprint

3.5 × 8.1 1050 × 16:7

Chou #4 envelope size
(90 × 205) 2430 (2.29)

Hadaka, 3.9 × 5.8 1170 ×

PC 3:2 (1.5) postcard size
A6 (100 × 148) 1740

4×6 1200 × standard 135 film & print

4R KG 10 × 15 cm 3:2 (1.5)
(102 × 152) 1800 size

new size for most

4D, 4½ × 6 1350 × 4:3 consumer level digital
6D (114 × 152) 1800 (1.33) cameras and Micro
4/3 cameras

4.7 × 9.3 1410 ×

Chou #3 2:1 (2.0) envelope size
(120 × 235) 2790

13 × 5×7 1500 × twice the size of a 3R

5R 2L 7:5 (1.4)
18 cm, B6 (127 × 178) 2100 print

Ofuku 5.8 × 7.9 1740 × 4:3

postcard size
Hagaki, A5 (148 × 200) 2370 (1.33)

6×8 1800 × 4:3 twice the size of a 4R

6R 8P 15 × 20 cm
(152 × 203) 2400 (1.33) print

7 × 9½ 2100 × 19:14
18 × 24 cm for B&W paper
(178 × 240) 2850 (1.36)

8 × 10 2400 × 5:4 Can be used for contact

8R 6P 20 × 25 cm
(203 × 254) 3000 (1.25) prints from 8×10 film.

S8R closest approximation

8 × 12 2400 × to A4 (210×297mm),
6PW 20 × 30 cm 3:2 (1.5)
(203 × 305) 3600 twice the size of a 6R
print
Contd…

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24 × 30 cm 9½ × 12 2850 × 24:19 for B&W paper
(240 × 305) 3600 (1.26)
Notes
10 × 12 3000 ×
10R 4P 6:5 (1.2)
(254 × 305) 3600

At 14½ in (368 mm), the

10 × 15 3000 × Japanese 4PW size is
S10R 4PW 3:2 (1.5)
(254 × 381) 4500 slightly shorter than
S10R.

11 × 14 3300 × 14:11
11R 28 × 36 cm
(279 × 356) 4200 (1.27)

11 × 17 3300 × 17:11
S11R
(279 × 432) 5100 (1.55)

12 × 15 3600 × 5:4
12R
(305 × 381) 4500 (1.25)

12 × 16 3600 × 4:3
30 × 40 cm for B&W paper
(305 × 406) 4800 (1.33)

12 × 18 3600 ×
S12R 3:2 (1.5)
(305 × 457) 5400

3.5 Resolution and Correction

Images arrive at your publication in a wide variety of resolutions and formats. The
format is the manner in which the photo or illustration is saved. Common image formats
are:
 TIFF (.tif file extension, Tag Image File Format)
 JPEG (.jpg file extension, Joint Photographic Experts Group)
 PNG (.png file extension, Portable Network Graphic)
 EPS (.eps file extension, Encapsulated Post Script; used mostly for illustrations and
vector-based files)
Common resolutions are:
 72 ppi (pixels per inch);
 200 ppi;
 300 ppi.
Tiff files are designed for high-quality publications, and therefore normally are saved
at higher resolutions, usually 150-300 ppi. Jpg files are designed for the internet, and
therefore saved at lower resolutions, usually 72 ppi. Many lower-priced digital cameras
automatically save photos as jpgs, using low resolution but large images. JPG files are
smaller. High-end equipment may use the RAW format, which allows photographers
more control. Editors generally use jpgs or tifs.
Editors normally are not expected to know Photoshop photo manipulation software,
nor are they expected to be photographers. But they are expected to produce high-
quality publications, and they do work with photos. Therefore, they have to understand
a little bit about digital photo resolutions, and how it affects their work.
 Organizing photos using Bridge.
 Basic image manipulation for editors.

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Image Resolution and Editors

Notes Photos from digital cameras, or scanned, digitized photos, are saved at a certain
resolution, and a certain size. That combination breaks up the image into picture
elements, or pixels, corresponding to tiny dots (well, squares, actually) representing the
image. The fewer dots you have, the lower the quality of your image. So a 72-ppi photo
is lower quality than a 200-ppi photo.
The 72-ppi picture, the most common jpg resolution, is web standard. This is
because the lower the resolution, the fewer the pixels, and therefore the smaller the file
size. Small file sizes download faster on the net. As well, photos using projected color
(that is, computer monitors) look all right at a low resolution. But 72 ppi printed prints at
poor quality. The standard for printing: at least 200 ppi, for lower-quality newsprint, at
least 250 ppi, or 300, for magazines.
As you may know, you can make your picture bigger or smaller by merely dragging
on its handlebars (scaling) in InDesign (computerized pagination software), or choosing
a new image size in Photoshop. But keep in mind: you only have so many pixels there.
The bigger you make it, the lower the quality. So if you start out with a 4-inch photo at
72 ppi in InDesign and scale it up to an 8-inch photo, what are you going to get? A
"grainy" picture, that is, jagged edges of the pixels showing. Sort of like a jar of beans:
you can pour them into a bigger jar, but you only have so many beans.
This means that you are constrained by the original scan or original digital photo. If
the original scan was big, say 8 by 10 inches at 1,000 ppi, well, you have oodles of
pixels to work with--but also a huge, multi-megabyte file. If you scan a 35 mm slide at
72 ppi, you have much fewer pixels to work with. You can make that image bigger, but
your quality will go down, presuming you choose not to resample your image (see
below).
The general rule, then, is to scan with the anticipation of the largest possible image
you plan to make from your photo, but don't waste megs with larger images.
But editors don't do their own scans or digital photography, generally. They deal
with other people's work. So how do you decide whether an image is of sufficient quality
to print at the size you wish to print it, and in your publication? You might be able to
tweak it a little in InDesign using the scale tool, but it's risky--Indesign doesn't really tell
you if your image is going to be good enough. You need to deal with image size in
Photoshop.

Photoshop Image Size Exercise

1. Download this image to your desktop for practice.
To download in Macintosh, save by clicking while holding down the Control key.
Choose Save as... and save to desktop.
Open an image in Photoshop. Presumption is that a photographer or graphic artist
has already maximized the
image quality. You need to
deal with the image size.
2. Choose Image Size from the
Image pulldown menu. The
Image Size dialogue box will
pop up (see illustration at
right).
3. Toggle off Resample Image.
Note: Resample Image
actually creates new pixels if
you resample up, and thereby
increases the image size.
Usually this reduces quality of

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an image, making it fuzzy, although the resample option is improving. Still, you can
clean it up somewhat using Photoshop's Unsharp Mask, but it's better not to
resample, and instead to rescan if your image resolution is too low for the size in Notes
which you wish to print.
4. In the Resolution box, type the resolution you need:
 72 for the web;
 150-200 for newspapers;
 250-300 for magazines.
5. Note the size of the printed image may change, depending on how it was saved. If it
was saved at 300 ppi, and you type 72, the image will get much larger. If you saved
at 72 and now need 250, the image will get much smaller.
6. Note the Image Size. This is the maximum size you can print the image without
sacrificing quality. You can make it smaller. But not larger. If the maximum size is
sufficient for your publication...
7. Recheck the Resample Image toggle. This locks the resolution you need.
8. Type the desired width or height (usually width, in columns converted to inches of
your publication) in the appropriate box.
Note: You may wish to change the default
inches measure to picas.
9. Okay and save. Now you can import your
image into InDesign at the right size without
worrying about quality loss. You can tweak
slightly using the Scale Tool, maybe 10
percent.
10. If your image will not be big enough at the
resolution you specify, you have two choices:
choose a lower resolution and possibly a
pixelated image, see cat's eye example on
right. Or print the photo smaller.

3.6 Photo as a News: Text vs. Photo

Retailers and brands are already aware that visual content is a valuable tool and
sharing it is important for their brand awareness, but not many people know why it’s so
important. Of course, it can allow a company to reach more viewers instantly and it
gives customers a chance to engage with a brand directly, but there’s a more science-
based explanation to it, too.
Simply, visual content reaches an individual’s brain in a faster and more
understandable way than textual information. Or, more accurately, a person’s brain is
hardwired to recognize and make sense of visual information more efficiently, which is
useful considering that 90 percent of all information that comes to the brain is visual.
If you consider body language, traffic signs, maps, facial cues, advertisements, and
the plethora of other forms of visual communication a person experiences every day, it’s
not hard to see why our brains might have adapted to discern visual concepts easier.
For example, 40 percent of nerve fibres to the brain are connected to the retina.
Before we delve into the pros and cons of using visual or text content, let’s first
define what we mean by “visual content.” Visual content can come in many forms, but
the most common examples are images, video, slideshows or infographics.
Visual content has become increasingly popular with many startups and high profile
brands, allowing them to use strong imagery or videos as a way to instantly show
prospect customers what their product is about, negating the lengthy copy.

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Studies show visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text. This means that
images are better at grabbing the attention of potential customers, thus making them
Notes quicker and more effective than text at communicating key information.
For example, both sites below use images to quickly and efficiently demonstrate
how their products are used.
Strong visual content is a great way to make a lasting first impression. It can be
extremely emotional and can instantly connect with your customers. In turn, the emotion
a customer feels can have a large impact on their decision making, thus explaining why
many sites are adopting a visual approach for the design.
Take the airbnb homepage as an example. The use of beautiful images inspires
prospect customers to try the service, playing to their aspirational emotions by using
wish-you-were-here imagery.
Visual content works extremely well on website homepages and landing pages
where the aim is to hook a customer, making them want to learn more. However, this
doesn’t mean that text content on a website is unnecessary. Text content is extremely
important for SEO, as it can be easily crawled by search engines with the keywords you
are targeting.
From a user perspective, text content gives them more information about the
product or service they are interested in once you’ve gained their attention, and the
initial introductions are over.
Going back to the Square example above, it is obvious to prospect customers on
their first visit that they are able to order a free Square card reader from the homepage.
However, square is probably a relatively new concept to the majority of their first time
website visitors. As a result, prospect customers will need more information about the
product before they are comfortable enough to sign up. Square caters for those users
who require more information, linking from their visual homepage to their pages with
more text content, explaining further about their product and service.

3.7 Attributes of a News Photo

The advent of photographs mechanically printed into newspapers opened up market for
press photography. Pictures were mostly taken for their action and content rather than
any aesthetic consideration. Today, they are used in the newspapers for different
reasons.
Photographs in Journalism inform, educate and enlighten readers about current
issues and also reflect on the past as well. Photographs in Newspaper enhance the
credibility of the stories. As they depict reality, they also furnish evidence to show the
authenticity of a news story or give proof of an event that occurred.
Its aesthetic values enable a photograph to serve as a tool to attract reader’s
attention and break the monotony of news content. Thus, photographs enhance and
beautify the pages of a newspaper.
A photograph in newspaper speaks more than a thousand words. No formal
education is required to understand a picture. Photographs are therefore able to break
through literacy barrier to effectively communicate a message. It is a universal
language.

Use of Photos in a Newspaper

Here are a few ways images can enhance a story:
There are three main reasons why newspapers need news pictures.

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To Brighten the Page
A page without a picture is just a slab of grey text. It looks boring and many people will Notes
not bother to read what is written on it.
That is a pity if some of those stories are well researched and well written, but it is
true. The readers who pay money for a newspaper expect their job to be made easy for
them. They expect the news to have been sorted out into big stories and little stories, to
have been written clearly, and to be presented in a way which is easy to read.
Newspapers without pictures do not make the news easy to read. They make life
hard for the readers. The newspaper's journalists are not doing their job properly.

To Tell the News

News is something which is new, unusual, interesting, significant and about people. It is
obvious that new, unusual, interesting and significant things about people can be
communicated by pictures as well as by words.
Not all stories will be ideal for pictures. Some will be told more easily in words than
in pictures, while other stories may be told with one picture more easily and more
clearly than in many words.
There is an old saying in English that "one picture is worth a thousand words". That
can be true, but only if it is the kind of story which is suitable to be told by a picture, and
only if it is a good picture. We shall look in a moment at what makes a good news
picture.
Pictures can sometimes tell the news just by themselves, with a caption to say who
the people are and where the event is taking place. At other times, the picture may go
with a story, to work as a team with the words. In either case, a news picture must
always leave the reader knowing more than he did before. It must carry information.

To Show what it Looks Like

Only a very gifted writer can use words in a way which lets the reader visualise exactly
what a scene is like. Not every reporter can write as well as that.
A picture can let the reader see what a person, or a place, or a building, or an event
looks like.
In societies which do not have television, newspaper photographs are probably the
only way that most people can know what these things look like. They may be the only
way that people outside the capital city will know what their own leaders look like. Even
in societies with television, some areas of the country and some levels of society may
have no access to it, and many of the programs may be imported from overseas. The
newspapers still have an important job to let readers know what their own news looks
like.
 Images grab attention: If you include an image in a media release, article in a
magazine, or blog post it will grab the reader’s attention better than a block of text.
This may lead to more people reading the article that accompanies the image.
 Images tell a story: Sometimes a picture is better at communicating a story then
the written word. For example a very emotional scene of a family that has just been
reunited after a traumatic event may connect with a reader more than if the scene
was only written.
 Images can convey a message quickly: People often skim through website
articles without stopping to read the full article. A picture is a great way to convey
your message quickly to an audience without them reading through a lot of text.
 Shareability: Images can be easily shared by other people, which means your
story will be seen be a larger audience. You could even link the image back to an
article you want your target audience to read.

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3.8 Summary
Notes Photojournalism differs from other kinds of photography in that the emphasis is on the
tenants of journalism, namely timeliness, accuracy, fair representation of facts and the
context of the event and accountability to the public. A photojournalist has a
responsibility to put things into context. For example, one man throwing a brick through
a shop window can look like one act of criminal behaviour. But if we widen out the
image, we may find that there is actually a riot with many people throwing bricks and
harming property. So to only show the one person wouldn’t give an accurate reflection
of actual events.
Modern photojournalism began in Germany in 1925, when the first 35mm camera –
the Leica, was invented. Prior to this, a photographer would have to carry bulky
equipment, but with this new camera, the photographer could take photos unobtrusively
and without carrying lots of bulky cameras and tripods. This allow for photos to become
more natural and show how people really lived, rather than the mainly posed
photographs taken previously.
Another important invention in the mid-1920s, also in Germany, was the first
photojournalism magazine. Rather than the odd photo or illustration, these magazines
tried to tells a story with pictures and words. The photographer would shoot more
photos than needed. The editor would then examine the contact sheets (these are
sheets of photographs in miniature form). The editor would then choose those that
he/she believed told the story. The layout and writing was obviously important as it told
a story through photographs and words. But the written story was kept to a minimum.
Frank Luther Mott combined photography and journalism into photojournalism. The
German photo magazines established the concept of photojournalism, but with Hitler’s
rise to power in 1933, many of the magazines were suppressed and editors persecuted.
Many fled to the United States.
This led to a similar style of reporting in America. Henry Luce, already successful
with magazines such as Time and Fortune, started a new general interest magazine
that relied on photojournalism. Life was launched in 1936.
Newspapers and magazines still make heavy use of photographs. One amazing
photograph can tell so much more than words. Think of the famous Jeff Widener
Tiananmen Square Photograph – “Tank Man”.
But newspapers and magazines will often not rely so heavily on just photographs
now, they will also make use of words and images to add more to their content.
Technology has of course changed photography. By the 1990s, most
photographers were using colour photographs only and many were not printing them.
Digital photography has changed things rapidly. A photographer can take many images
of the same event, then choose the best ones. This has led to a rapid improvement in
the quality of images presented. Below is a summary of the history of photojournalism –

Famous Photographers
It is always interesting to look at famous photographers – the people behind the
photographs.

Gordon Parks
In 90 years of life, Gordon became a world renowned photographer, filmmaker,
composer, poet and novelist, despite being declared stillborn. Another doctor also in the
delivery room immersed him in ice cold water and the shock started his heart. He lived
in a poor family and his mother died when he was 14. At 25 years of age, he bought
himself a used camera and taught himself to be a freelance photographer. He took
photographs of things from fashion to the depression in Chicago slums. In 1944, he was
the only black photographer working for Vogue. In 1948, he became the first black
photographer to work for Life magazine. He was sent by Life to France, Italy and Spain

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and documented the civil rights movement in America. He reported on significant
events, such as:
 1956 segregation in Alabama
Notes
 The growth of the Nation of Islam in the 1960s
 The assassination of Martin Luther King
He also went on to be a director (directly Shaft and several other movies). He was a
close friend of Muhammad Ali and godfather to Malcolm X’s daughter.

Diane Arbus
Diane was born to a wealthy Jewish family. She met Allan Arbus at the age 13 and
married him when she was 18. Allan also studied photographer and both Diane and
Allan became fashion photographers. Allan usually worked with the camera and Diane
worked as the art director/stylist. In 1959, they split personally after a professional split
three years earlier. Diane was encouraged by a class she took with Lisette Model who
encouraged her to try and master the technical aspects of photography. By the 1960s,
her photographs were in Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar. They had a distinctive look.
They were usually of traditional subjects, but had a strange and troubling feeling to
them. She would talk to the subject for hours to get them to drop their public facade and
become more natural for her photograph. She would often take them in their natural
setting. She received the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1963 and 1966 for her
photographs of twin girls, dwarves, drag queens and circus performers. In 1971, she
committed suicide. A monograph of her work the following year as one of the bestselling
art books in history.

Nick Ute
Nick Ut was born in the Southern Mekong Delta Province of Vietnam. He joined the
Associated Press Office in Saigon at the age of 14. He learned photography from
looking at the work of other photographers. By 1967, he was accomplished news
photography. He photographed the communist Tet offensive, he was wounded twice
during the Cambodian campaign. He had shrapnel in his leg from a mortar explosion in
Trang Bang, North Vietnam. In 1973, he won a Pulitzer Prize for Photography for his
iconic photography of Phan Thi Kim Phuc running away from a fire of napalm. She was
screaming in pain from the burns on her back. The photograph also won awards from
Sigma Delta Chi, World Press Photos and more. The photograph changed the life of
Nick Ut and Phan Thi Kim Phuc.
As we mentioned earlier, her back was badly burned from napalm. She is shown in
the photograph running naked.
In 1975, he was evacuated to the Philippines and then lived in tent cities in Camp
Pendleton in Southern California. He was then transferred to the Associated Press
office in Tokyo. In 1977, he was sent to Los Angeles and became an American citizen.
He returned to Vietnam in 1989 for a story on Americans missing in Action. In 1993, he
set up a new Hanoi bureau and revisited Trang Bang and met relatives of Phan Thi Kim
Phuc.
“Forgiveness made me free from hatred. I still have many scars on my body and
severe pain most days but my heart is cleansed. Napalm is very powerful, but faith,
forgiveness, and love are much more powerful. We would not have war at all if
everyone could learn how to live with true love, hope, and forgiveness. If that little girl in
the picture can do it, ask yourself: Can you?” — Kim Phúc

Larry Burrows
Larry Burrows was born in 1926 in London. He left school at 16 and began to work for
Life Magazine in London, printing photographs. He went on to become a photographer
and covered the Vietnam war from 1962 until he died in 1971. He produced many
photographs from the midst of battle, including piecing together 22 photographs as a

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58 Visual Communication & Photojournalism
metaphor of the American experience of war. At first, this photo essay shows marines
having an outdoor briefing. He focuses on one man, Lance Corporal James C. Farley
Notes and his events during that day. For example, when a helicopter is downed and the
rescued soldier dies in front of Farley. In the final image, Farley leans against metal
trunks and cries. Burrows died with other photojournalists Henri Huet and Keisaburo
Shimamoto when their helicopter was shot down over Laos. Burrows’ book on Vietnam
published after his death won the Prix Nadar Award.

3.9 Check Your Progress

Multiple Choice Questions
1. Modern photojournalism began in Germany in ……….., when the first 35mm
camera – the Leica, was invented.
(a) 1925
(b) 1989
(c) 1946
(d) 1924
2. …………. works extremely well on website homepages and landing pages where
the aim is to hook a customer, making them want to learn more.
(a) photo feature
(b) Visual content
(c) Photojournalism
(d) Surgeon
3. The visual elements in a photo have attributes which are called the………...
(a) Miriam
(b) Visual content
(c) photographic elements
(d) Clara
4. A …………..is the overall in charge of the photo section in a newspaper or
magazine.
(a) Annie
(b) photo feature
(c) Miriam
(d) photo editor
5. …………. works within the same ethical approaches to objectivity that are applied
by other journalists.
(a) Photojournalism
(b) On a farm
(c) Bestwood
(d) In the woods
(a)
6. The emergence of ……………. offers whole new realms of opportunity for the
manipulation, reproduction, and transmission of images. It has inevitably
complicated many of the ethical issues involved.
(a) photo feature
(b) digital photography

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Photojournalism 59
(c) Visual content
(d) Overseer at Jordan's
Notes
7. The ……………. ended in the 1970s when many photo-magazines ceased
publication.
(a) Golden Age of Photojournalism
(b) Silver Age of Photojournalism
(c) Bronze Age of Photojournalism
(d) Classic Age of Photojournalism
8. A …………………is a story or an essay on a subject told using photographs.
(a) Wildlife photojournalism
(b) photo feature
(c) Juxtaposition
(d) digital technology
9. A …………….is generally conceived at the desk of the editor of the magazine or
newspaper who will brief the photo editor about it.
(a) photo illustration
(b) photo feature
(c) Travel photojournalism
(d) zone focusing
10. ………………. involves the documentation of an area’s landscape, people, cultures,
customs and history.
(a) Travel photojournalism
(b) iPhone journalism
(c) Travel photojournalism
(d) Wildlife photojournalism

3.10 Questions and Exercises

1. What are various functions of journalism?
2. Which kind of photography will produce the most manipulated
photographs?
3. In sports photography, what is "zone focusing?"
4. What is the influence of digital technology on your photography?
5. State the importance of photography.
6. What are the principles of photography?
7. Considering photojournalism ethics, what is a "photo illustration," and when would
you want to label a picture as such?
8. What are the different kinds of journalistic photos?
9. List characteristics of photo journalism.
10. State principles of photo journalism.

3.11 Key Terms

 Photojournalism: is the craft of employing photographic storytelling to document
life: it is universal and transcends cultural and language bounds.
 Juxtaposition: the act of placing or positioning items in the image area of a
photograph side by side or next to one another to illustrate some comparison.

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60 Visual Communication & Photojournalism
 Composition: the arranging of informational and/or artistic elements with a
viewfinder so as to form a unified whole or image that imparts information or an
Notes idea.
 Format: Generally refers to the size of the negative produced by the camera. There
are three basic formats: small (35mm), medium 2 1/4 or 4x5), and large (8x10 or
Sheet Film). Photographers often use the term when referring to the shape of the
image as in vertical, horizontal and square images. Of late, many photography
department folks will use the term "file format", referring to the type of computer
format in which the electronic image has been saved, i.e. TIFF, EPS, JPEG, etc.
 Depth of Field: simply put, it is the apparent sharpness of a photograph
considering the distance between the nearest and farthest elements that appear to
maintain acceptable sharpness and clarity.

Check Your Progress: Answers

1. (a) 1925
2. (b) Visual content
3. (c) photographic elements
4. (d) photo editor
5. (a) Photojournalism
6. (b) digital photography
7. (a) Golden Age of Photojournalism
8. (b) photo feature
9. (b) photo feature
10. (c) Travel photojournalism

3.12 Further Readings

 Kenneth Kobre, Photojournalism: The Professional's Approach 6th edition Focal
Press, 2008.
 Don McCullin. Hearts of Darkness (1980 - much reprinted).
 Zavoina, Susan C., and John H. Davidson, Digital Photojournalism (Allyn & Bacon,
2002). ISBN 0-205-33240-4
 The Photograph, Graham Clarke, ISBN 0-19-284200-5
 An Hand Book: Photo Journalism

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