Photojournalism

There’s been a tug of war in the last few years in photojournalism. On one hand, you have the skill and excellence of craft with photojournalists doing their jobs with professional DSLR and mirrorless cameras, and on the other you have reporters doing a “good enough” job with smartphones. 

We say, "never forget" when we think of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. And while none of us will forget the event itself, it's easy to lose sight of the individuals who lost their lives in the attacks.  

When I discovered Robert Frank’s work it fundamentally altered my perception of what, and how much, photography could mean. Mr. Frank passed away Monday in Mabou, Nova Scotia at the age of 94. 

During our free time, we often tend to hunt for the big shots and the most impressive images. To become better photographers, we also need to develop our view for the little stories on our path. 

President Trump stepped up to the podium last Monday to read prepared remarks about the shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas. Except that in the final blessings of the speech, he named Toledo instead of Dayton, a different city about 150 miles away. 

If you have aspirations of being a fashion photographer, London Fashion Week is about as big as it can get. It's one of the main fashion capitals of the world, and remains highly respected for both designers and the press. 

Last week, somewhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Puerto Ricans marched along the largest highway on the island in protest against the governor Ricardo Rossello, and I was there.  

An amazing new exhibition has just opened, depicting images once lost to history and giving us a behind the scenes glimpse at some of the greatest mysteries of our time. 

Creating quality selections is often what sets apart convincing edits in Photoshop from poorly done ones, which often means spending plenty of time perfecting yours. But there are ways to shave time off your selection work.  

No matter how long you’ve been shooting, there’s always been a kind of base level of stress that hangs in the background for every photographer, just out of sight. It’s one of those things that’s always there, even if you don’t notice it.  

One of the best features of mirrorless cameras is their ability to shoot totally silently thanks to the lack of a mechanical mirror. That feature turned out to be a great boon to a photojournalist at the recent Democratic debate, allowing him to shoot in a position where others couldn't. 

There's no doubt that photojournalism is an incredibly difficult profession full of a range of challenges for the photographer. This excellent and fascinating video sits down with a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist as he discusses how he captures tragedy in a respectful yet powerful way. 

Photojournalism helps to shape our collective consciousness. In thinking about how important photojournalism is, I’ve often found myself considering what happens when amateurs with amateur equipment find themselves in extraordinary circumstances.   

WARNING: GRAPHIC NEWS EVENTS DEPICTED BELOW

Susan Sontag said:

An award-winning photojournalist stands accused of faking a series of images documenting hit men carrying out acts of violence in Honduras. It is alleged that Swiss/Italian photographer Michele Crameri staged several shots of men wielding guns and threatening to kill people, following revelations from the Honduran fixer who helped him gain access to local gang members. 

A near horrendous tragedy in Dallas saw photojournalist Tom Fox photograph the shooter from mere meters away, looking directly in to the lens. 

It’s no secret that newspapers are letting go of photojournalists left and right. But you don’t see other newsroom jobs being lost at quite the same clip as photographers, and it’s a problem that starts at the earliest levels of journalism education. 

Getty Images and APO Group have announced a partnership to promote integrated media solutions to clients across Africa and the Middle East.

According to the press release materials, Getty and APO, 

. . . will provide integrated text video and photo solutions . . . to commercial clients across the continent . . . 

While it seems that Donald Trump is engaged in a war of words with just about everyone at times, from China, to members of congress, to his favorite target, the media, there’s one group he’s heaped a lot of praise upon lately: photographers. 

Even veteran photojournalists grinding it out day after day still find time and energy to develop a personal project and sometimes those projects circle back and grow into more work. 

Sarah Tilotta provides some words of wisdom on pitching to a photo editor. It's a short video with some gems worth remembering, like being nice. Seems like the world could use a lot more of that.  

If it wasn’t already crystal clear that dyed-in-the-wool photojournalists needed to add video to their toolbox, Apple News+ has just made the case even more pressing. 

Robert Capa was one of the greatest war photographers of all time, and his work deserves careful attention and study, as it can do quite a bit to improve our own. But in addition to his work, his life story is quite fascinating and definitely worth learning. Check out this great video that details his life and the impact of his work. 

A quick trip into downtown Los Angeles allowed me a closer look at one of my photographic heroes. 

Annie Leibovitz is one of the main reasons I am a professional photographer today. She was the photographer that made me (and still makes me) look at her work and simply say, “Wow, how the heck did she do that?”

As the baby was crowning, Megan Mattiuzzo was clicking away. This might sound like a normal scene for most birth photographers out there, but Mattiuzzo was up against an extra layer of difficulty: she was photographing her own delivery. 

A photographer has switched to the Nikon Z 7 and taken to Antarctica in order to test the new equipment’s capabilities in extreme weather. He discusses his findings exclusively with Fstoppers. 

The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford and The Capital Group Foundation have announced that The Center has been gifted a collection of photographs by some of the most esteemed photographers working in the United States throughout the 20th century: Ansel Adams, Edward Curtis, John Gutmann, Helen Levitt, Wright Morris, Gordon Parks, and Edward Weston. 

There are only two things certain in life, as the saying goes: taxes and death. For something so certain, modern society has difficulty with understanding, and dealing with, our own mortality. So why is photographing death such a taboo subject?

The documentary photography of Steve McCurry has come under intense scrutiny in recent years. In this thought-provoking video, photographer Tony Northrup explores the truth around how the image was created and the story of its subject that rarely gets told. 

[3.11.19: Northrup's video and the views expressed in this article have been updated. Click here.]

An Italian photojournalist is crediting his Leica camera for saving his life after he was hit by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade and the camera he was holding to his eye helped to shield his face.  

Note: You can change the language of the captions of the above video by clicking "CC" and using the gear icon to select a language.

Photography is all about time. It's the only visual art that is able to hold a single moment and fix it for our lasting consideration. To make that happen we as photographers must be keenly aware of both the slice of time that we are capturing and the all the time which leads up to that important moment. To do this well we must look into the future. 

Black leopards are a rare sight in Kenya, one of the few remaining places the elusive animal can be found. But that rarity didn't stop British wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas from recently seeking out the creature. 

These intensely raw and intimate photos are documented by professional birth photographers around the world. I sat moved almost to tears sifting through these beautiful images that so profoundly capture the miracle of life.  

There is an old saying that "you only find what you are looking for." It's critical for any artist, including we photographers, to know what it is that we are working to create. To have a vision and stay true to it so that it will become a reality. When you go out with the intent of creating images you know what you want, right?

Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” is an iconic representation of the Great Depression, and one of the most famous photos of all time. There’s more to the story than just the one famous image, however. 

A British photographer has unveiled her new series, "Birth Undisturbed." Initially aspiring to recreate her own home birthing experiences, Natalie Lennard’s images depict stories of women both real and imagined, as she aims to “bring the rawness of primal birth into the art world.” 

There are few (if any) photographers with a resume like Pete Souza's. Hear from the man himself in this awesome interview. 

When you think of the elements of an image that make it successful and interesting most photographers immediately refer to the powers of color, form, texture, light/dark, and visual rhythm. There is another that is often overlooked: gesture. Unlike the other elements, gesture can't easily be preplanned into your composition; it's a fleeting thing.

January 10 marks the 50th anniversary of Life's Apollo 8 issue. It's quite extraordinary to look back at these images 50 years after they were first published. The power of photography can be easily lost when there are trillions of photographs produced a year. The value of photography can be further obscured by a need for likes or the anonymity of hurtful criticism.

A few weeks back, I posted an interview with photographer Damari McBride about his project in South Africa with Nourish and Photographers Without Borders. This week, the resulting documentary was released which gives us a deeper look into how our arts can help support change. 

We photograph inanimate objects practically every day. We even photograph non-human, animated objects, on a regular basis (hello, Fido). But what happens when you are asked to document the “life” of a humanoid, life-like robot? Sophia is not your average woman. In fact, she is not a woman at all, in any real, human sense.

Any pet owner will tell you that losing them is as great a pain as losing any member of the family. It’s in these moments we’re at our most vulnerable. One brave photographer has taken on the task of capturing such fragile moments in a series that documents owners struggling to cope in the last moments of their animal’s life. 

Netflix recently released the newest season of its photography-centered TV show "Tales by Light." 

"Tales by Light" is a documentary and reality show based on photographers' work around the world. The National Geographic and Canon joint venture focuses on photographers who attempt to tell a compelling story through their travels and images.

Women have always played a big role in the photography world, but this fact is not always apparent. Street photography in particular has always lacked a strong female presence. Women Street Photographers aims to change that perception.  

It’s been a rough time for photojournalists, with many large metro newspapers laying off entire photo staffs. Quality is bound to take a hit, but does the public notice? A new study says that they do. 

There are so many ways to approach photography. We can search for artistic expression, money, Instagram fame, or any number of other things. Photographer Damari McBride believes we should all do a volunteer photo-journalistic project at least once. Let’s find out why.

It’s something that seems almost too good to be true: a wealthy family in the UK is apparently searching for a photographer to tag along and document their vacations for £80,000 with all expenses paid. What’s the catch? 

War photographers routinely put themselves in grave danger to document the violence of war and conflict. This excellent video talks about the legacy of those photojournalists who have been injured or lost their lives and how others are using their skills to teach young people about photojournalism. 

One fan wasn't expecting to have the opportunity of a lifetime when she showed up to a Panic! At The Disco concert in Florida last week.

It’s one thing to read it in the news, but to take a somber drive through the devastation is surreal. 

Last month, Steve Cooper shot a short 360 documentary in Paradise, CA. In the Sierra Nevada foothills, the town was ravaged by the recent wildfires. Even though it happened a month ago, residents are only being allowed to return now.

How good are we at remembering former presidents decades after their service is over? What are the things that help us to remember their time in office? Obviously, since this is a photography community and education website, I'd wager this: that the photographs taken during their presidency help shape our memories of those years.