Photojournalism is a branch of journalism that uses photographs to tell a news story. Contrary to journalism which has many words and possibly a photo, photojournalism has one photo and at most a caption explaining the photo.
What's the role of photojournalism?
Photojournalism as a very important branch of journalism. It gives readers (viewers) a much richer, more detailed idea of what the story is about. Words are powerful, but nothing gets the emotion and action of a news story better than a series of photographs.
Are there rules that photojournalists must follow?
As with most forms of journalism there are a few "rules" that a photojournalist should follow. Photojournalism adheres to four principles:
- Timeliness
- Accuracy
- Fair representation of the context of events and facts reported
- Accountability to the public
Here are some ethical codes a journalist should abide by:
- Have an accurate and comprehensive representation of the subject(s)
- Avoid manipulating photographs to enhance the scene
- Avoid using staged photographs as they are not genuine events
- Provide complete and accurate context when photographing subjects
Are ethics of taking journalistic photos different than the ethics of writing a news story?
There are subtle differences in regards to the ethics of photojournalism and journalism. Journalists must be very careful with how their words are interpreted by having their work edited thoroughly. Omission or modification of facts or statements can have a profound effect on the readers view of the story. Photojournalists must be very careful how they photograph a scene as to not convey a different story than is unfolding. It is very difficult for a photographer to do this as camera postion and angle can affect the tone of the image. Low-angle (looking up at the subject) can lead the viewer to assume the subject is evil or powerful. On the other hand, high-angle shots (looking down on the subject) can lead the viewer to assume the subject is docile and powerless. In the end, journalists and photojournalists must commit to ethical behaviour and representation of the facts as their livelihood and credibility rely on it.
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| Low-Angle Shot. Credit: Unknown |
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| High-Angle Shot. Credit: Unknown |
What is the impact of altering press photographs?
Altering press photographs distorts the viewers feel for what happened at the scene. This could be to improve negative feelings about the scene or subject, or to increase negative perceptions of a scene or subject. Altering press photos is a highly unethical proposition.
As a photographer, I know it is often difficult for a photo to turn out the way it looks to my eye. For this reason the only manipulation of the photo that would be acceptable to me are those alterations which help the colours become more vivid. Photoshop is definitely a frowned-upon practice in photojournalism.
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