We present to our readers the best photographers-journalists of Russia, winners of prestigious world awards, whose work has made a significant contribution to the development of Russian photojournalism.
Vladimir Vyatkin: "Photography is not just a set of frames, it should be a story about what is happening"
Laureate of international awards and competitions, winner of more than 160 awards, including: World Press Photo (Holland), Mother Jones (USA), Great Wall (China), Saddam Hussein's Golden Prize (Iraq), "Silver Camera" (Russia), the title of "International Master of Photojournalism" of the International Organization of Journalists (IOJ). Photojournalist for RIA Novosti, lecturer at the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University and the National School of Television, academician of the International Guild of Media Photographers, member of the Union of Journalists of Russia.
Winner of international competitions: Interpressphoto, Mother Jones Photo Contest (USA), SSF World Sports Photo Contest (Japan), Humanity Photo Award and Great Wall (China). In the work of Vladimir Vyatkin, socio-social, geographical, ethnographic themes, as well as art and sports, prevail.
Igor Gavrilov:"To become a good photographer - shoot, shoot and shoot, and love this business"
Winner of many international titles and awards, including the "Golden Eye" at the "World Press Photo". Today, Igor Gavrilov collaborates with the publications Time, Focus, Russian NewsWeek, is the head of the Russian department of the European photo agency East news, and the author of many books on photography. He took part in the project “One day in the life of the USSR” and the preparation of the book “The Soviet Union today” by National Geographic. Igor considers analytical reporting to be the main genre in his work, and defines the purpose of the work as “showing the truth.” The photographer has visited more than 50 countries of the world, traveled all over Russia, working in hot spots, including the site of the Chernobyl tragedy.
:"Photography is how I see the world the moment I press the shutter"
Winner of the "Golden Eye" award "World Press Photo". He worked as a photojournalist for RIA Novosti, a columnist for Voice of Russia and the BBC. Currently - photojournalist agency "Fly - Nig", member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, author of documentaries. His photographic report from Afghanistan, which demonstrated the real combat operations of the Soviet troops, gained great fame.
:“Over time, I begin to love my photos more and more”
Two-time laureate of World Press Photo, winner of numerous awards at world photo exhibitions and competitions. A recognized master of genre photography and psychological portraiture, he calls his shooting “Country and People”. Real fame came to Viktor Zagumennov after a series of photo essays and the life of the Russian North.
:“If you don’t see the frame you need, then it just can’t be here”
Twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize (for reporting on the Moscow putsch of 1991 and photographs of President Boris Yeltsin dancing at a rock concert). photojournalist Associated Press, chief photographer of the Moscow bureau, photographer of the Kremlin pool. His works were published in the book “Vladimir Putin. The best photos" (2008).
: "Tragedy always happens to a specific person, and if the world knows his story, then I did a good job"
Winner of a large number of awards: six World Press Photo awards for photographs from Chechnya, Iraq and Beslan; Overseas Press Club Oliver Rebbot and Frontline Club awards for coverage of events in Iraq; ICP Infinity awards, Visa d'or News awards for his project On Revolution Road; Trophee and Public Prize for the Dispatch from Libya project. Yuri Kozyrev - world famous military man photographer, covered all the major conflicts in the former Soviet Union, including the two Chechen wars, the fall of the Taliban, who consider it their duty to "be where the news is."
:"People pay for art when they have everything else"
Multiple winner of the "Everyday Life" nomination "World Press Photo", winner of the awards "Russia Press Photo", "Golden Pen" of the St. Petersburg Union of Journalists, "Photographer of the Year" magazine "Ogonyok". Collaborates with the German agency Focus, Time, Newsweek, Liberation, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Izvestia, Itogi, Rossiyskaya Gazeta .
:“Every advantage has its disadvantage. And vice versa"
Winner of World Press Photo, Bourse de la Ville de Paris (France), Society of News Design Award of Excellence (USA). His works are published by well-known world publications: Geo, Actuel, New York Times. Admitted to the world's oldest photo agency "Magnum". His book "Sightwalk", devoted to research on specific types of light, received great fame.
:“The most intimate property of photography is in documentary”
Multiple prize-winner of World Press Photo and PressPhotoRussia, owner of the world-renowned photography grant from Eugene Smith The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund. His projects "Beyond the Monastery Wall", "Holy Springs", "Abandoned Villages, Forgotten People" are famous all over the world.
:"I will never agree to work" paparazzi ""
Laureate of "World Press Photo", "PHOTOVISA", "Press Photo of Russia", winner of the "Silver Helmet" award for reporting on the work of rescuers of the Ministry of Emergencies, winner of the sports photography contest "Open the World of Sports". Collaborated with world famous publications such as Newsweek, USA Today, Men's Health, SportWeek, Photo&Video, BusinessWeek. Now he prefers the genre of monochrome photography and sports photography.
You can make money on the current news photo. And, sometimes, it's really good. Don't believe? Give a few minutes of your precious time to this short article. We hope that we will be able to convince you of this.
To begin with, a short digression into history. Let's remember how in the 20th century news photos from the scene appeared in newspapers. Let's simulate the situation. In the regional center, in the small town of Mukhozasidinsk, a bridge across the Puddle River collapsed. Local residents ("people's correspondents", "word of mouth") or the authorities of this very city by phone reported the event to the editorial office of the regional newspaper. Well, anyway, the news reached the editor-in-chief of the newspaper. The editor-in-chief decides to send an operational team to the scene of events: a journalist and a photojournalist. Newspapermen go to the scene, take pictures, collect information, and go back to the regional center ... All this can take half a day or even the whole day - depending on the distance to this very Mukhozasidinsk. Then the photojournalist developed the film, dried it, printed photographs ... And this is another two or two and a half hours ... In short, a report with photographs from the scene in the newspaper appeared at best only the next day, or even a day later. After all, the newspaper still had to be typed up, the layout had to be taken to the printing house, where the entire circulation would be printed ...
It was. And how it happens now - almost every modern person knows. A photo from the scene can appear (and appears!) on the Internet in just a few minutes. Today, each of us has a mobile phone in our pocket, which has a built-in camera. So, in order to get a photo from the scene, there is absolutely no need for you to have and constantly carry with you an expensive and, what is essential, a bulky and heavy professional camera. If an actual picture, even if it was not taken by a professional camera, but by a simple mobile phone, gets to the right address at the right time - well, for example, to a good photo agency - then it can cost a lot of money. The main thing here is speed, efficiency. The quality of the photo is already in second place, fades into the background. Already this evening, your photos may become useless to anyone, and, therefore, worthless in material terms. Other bystanders of the incident may be ahead of you. And other events may also happen, and “your” incident will no longer be relevant. The main thing is the news. And with a good and expensive fancy camera, let the professionals shoot concerts of show business stars and film festival parties.
That is why those who want to make money on current news photography need to constantly be ready to work. Constantly! And an expensive device, no matter how strange it may seem, is not necessary.
So, we continue to model situations. You are walking down the street. And suddenly aliens come out from around the corner. Don't be scared. Take your cell phone out of your pocket. Take pictures! Done? Everything. Fine. Let's move on to the second stage of making money. How to quickly send photos to the right address, that is, to a good photo agency? Of course, you can quickly get on the tram, go home, download the pictures to your computer and send them via the Internet by e-mail to the agency. But here's the problem... You might be late. Other eyewitnesses of the walk of aliens along the central avenue of your city will get ahead of you. By the time you get on the tram to your home computer, tomorrow's issues of all the newspapers in the world will already be ready for printing. And for the day after tomorrow the pictures will be taken by professional photojournalists with their sophisticated photographic equipment. They'll just make the aliens pose. The pros can do it.
There is a way to get ahead of competitors and be ahead of the rest. And he's easy. Moreover, it is in your hands. Yes, it is in the hands. In the truest sense of the word. You have in your hands your mobile phone, with which you have just photographed aliens. Set up GPRS in it. Here you go. Did you understand everything? Now the frame just made can be sent to the addressee via GPRS channels in the same second. And in a minute, your photo will be discussed in the editorial office of the newspaper and they will look for a place for it on the first page (or, as the newspapermen say, the page) of tomorrow's issue.
That's all. Before the aliens even took a step, the newspapers already know about their visit to your city. And you can safely go to the bank and get your well-deserved fee. from the cashier's safe to your wallet is usually much slower than the speed of the photo from you to the editor...). Yes, don't forget to open a bank account! Where will your money come from?
Well, the last. With what to send - we decided. How to send - you already know. Now it remains to solve the question: where to send.
There are a huge number of news services both in the world and in our country. And for the Internet, as you know, there are no borders at all. Wander across the expanses of the World Wide Web. Find such agencies in advance. We want to suggest you the addresses of agencies that are specifically focused not on a professional photojournalist, but on an ordinary person with a camera in his pocket. Moreover, for what is interesting to these firms, they pay very well. Here is a list of the websites of these agencies:
- www.demotix.com
- www.citizenside.com
- www.wesay.com
It will be nice if you register on these sites in advance.
Here you go. Now you can be almost sure that if you work quickly, that you met aliens on the central avenue of your city, the whole world will know in just a few minutes.
St. Petersburg photo reporter Pavel Mikhailovich Markin, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, Dean of the Faculty of Photojournalists named after Yu. A. Galperin, Chairman of the Photojournalism Section at St. ).
I am a 100% photojournalist. And he was his entire conscious working life, having worked for a quarter of a century in the newspaper "Change", 10 years - in the weekly "Leningradsky Rabochiy", three years - in the publishing house "Kaleidoscope". And today I continue to work as a special photojournalist for the Rossiya newspaper. Although the search for the main profession in life, frankly, was a long one. I managed to work as a tailor, a cutter, a loader, an artist, an educator in a pioneer camp, a teacher of drafting and drawing at a school, a supply manager and even a cook. But he never parted with his camera. It seems to me that all these labor skills were not in vain. This has expanded my knowledge in many areas of our lives and indirectly helps in everyday work.
If the theater begins with a hanger, then photojournalism, no matter how strange it may seem at first sight, starts with a wardrobe. This is a photographer or a master of advertising photography in his studio or in the open air can wear whatever he wants. And try a photojournalist for a government shoot in ripped jeans or a leather cowboy hat (like the one in which the photographers of the Guild of Advertising Photographers like to flaunt). I'm afraid for those who dare to take such a step, this will be the first and last shooting, say, in the Kremlin pool.
And imagine a similar picture in the theater. A photojournalist came to shoot in an eye-catching costume and during the performance he began to defile along the stage in search of an interesting shot. The performance is doomed to failure... All the attention of the viewer will be riveted only to the reporter, if he is not kicked out at the same moment by the administrator, ticket attendants or the audience themselves. The photojournalist must be invisible to others. And at the same time constantly being at the epicenter of the event. No bright or catchy details in clothes. Black or gray tones are best suited for this.
For a long time here you can talk about clothes for working in rain, snow, in severe frost or heat. And each option applies to photographic equipment. Let me give you the simplest example: it is unthinkable to work, say, in Côte d'Ivoire with photographic equipment purchased in Moscow or Vladivostok. For these conditions, you need a camera only in a tropical version ... And at the pole of cold, before climbing into the heat, you have to leave your camera equipment outside, and shoot indoors with a second camera.
Now about the camera. In the work of a reporter, this is sacred! This is the foundation of successful work. Yes, you can learn the basics with Smena, Zorkiy, and Kiev (only not with a soapbox). But a professional camera should be reliable and trouble-free. Under no circumstances should there be a failure. The most experienced colleagues always take two cameras for the most important shoots. Especially when it comes to extreme types of shooting or transient events, when there is even no time to change the lens.
Today, the work of a photojournalist is already unthinkable without knowledge of a foreign language, or even two or three. A photojournalist should be at your disposal with a computer and various digital technologies. A photojournalist today is a universal soldier for whom there are no impossible tasks. A photojournalist must have a colossal stock of knowledge in various fields: politics, economics, industry, agriculture, sports, various types of art... A photojournalist has to work in many genres: portraiture, still life, landscape, reproduction, and macro photography, not to mention reporting. In addition, a photojournalist can do artistic photography (as an example, it is enough to recall the work of Associated Press photojournalist Dmitry Lovetsky - an angel of the Pillar of Alexandria against the background of the moon), and advertising photography (for example, shots for various companies by EPA photojournalist Anatoly Maltsev). But for an advertising photographer or a master of artistic photography, on the instructions of the editors, to be able to make an ordinary report of three frames from a rally or from a factory site - I don’t remember this ...
Photojournalism is not a caste. Anyone can become a photojournalist if he has a desire and a spark of talent. It is important to consider it and develop it. But this is unthinkable without colossal capacity for work, which, unfortunately, I see less and less among today's youth. “Not a day without a frame” is not just a catch phrase, but another axiom in the work of a photojournalist. One of my teachers constantly told me: “Pavel, when you go to bed, put your camera under your pillow. Suddenly, something interesting is dreamed, but there is no camera at hand, as it is not ... "
One has only to leave the house without a camera, and then you see: here it is, your failed “frame of the century”. And you can’t go on a reportage shoot with your spouse, with a friend. At the right moment, he will definitely fit into the frame. And no training will help here ... And it is contraindicated for a photographer to walk with a string bag - hands should always be free to work with the camera.
Another super task is to press the release button at the right time. This is the most mysterious and culminating stage in the creation of any reportage photography. You can press the shutter release several thousand times during a football match or tennis tournament and not a single frame will contain either the ball or the necessary emotions. The most important thing for a photojournalist is to capture that unique moment. It is very important to learn how to press the trigger at the right moment. And no automation will help here - neither autofocus nor burst photography. I call it "feeling for the holiday." That's when a feeling rolls somewhere under the solar plexus - "Press!" - and you carry out an internal command, you are on a horse!
It is also necessary to pay attention to the uniqueness, relevance and novelty of the captured event. The most successful option on the set, when you alone become a witness to some event. And none of your colleagues breathes in the back of your head and begs: “Let me take it off, move a little to the side ...” The author’s position and the level of influence in the perception of a particular photo are also important. It is very important if the photojournalist managed to create some kind of understatement in the frame. When the viewer or reader needs to decide for himself: what happened next, after the creation of the frame. And, finally, "does photography touch the nerve."
The photojournalist is a master of his craft, that he can complete any task of the editorial office. A portrait of a politician, a businessman, an academician or a simple worker, a popular actor, a pensioner will only become a masterpiece when the reporter was able to find a common language with his hero. And only when the person portrayed becomes a co-author of your work. This is a very difficult task. Young people today have perfectly learned to communicate with a computer, and in a conversation, even among themselves, alas, they use a minimum vocabulary: “like”, “in short”, “damn”, “lucky” ...
A photojournalist, even the most talented, disrupts the usual course of events at any shooting. With his appearance, everything planned by the Almighty begins to proceed according to other laws, and the task of the photojournalist is to make sure that this damage is minimal. Here, the clothes should be “camouflage”, and the behavior should be inconspicuous, and the shutter operation of the device should be almost inaudible, and add here a dozen more nuances that should be taken into account.
No, I do not cross out the compositional and rhythmic decisions of the frame, the ability to use the depth of field (and this is the most important "color in the palette" of any photographer) and work with color and light. Only after you have taken a picture in the right place and at the right moment, you can talk about visual centers, about dominants and technical “bells and whistles” (extra-long or very fast shutter speeds, panning, zooming with slow shutter speeds, synchronization with the first or second curtain ...). It's like a matter of course, imbibed with mother's milk. All this is developed in the course of everyday work and in discussions of your photographs with a variety of viewers.
Of course, we must not forget about the shooting point - top, bottom, from eye level ... Especially when we evaluate a photo report or a photo story. But in the latter version, the use of an “arsenal” of lenses with different focal lengths is also important. And the frame size also plays a role here. And on what film (or file) did you shoot the central frame of your photo story - on black and white or color.
The most important achievement of today is the arrival of digital technologies. Today they allow not only to instantly check the quality of the image, but in a matter of seconds to transfer photographic material to the other side of the globe. "Digital" is advancing by leaps and bounds. 10 years ago I was the first photojournalist in St. Petersburg who started working with a digital camera. Then my colleagues laughed at me and claimed that they would never change the film.
But the film, in my opinion, will remain forever. Especially black and white. No specialist today can say with a 100% guarantee how long files will be stored on a particular digital medium. Some disks begin to “flake off” after 10–12 years, all kinds of drives suddenly begin to fail. Even color films and prints fade in as little as 15 to 20 years. Here I always remember the photojournalist of Ogonyok magazine Nikolai Ananyev. Back in the early 1950s, he was one of the first on the banks of the Neva to begin to master the secrets of working on color photographs. By the end of his life, he did not have a single negative, not a single print: everything created in half a century disappeared without a trace ... Black and white materials, if they are properly processed, have been stored in archives, museums and galleries for more than 150 years.
Photography is the strongest drug. If someone "hooked" on it, then this already becomes a diagnosis. In the place of specialists from the Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education, I would introduce the subject of "light painting" as a compulsory subject, from the first grade, if not from kindergarten. Photography, if you put things right, captivates and becomes a passion until the last breath. How much could be distracted from the pernicious habits of our sons and daughters in this version ...
But it is also the hardest bread. We need very strong rears here. Not every spouse will like it when you work from dawn to dusk, when there are no days off, and often holidays. And not everyone understands when you once again go to shoot a unique concert or performance and at the same time “do not hear” what is happening in the hall or on the stage. All your attention is there - in the viewfinder, in search of the next frame. And only when you look at the finished prints or evaluate the shooting on the laptop screen, do you begin to feel and experience what you see.
And one more very important point, which for some reason young people do not pay attention to. A photojournalist must constantly recharge creatively. Visiting not only new photo exhibitions, but also various museums and vernissages should become a habit. Everywhere, in any work of art, even the most avant-garde or futuristic, you can find an impetus to something new in your work. No, I am not asking anyone to imitate. Therefore, I constantly repeat to my students the insightful quatrain of Vladimir Mayakovsky:
Dear Moscow poets,
I declare to you loving
Do not do under Mayakovsky,
And do it for yourself.
The highest score for me personally is when one of my colleagues recognizes my works “disguised” by a literary pseudonym. Yes, at the beginning of your studies, you can be given several tasks to create photographs in imitation of the great photographers. But no more. Everyday studying the work of the greatest photographers of the whole world (today it has become much easier with the help of the Internet) is one thing, and finding your own pictorial language is already a super task in the educational process.
Today, interest in the profession of a photojournalist has increased. This is especially noticeable in recent years (after all, I have been working as the dean of the Faculty of Photography for almost a quarter of a century). Every year we accept 150 applicants for the first year. And the strangest thing in this story is that most of the applicants today are girls. So far I can not find an explanation for this phenomenon. More recently, there was only one name in our professional workshop - Maya Skurikhina. And now there are hundreds, if not thousands of representatives of the beautiful half of humanity. And very talented ones. Suffice it to name a few of our graduates: Alexandra Demenkova (“The Best Photojournalist of 2006”), Anya Maisyuk, Tatyana Kotova, Elena Blednykh, Olga Mirkina (repeated winners of various photo contests), Madina Astakhova (winner of the 1st Karl Bulla International Photo Contest), advertising photographer Svetlana Petrova, bild-editor of the New York Times newspaper Lyudmila Kudinova. And what kind of teachers we have: bild-editor of the Delovoy Peterburg newspaper Anna Fedotova, permanent curator and organizer of various photo projects Solmaz Huseynova!
Of course, you will immediately ask why, for example, St. Petersburg needs so many photojournalists every year. But the whole point is that by the end of the first year of study, at best, half of the students “survive” with us, and even fewer of them remain by the end of the faculty. In the end, only five to ten graduates come to big photojournalism (Sergey Maksimishin, Anatoly Maltsev, Zamir Usmanov, Dmitry Sokolov, Alexander Nikolaev, Evgeny Asmolov, Sergey Kulikov, Elena Palm). Most remain excellent photographers (Evgeny Raskopov, Dmitry Konradt, Marianna Melnikova, Dmitry Goryachev) or advertising photographers (Svetlana Petrova, Igor Smolnikov). Others go into television journalism (Dmitry Zapolsky, Igor Lenkin), while others find themselves as chief editors (Nikolai Donskov, Yuri Suntsov). Although the faculty does not yet have a department of bild editors, our graduates fill this niche as well.
First of all, the "talkers" - encyclopedic specialists who know everything and everything, but when it comes to a specific task or express shooting, they immediately find thousands of reasons not to complete the training task. Leaving people optional, non-punctual and greedy. These three qualities are unacceptable in photojournalism. Try a photojournalist to be late, say, for the launch of a new ship. What can he take off? How will he justify himself in the editorial office? Since you did not complete the task, two, and they will immediately part with you.
What about greed, you ask? This greed is of a special kind. A young photojournalist came to the premiere of the performance, did a good job, and the next day he returns to the troupe and starts ... selling his photographs to artists. I can say with full responsibility that he is unlikely to be invited to the next premiere, no matter how brilliant his photographs may be. A lot in the work of a reporter means connections that have been developed over decades.
Communication between students plays a very important role in the educational process. This is a community of interest. People get to know each other, exchange experience and knowledge, become colleagues, friends (and even spouses). After graduating from the faculty, they can no longer exist without this aura, and again and again they come to practical classes, to tests, lectures, master classes, to photo exhibitions, photo contests, and even to express shootings in order to compete again and again in skills with younger colleagues.
At the end of the master class, I would like to wish future photojournalists, and especially young ones, only one thing: not a day without shooting! And most importantly, each of you should have your own creative style, so that your pictures are recognizable and every specialist can say: this was taken by the great Ivanov, Smirnov or Sidorov.
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It can be argued that photojournalism is the most universal form of mass communication. Written and spoken language require knowledge of a certain language, and the image in most cases can be understood by everyone. Facial expression, emotion, body movement and position, as well as composition, light and shadow can tell a story as well as any words.
This tutorial does not pretend to turn you into a photojournalist immediately, but hopefully it will give you a better idea of the craft. It will help you understand the professionals involved in the field, learn what it takes to create the pictures you see on the news, or make an informed decision about introducing photojournalism into your photography life.
Definition of photojournalism
Let's first define what photojournalism is. Simply put, she tells stories through photographs. But, in addition, the stories created must follow the rules of journalism. They must be truthful, and the journalist must try to convey the story in the most fair, balanced and unbiased way possible.
Photojournalists come in many varieties, but are commonly found in newspapers, magazines, news stations and websites, and an increasing number now work in other, traditionally non-visual news media, such as radio stations that have expanded their reach on the Internet.
Work in photojournalism
A staff photographer is someone who works for a specific publication, shooting for this publication is his full or part-time work. A freelance photographer, or freelancer, shoots for many publications. A number of different organizations may use the services of a freelancer for a specific task or for a limited period of time. Freelancers usually have a list of clients they work for.
The third most common employer for photojournalists are news agencies such as the Associated Press or Reuters. Newspapers and other news media receive information from these agencies by subscription. They provide news coverage for these media outlets, since they often cannot afford to send their own reporters to remote areas.
The photo below is a typical assignment. My editor said that there was a great teacher at the local school who had integrated "character building" principles such as honesty, wisdom, kindness, and honor into his gym class, and I had to make an image that fit the story.
Photo tasks
The life of a photojournalist can be exciting. You can be sent anywhere to meet anyone. More than photography and journalism alone, this versatility and diversity of experience is perhaps the most valuable part of the profession. General news assignments are just that, ordinary. General news is all that is planned. Dinner parties, fundraisers, protests, press conferences, award ceremonies, tree plantings are all types of general news appointments.
The key to covering these events (and most things) is to try to tell the full story with the image. For example, the photo below accompanies a report about a science class that helped care for a sick thrush chick. My assignment was to visit the class and see what they were doing. The photo shows all the elements of the story: the class, the teachers, the thrush and how they helped him.
Sports events
Sports photography is a specialized version of general news. It is associated with fast-paced action, and the photographer must have a great sense of timing. In sports shots, you need to show conflict and emotion. This usually means capturing the players on both teams and the thing they are fighting for (usually the ball). Emotions can be shown through the faces of the players. It can be hard because of the waving of your arms or helmets, but the best sports photos convey not just the action, but also the emotions.
breaking news
Breaking news is, in a sense, the opposite of general news. They represent unplanned events, such as a car accident or fire. During the execution of these tasks, the most important thing is information. You need information to be on the safe side and get the shot that best tells the story.
You need reportage skills to get information about who is involved and what really happened. In such situations, it is often required to have experience in dealing with law enforcement and emergency services. You can see this kind of photography later in this tutorial.
portraits
Photojournalists also shoot portraits. While they usually never do staged shots, portraits are an exception. Journalistic portraits, as a rule, show a person in his environment: a judge in his office, an artist in his studio. The subject is usually looking directly at the camera, so the audience knows it's a portrait. Usually a person does nothing at the same time, again so that the viewer does not fall into a misunderstanding about whether this photo is a staged portrait or a real, documentary part of journalism.
photo history
The last type of assignment is a photo story, or long-term documentary project. This type of work requires the photographer to spend a long period of time documenting the subject's actions. Story photos usually include several photos put together. Examples include following a refugee family or documenting the life of a family whose member is sick.
Great
Photojournalism has never been a career for fame seekers. But when it comes to fame within the industry, there are hundreds of amazing photographers out there. I'm going to focus on three of my favorites. I chose them because they cover much of the history of photojournalism.
Before I continue, let me say that I am an American, so I am more familiar with American photographers. There were other great photojournalists not listed here, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson of France, Robert Capa of Europe, Shisei Kuwabara of Japan, and Sebastiao Salgado. Salgado) from Brazil. The three photographers I have chosen are men. But there are also many outstanding women in the profession, such as Annie Leibovitz, Margaret Bourke-White and Susan Meiselas.
William Eugene Smith
William Eugene Smith was born in 1918 and died in 1978. Smith's specialty was history photography, at a time when magazines like Life filled their pages with documentaries. He covered the events of World War II in the Pacific Ocean, but became famous thanks to his later work. My favorite Smith series is The Country Doctor, published in 1948. It is often referred to as the first modern "photo essay."
Eddie Adams
Eddie Adams was born in 1933 and died in 2004. He covered 13 wars. He is best known for his photograph of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong captive in Saigon. His sense of timing, or luck, led to him being able to capture a shot showing the exact moment the bullet enters the prisoner's head. For this he received the Pulitzer Prize. Eddie Adams also opened a photojournalism workshop. Places in his workshop are perhaps the most sought after by students in the US, and the standards for admission to it are very high.
James Nachtwey
James Nachtwey was born in 1948 and still shoots. In 2007, he received the TED Award, which guarantees the winner $100,000 and the opportunity to make "a wish that will change the world." He was, first of all, a war photographer, and the documentary film made about him is called War Photographer. In the film, he has a small video camera attached to his camera, allowing you to see the action through the eyes of James Nachtwey. Some of my favorite works by Nachtwey are his photographs of people suffering from AIDS in Africa and his current TED award is dedicated to the fight against drug-resistant TB.
Skills
Photojournalism is a highly competitive field. Having the right skills is essential to building a successful career. First, communication skills are very important. A photojournalist must be able to quickly gain people's trust and do their job in a way that doesn't break that trust.
Good journalism skills go hand in hand with this factor. Knowing how to identify the most significant moments in a story and how to communicate them to the public is critical. This means that most photojournalists are also proficient in other areas of journalism, including writing articles and conducting interviews.
photographic skills
A person applying for the position of a photojournalist must also have an impeccable portfolio. The portfolio must contain many images from the above types of assignments, and these photographs must demonstrate the ability to work in difficult situations. Many aspiring photojournalists fail in low light situations.
The photo below was taken at night without flash. The shutter speed is about 1/8 second, but because I practiced stabilizing my own body and knew how to use the camera's motor drive to eliminate shaking, and I got a sharp image with just candlelight.
The three elements of a great shot are light, composition, and moment. It is important to understand when to use flash and when to use dramatic natural light. Also, knowing the basics of composition such as the rule of thirds, leading lines, and repeating shapes will serve you well. But the most important thing is finding the perfect moment. Look for the peak of emotions.
Technological Skills
A modern photojournalist must be able to capture and transmit images digitally and be well versed in online tools such as blogs and social media. The trend now is to increase the number of videos on the Internet. Photojournalists now often carry video equipment with them to use when needed. This also implies the need to have a basic knowledge of video editing software.
Ethics
The main thing that distinguishes photojournalism from other forms of photography is trust. Viewers must trust that the image they are looking at will allow them to get a true picture of what happened. It comes down to two main issues: interference and manipulation.
A photojournalist should never interfere in a situation. He/she may never direct or ask people to pose in the frame, except in situations where a portrait is required, in which case they follow the rules mentioned above in the section on photo assignments. Portraits are also tagged as such in the description, using phrases like "Mr. Smith is posing" and the like.
One can argue that the mere presence of a photographer can already make a difference. While this is sometimes true, interference can be minimized with patience and practice. People usually get used to the presence of the photographer, and in the best case, they all forget about him together. A photojournalist should be able to explain his goals well so that the people being photographed understand whether they should pose or change their behavior.
Ethics of post-processing
Photo manipulation is strictly prohibited. This is especially true in post-processing. Nothing in (or on) the photo should be edited. Post-processing can only touch upon correction of color distortions, problems with exposure and latitude of the photographic material, and slight imperfections in sharpness. Cameras are still not as good at reproducing images as the eye, so sometimes we have to compensate.
Cropping is also allowed. But we leave wrinkles, we leave bags under the eyes, we leave stains on shirts. The photojournalist may not move the basketball in the frame, remove or insert it. Adding dramatic effects like vignetting, artistic filters and the like is also against the rules.
Ethical approach and attitude
Another aspect of ethics is how a photojournalist shoots and portrays people. This requires compassion and sincere interest in the participants in the events and the topic covered. This part of ethics is harder to talk about, so I would like to describe a situation I once found myself in, which happens all the time in the world of journalism.
I was called to the scene, so this falls into the breaking news category. The little girl was hit by a car. It was an accident, the driver was not drunk and did not intentionally injure the girl. When I arrived at the scene, the driver was still there, as were many members of the victim's family. Both sides knew each other and we mourned together. I took the photo below. It is quite obvious because of the blood on the driver's T-shirt.
The image is obviously convincing, but what's the point? Is this news? Often you can't make that decision when you're at the scene. After returning to the newsroom, the reporter found that the apartment complex where the accident had occurred had recently sent a letter to all residents, asking them to be very careful while driving, for the safety of children and pedestrians. So we released the photo.
The girl died in the hospital later, but the point of the news was not to exploit her death, but to focus on the problem. It's a fine line, and it takes a lot of thought and discussion before making a final decision.
Access
Without empathy and trust, you will never get access. By access, I mean persuading people to let you document their lives, to get into their history. The best stories don't come from press conferences or information service announcements, they come from going out and looking for interesting people. Asking these people to let you follow them, sometimes for months, can be difficult. There are a few things to consider here.
Risk/Benefit Analysis
First, the photojournalist must determine how the subject's story will help society. Secondly, it is necessary to understand how this reportage will affect the people being filmed. Will it help them achieve something or, on the contrary, will it damage their reputation and make their life harder?
Each story has its own unique factors, but the photojournalist must present this balance between the public good and personal harm or benefit to those he wants to photograph in a way that is understandable to them. After that, the decision is theirs. However, when a journalist is admitted into the situation, it is up to them whether they will behave in such a way that he is provided with constant access. In theory, they should not be kicked out ... well, at least not for good.
"Won"
But it's still a very good idea to let people kick you out for a while. Let me explain, many photojournalists let their models tell them to get out. They tell them that if they get uncomfortable and if they want to be left for a while, that's okay.
It's important to give people the opportunity to hide from the public eye for a while, but usually just knowing that they have the power to drive you away without making you upset is enough. It is often more important to have the opportunity than to use it.
Loyalty and Compassion
Finally, people should know that the journalist is committed to their story. It helps a lot that you will spend a lot of time with them, and this goes hand in hand with trust and compassion. The photo below is part of a story I did about a mother who was raising her little daughter with cerebral palsy. Daughter, Lianna, was about 5 years old and could do little on her own.
Her mother had to feed her, bathe her, carry her, lift her up and interpret her eye signals to understand what she was trying to explain because she couldn't speak. Because I spent a lot of time with this family, her mother gave me access to everything, even bathing, to show the extent to which Lianna relies on her mother.
Storytelling
As I mentioned earlier, photojournalism is about telling stories through photographs. Most reports in newspapers and magazines only allow one companion frame, so the more you can tell through it, the better. There are many ways to do this, but I will focus on two of the most powerful tools a photojournalist has in store.
Layers
Often, layers are used to bring context to a photo. A photograph of an enthusiastic musician playing can be taken anywhere, but the same musician taken with a crowd of people in the background is history. Maybe the crowd is huge, and the musician feeds on their energy, or, on the contrary, the crowd is small, and the musician gives them everything he has. In any case, the "layering" of content adds a lot to the story. Layers don't have to be as big as in this example, small elements and details will also create context that enriches the content.
Emotions
Another important aspect in the story is emotion. A photojournalist must be an expert at reading and, more importantly, anticipating facial expressions. Tears, a thoughtful look, a wide joyful smile - all this shows how the people in the photo relate to what they are doing. Since childhood, we learn to recognize the faces of people who are close to us, using this skill in photography can be a very powerful tool.
The photo below is a World War II veteran. He fought in the Pacific and was awarded a medal for his service by the local Association of Foreign War Veterans. The medal and other people's badges in the frame create layers and I'm sure his face is showing appreciation, I hope it's easy to read for viewers. I also hope that this tutorial has given you a deeper understanding of the world of photojournalism.
