I have made the decision to write about photojournalism. I think that photojournalism is an incredibly
interesting career and it is for that reason that I am writing this paper. The job of a photojournalist is to capture
photographs that illustrate a moment in culture or a image of a quality of
life. Photojournalists capture images
that illustrate the things that happen around the world so that people can be
informed on current events and better understand what is truly happening
through their ability to see a the truth through a photograph(Maniscalco, 31). According
to Guerrero García the characteristics that are needed to become a good professional
photojournalist are "having academic training, being responsible, feeling
concern, curiosity, being observant, anticipating situations, and being
well-informed about the issue to be covered."(Guerrero, 42)
As a photojournalist there are many different
options for employment. Photojournalists
could get jobs working for local news publications. Photojournalists could also pursue jobs where
they would be working for national news publications. There are even opportunities to pursue
international work if you wanted to travel and photograph world-wide events. Lastly another form of doing business as a
photojournalist is to take freelance jobs or pursue projects on your own and
sell the resulting images.
I recently conducted an interview
through email of Emmy-award-winning videographer and photographer Chuck Fadely.
Chuck Fadely has done some amazing work
in the field of photojournalism(Chuck
Fadely Productions | Video and Photography). Mr. Fadely shared with
me that rather than studying photography in college he studied liberal arts
taking courses in art, literature, and philosophy that he feels have helped him
tremendously in his life as a journalist. He also shared with me that he picked up
photography on his own and Mr. Fadely wrote on photography that "it's a
craft you learn by doing." (Fadely)
In this interview with Mr. Fadely he shared with me that he got
his start in photojournalism by doing work for his high school yearbook and
then his college newspaper which made him decide to pursue photojournalism
further rather than attending law school. So for Mr. Fadely that's how his career as a
photojournalist truly began.
This leads me to believe that there is no specific education
requirements to become a photojournalist, but courses should be taken that with
strengthen your abilities as a journalist (Fadely).
The life of a photojournalist is a very unpredictable one
with constant twists and turns as a photojournalist must be ready for
anything. It is very hard to
definitively say what a typical work day or week is like because no two days will
every really be the same. The unpredictability
of photojournalism is actually why I find it so interesting. I love the idea of finding out that something
is going on and then just rushing to get there as soon as you can in the hopes
of capturing an amazing image. For some
photographers like Tim Harington- a photographer who spent several years in
West Africa documenting the end of the war in Liberia as well as the daily life
and changes that were taking place in multiple other African countries- you
spent weeks months or even years away from home living in the midst of a new
environment capturing their daily life(Long, 27).
Pricing your work as a photojournalist is something that
I have found is hard to exactly determine. Of course you need to price your work in a way
that you are making back whatever it cost you to produce the work as well as a
profit. Although, as David Burnett said
"there is very little pay-for-content, so work is still being produced,
but it's more and more difficult to be paid." Burnett's comment leads me to believe that
although you should be getting paid what you deserve it will be hard to make a
living as a photojournalist so there will be times where you must just accept
whatever offer is given because the publication that is hiring you can only
afford to pay you so much(Long, 28).
The salary of a photojournalist is slightly
unpredictable. There are many factor to
be considered when determining a salary.
Some of these factors include the type of jobs you are doing as well as
your experience and the quality of the work you are producing. These many variables make it incredibly hard
for me to determine how much money I could make as a photojournalist in a
year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics has determined that the median salary of a working U.S. photographer
is 31,710 dollars. This is a very
approximate number because it is not taking into consideration all of the
things I previously mentioned(Photojournalism Job
Outlook and Employment Options).
There are many great organizations
that a photographer can join. One of the
benefits of these associations are the opportunities to network. Many of these organizations will have meetings
and conferences throughout the year that are usually free for all members to
attend. Some of these great
organizations include the American Photographic Artists, the American Society
of Media Photographers, and the Professional Photographers of America. An association that is more specifically for
photojournalists is the National Press Photographers Association(Member
Spotlight).
During my interview with Chuck Fadely he shared a little
bit of advice with me. He shared that if
you are attending a school for photography you should spend some time taking
some business classes. Mr. Fadely wrote
about business classes "they're important. It's not easy making a living
these days." I really appreciated
this advice because it reinforces something that I have heard a few times now
since becoming a photography major which is that I need to be flexible. As a photographer I need to be willing to do
all sorts of different jobs in order to pay my bills. So adding a businesswomen
to the list of hats I need to be able to wear was very interesting to hear. It
can at times be alarming to think of all of the different thing I am going to
have to learn to keep my career going, but I am hopeful that I will be able to
be successful(Fadely).
This interview with Chuck Fadely and all of the
information I have researched has helped me to learn a lot about
photojournalism as a career. I have
discovered that working as a photojournalist is a lot more work in the
financial area of the job than I anticipated. I would love to work internationally as a
photojournalist but this research has shown me the harsh reality that this is
easier said than done. I am very
grateful to Chuck Fadely for his willingness to help me get the information I
needed to complete this assignment as well as some personal advice.
Bibliography
"Chuck
Fadely Productions | Video and Photography." Chuck Fadely Productions |
Video and Photography. N.p., n.d.
Web. 17 Dec. 2016.
Fadely,
Chuck, Mr. "Chuck Fadely." E-mail interview. 5 Dec. 2016.
Guerrero García, Virginia, and Bella Palomo. "The Crisis Of Photojournalism: Rethinking The Profession In A Participatory
Media Ecosystem." Communication
& Society (2015): 33- 48.
Acedemic Search Complete. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
Long, Genevieve. "The Rebirth Of Photojournalism." Quill 98.1 (2010): 26-29. Literary Reference Center. Web. 16 Dec. 2016
Maniscalco, Lynn Troy. "Feature Photography And Photojournalism."
PSA Journal 74.9 (2008): 30-32. Acedemic Search Complete. Web.
16 Dec. 2016.
"Member
Spotlight." National Press Photographers Association | NPPA. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2016.
"Photojournalism
Job Outlook and Employment Options." Study.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16
Dec. 2016.
