JOURNOGRAPHY: Writing A Perfect Picture

PHOTOJOURNALISM

Pursuing a career in photojournalism can be unrestricted in the terms of where you work and what area you work within. For this type of photography career, some qualities are consider to be a must:

A desire to be "out of this world". Be different and go that extra mile to succeed in capturing what you set out to get.
Technical proficiency: Having the equipment for every kind of picture you want or need to take. If you are a fair distance from the proposed image you wish to take, then having the correct lenses is a must. And having a digital camera is the most essential piece of equipment you will need, as the memory card has become the most universal equipment that can upload any image to a computer and send it across the world with a touch of a button.
Having the essential tools at your disposal and be willing to evolve with the times.
Understanding of and a commitment to ethical standards: With the vast degree of image manipulation visible in advertising, television commercials and the special effects in movies, it is easy to assume “anything goes” no matter which part of the visual world one works in today. This however is not the case for a photojournalist. Many photolournalists are advsied to live by - “Record what you see, present what you saw”.
Being Persistent! Often like journalists you will be told NO and basically you have to have the drive ignore the answer and give it all your heart and not quit till you get what you want.

To get into the career there are no real qualifications. However some debate over what applies to students who are considering it as a job:

Self Taught! These days people seem to buy camera equipment and experiement with taking shots. They learn the craft from seeing what others have done and try tested methods. You can find Photography for Dummies in any shop or library and teach yourself different aspects of photgraphy to learn the basic essentials to do photojournalism.
Studying Photojournalism in college or university! Many offer courses in different types of fields of photography and generally studying photography in college can lead to majoring in a photojournalism at university; rather than just learning photography you can learn the journalistic part as well.

James Nachtwey is a working photojournalist and the pictures below are some of his work. He also quoted that:

"I have been a witness, and these pictures are

my testimony. The events I have recorded should

not be forgotten and must not be repeated"

Both of these pictures are from the wreckage of the Twin Towers. Being a photojournalist, you are able to capture the images that speak a thousands words without having any writing anywhere near them. The tragedy of the Twin Towers shook the world and even now when we see pictures, we can be horrified by the memories of 9/11.

If considering a career in photojournalism, the typical salary is as follows: