Introduction to the History of Photojournalism

Photojournalism is consistently overlooked by society. It can be something as violent as war, or something as peaceful as animals in nature. Photojournalists are involved in documenting anything and everything that we see in magazines, newspapers, journals, and articles. They have sense that something great is going to happen and they capture the moment. However, there is a method to their madness. They know what the important stories are during that time so that people will be more drawn to reading and looking at their art. Photojournalism is an art that people forget about, it is a moment in time that a person is able to capture using their intuition and having the ability to present it in a way that people will want to view it. Knowing the history of photojournalism is important because it has changed the way society views current news.

Can you imagine reading an excerpt explaining a picture without the picture being there? You can imagine what it looks like, but what you imagine will never have the same message that the picture does. Pictures can speak to people in a way that words cannot and the way people perceive pictures are always different. But a photojournalist is very different than just a regular photographer. In his video, Professor Nordell says, “A person would photograph a new dress or a lacrosse stick, those things are nouns but, photojournalists photograph verbs. They photograph people doing things.” This is why photojournalism is so important. They have the ability to communicate news through pictures that form stories without having to write an essay. Photos have a way of connecting with people that words do not. Words can be biased, untrue, and misconstrued, but the pictures on the other hand, are always true real evidence. They can never be twisted or untrue. That is what makes them so unique.

Just as important as it is to understand photojournalism and all that goes into it, it is equally important to understand the history behind it. As technology grows photojournalism was able to prosper and be more present in the world because it is more easily accessible. Professor Nordell says, “Photojournalism started with Mathew Brady’s photographs from the civil war was considered by many to be the beginning of photojournalism and the pictures would be put in exhibits for people to stand in line to see the photos.”

Image by: Mathew Brady/ US national Archives

Now, it is very rare that you see an average person excited to go to a photo gallery because the pictures are more accessible online on the internet in a journal or a blog. Photojournalism has grown so much since it started and since it has grown it has become the most prevalent form of news there is. I have never gone through a magazine, article, or newspaper without seeing pictures. News would not be the same without the evidence that photos bring. Although I see photojournalism and its history is important, others do not always feel the same way and that is simply because that are not educated on the topic. The readers usually overlook and take pictures for granted. Sometimes it slips their mind that a real person could have been put into a life or death situation to document a moment in time to the world.

Image by: Jeremy Papasso

In his video, Jason Henske says “One moment you could be photographing a child on their way to school for a story on crosswalk safety, then at noon you could photograph a fatal accident on the interstate.” Until I started taking this course on the history of photojournalism, I too, overlooked these pictures and the drastic measures photojournalists had to go to take them. Photojournalism is an extension of history by being able to document moments.