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The role of photojournalism

IKKE OFFENTLIGGJORT, senest redigeret 04/13/2005

ANALYSE: Photojournalists are looking for the latent moments of great significance hidden in everyday reality.

B. Mayo

Has it been manipulated?
In the course of history, photojournalism has been declared dead on several occasions. It happened in connection with the discovery of historic pictures that had been manipulated. It happened when television gained strength and it happened most recently with the advent of digital photography. With digital photography the negative disappeared as a basis for credibility and it became possible for photographers to create pictures in a computer like painters can.

But that does not change the fact that readers perceive photos as a medium which takes its starting point in reality. When readers question a photograph they always ask “Is it real?” or “Has it been manipulated?” What they are really asking is whether they can believe the photographer as a collector and provider of information. They question the photographer just as they have always questioned whether journalist are making up quotes or tv-stations are constructing particular situations.

Foto: Erik Refner, freelance.
Click on photo to read comments

Credibility from a historical point of view...
During the Spanish civil war, Robert Capa photographed and published his historical picture of the falling soldier. We are not certain who the soldier is or where the photograph was taken. Neither do we know whether the photo was arranged because we are unable to view the negative together with the rest of the pictures on the film. Like many others of Capa's pictures, that particular negative has been cut out of the strip of film as was often the case in those days when you wanted to copy a negative.

Despite many articles and analyses of this particular picture (most recently Richard Wheelan's article in Aperture no. 166, Spring 2002, in which he attempts to document that the name of the soldier was Frederico Borrell Garcia and he died in a battle at Cerro Muriano in 1936), the picture has never been recognised as true. It is still up to the reader to decide whether he or she believes it or not.

...and credibility in the future
Today all modern digital picture files contain a socalled EXIF-file which is created when the picture is taken. The file contains data about the date, the camera, the setting of the camera etc. The EXIF-file will also show if a picture at some point has been altered. It is possible to delete these EXIF-data but it is quite likely that it will be equally possible to recreate them.

Above this level is the Raw-format which is used by all wellknown camera producers (Canon, Nikon, Kodak and others). According to Kodak Professional all digital Raw-files are credible and can not be manipulated without leaving tell-tale signs. It is only by converting to traditional formats (jpg, tif and others) that a manipulated photograph can replace the original. The Raw-file can therefore be considered the negative of the digital photograph. This particular legal aspect has for instance meant that the Danish Police and the Danish Fire Services have chosen to buy digital cameras.

So the raw material of digital photography is not less credible but poses other challenges. Digital photography is not by itself manipulative.

Photographers are storytellers
Photojournalism has reached the same status as all other forms of journalism. A status as a medium which is part of the daily stream of information and to which readers have a critcial attitude. Photojournalism has not become more or less credible, just as journalism has not become more or less credible. Photojournalists must take on the role of storytelling rather than seeing themselves as illustrators of articles.

Greater demands are made on photojournalists but also on other users of pictures such as journalists, editorial assistants, and editors. Photojournalists are trying to get attention in an increasingly visually oriented environment and therefore photojournalists must make use of visual storytelling techniques to become better storytellers.

Telling a story
Every journalistic photograph should tell its own story. The portrait where the eyes catch the reader and tell stories about the person's life. The strange light over a natural landscape. Or the funny moment from everyday life which stimulates the reader's memory.

All photographic stories should be based on a photographic angle which creates identification for the reader. Makes the reader feel surprised, emotional, or just stimulated to think about something. That is the strenght of the photograph. The story is always the most important – the main contents. The storytelling tools frame the photograph in ways that underpin and strengthen the contents. A well composed photograph that makes good use of its mode of expression to fit the story is more effective and makes a greater impression on the reader. It communicates better.

Photo: Jens Thaysen, Aarhus Stiftstidende
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Sharpness is no longer everything
The modes of expression in photojournalism are relative. Particularly within the last 10 years, photojournalism has developed so that the basis for a well told story no longer is a question of sharpness and a good moment.

Photojournalism has been inspired by other photographic genres and other types of figurative language (for instance films), and the language of photojournalism has become more varied. Traditional press photographs thrive next to more experimental styles (at least within photojournalism) such as the use of pin-hole cameras, polaroid pictures, medium format cameras etc. To the delight of readers a photojournalistic story can be told in many different ways. A blurred picture can create a particular mood just as a landscape without people can give food for thought.

Photographs are dependent on context
The survival of photojournalism are not only linked to storytelling and credibility but also to presentation. As far back as 1946 – before LIFE and the heyday of feature photography – John R. Langer wrote about the role of a photograph as a stop-effect in layouting: “Layout, headline and pictures should be presented simply and effectively to make it easy to read.” This still holds true.

The photograph is never read on its own but is dependent on the context, the print, the layout etc. Therefore it is no good if some of the photographs in newspapers do not have the necessary eye-catching features or lack relevance for the story. It is no good either if photographs disappear on the pages due to bad print quality or lack of prioritizing during the layout process. Readers have been taught to expect more and are quite simply too choosy.

Pictures are the key entry point to articles
Eyetrack studies where computers follow the movements of a reader's eyes over the page show that a photograph is the best eye-catcher and the most used entry point to reading an article. Photographs create interest for the article and often make the article more valuable in the eyes of the reader. But it is dangerous to believe that this applies just because there is a photo. Photographs can provide the hook for the written piece of journalism but there must be a reason for using a particular picture and some reflection on the connection between the text and the picture. An article will be read on the basis of the experience the readers get from seeing the picture. So if the photograph looks boring or of no importance, how does that make the reader think about the rest of the story?

The photographer Edward Weston described his work as the art of “showing people what their unseeing eyes are missing.” The ability to see and be surprised by reality is probably the photographer's strongest tool. By taking its starting point in reality the picture should create identification for the readers. In times as visual as ours where photographs are a natural and integrated part of daily life, journalistic pictures must not be reduced to discount products because it will affect the perception of the story as a whole.

Photographs and words must complement each other
Photographs do not provide readers with answers. A photograph will not tell you why a child is crying. Therefore it is doubly important that the written and the photographic story complement each other and use each others' strenghts. The strength of photojournalism lies in the ability to communicate feelings and the immediate reaction from readers. Written journalism gives you the answers to who, what and why. The photojournalist must reflect on his (and the journalist's) story and the best way to express it visually. The means and the options must be considered and a common angle determined, so the final story provides the reader with information as well as experiences.

Photo: Jens Thaysen, Aarhus Stiftstidende.
Click on photo to read comments.

The newspapers of the future
In 1999 the Society of News Design held a congress at the Bella Centre in Copenhagen. Here future researchers and news designers discussed the future of newspapers. And they all agreed that it was important for newspaper to get to grips with photographs, content messages and the internet in order to meet the demands of the future.

According to future researcher, Jesper Bo Jensen, newspapers must “tell stories about experiences, love, care, lifestyle, security, and convictions.” In other words: Feelings. This is exactly the strenght of photographs. Photojournalists report what we see and feel when we meet other people. As news designer Mario Garcia said at the conference: “The newspapers which strengthen their picture desks and allow them to influence newspaper designers are well equipped for the future.”

Translation of this text: Kirsten Sparre

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The role of photojournalism

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