My Snapshot of Photojournalism's Future

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Notice the iPhone and iPad included in this package of photography equipment.

THINGS HAVE CHANGED

As someone who has always struggled with photography, I have to admit, I have paid little attention to the changes that photojournalism has undergone since the digital revolution. So, when learning about how photojournalism has been diminished, is underpaid, and underappreciated, I was a bit confused due to the strong desire for visuals in the digital realm. Ever since the internet has taken over basically everyone's lives, I have looked at more pictures than it is possible to recall. Everything is focused on images, they can communicate so much about a person, brand, situation, product, etc. But, after reading the pessimistic interview with Donald R. Winslow, I was confused on how the photojournalism occupation is diminishing while the need for visuals is thriving. After some thought, I think that the reason for this actually comes from our overexposure to pictures. Because we are bombarded with so many images, we do not appreciate them for the true art form that they can be. I say "can be", because the corny clip-art style pictures they use for BuzzFeed are definitely not the level of art that a highly skilled photographer can produce. In many instances we do not care about the quality of the visual if it makes us laugh or lures us to click on the article. Nevertheless, there is a place for high quality photography.

GO WHERE YOU ARE APPRECIATED

There are at least two realms of photography in the digital age and they directly align with the level of quality that a photograph is. One of my favorite features on BBC's website, as well as my mother's, is the "Week in Pictures" section. This is where you can flip through several photographs taken all over the world that each tell a different story. The quality of these photographs is usually superb, each telling a story and conveying a meaning beyond what solely words could do. This, to me, shows that while the place of photojournalism in the digital age has diminished, there is still a place for high quality work.

THE OPPORTUNITY AT OUR FINGERTIPS

Now, what are we to do with millions of people all having a camera at their fingertips? This is a tricky issue that can be both used and abused. The positive use of constantly having a way to capture what's going on, is the opportunity for people to show the world their story from their real life perspective. This is extremely useful in places where there aren't photojournalists present or an extreme event occurs before any journalists are there to capture the moment. This has been seen through many videos of the recent police and race/hate crimes, as well as pictures, that have documented what actually happened without the media's tainted bias. Unfortunately, this also means that anyone could take a photo or video and manipulate it to convey whatever their biased meaning wants. This is battle that is far from over, and one that will become exceedingly difficult as editing software progresses.

CONCLUSION

I am not quite sure how photojournalism will find its place in the digitally altered world of journalism today, and there are still a lot of kinks to work out. Nevertheless, people adore images and are still greatly affected by good quality photography. This shows that once photojournalism makes itself adaptable to the digital age, I think that their future will look a little less bleak.