Photojournalism- its nature and ethics. -Photography Group

Photojournalist displays the visual images of a story that back up a writer's words. They cover important events, showcase the faces behind the headlines, and they often let us to feel like we are part of the scene.

The practice of illustrating news stories with photographs was made possible by printing and photography innovations that occurred in the mid 19th century. Photojournalism started to take shape when photographers could easily transport cameras into war zones. For the first time, ordinary citizens could see the impact of the fighting right there in their newspaper. It was a pivotal moment in photography and it became more and more real between the Civil War and World War II. Yet photojournalism is not just about war or photographers working the beat for a local newspaper. It's much more than that. Photojournalism tells a story and it often does so in a single photograph.They evoke a feeling, whether its astonishment, empathy, sadness, or joy. That is the mark of photojournalism; to capture that single moment in time and give viewers the sense that they're part of it.

In simple terms, photojournalism is about capturing verbs. This doesn't mean simply taking an action photo. Communicating the verb is much more than that. Stories are captured in slices while photojournalism strives to convey what is happening in one shot.Although it is great when it happens, photojournalism isn't about the best composition, or the best technical details, or a pretty subject. Photojournalism is about showing the world a story of something that really happened.

The emotion is often raw in photojournalism. The photographer is not directing the scene as a portrait or commercial photographer would. Instead, the best of them blend into the background and become a shadow figure, unlike the paparazzi. They are there to observe and capture, not become the story or interrupt it. Another vitally important part of photojournalism is accuracy. This means that what is in the frame is what happened. The photojournalist is ethically bound not to change the story. Power lines should not be cloned out. More smoke must not be added to a fire scene. What was captured is how it should be. Sadly, the era of digital photography has made it easier than ever to manipulate reality.Do not change the essence of what you capture in the photo. If you do, you change the story.

(Photography Group: MJMC 3rd sem 2018 batch, Ruth Lalhriatpuii, Vanlalhruaizela and Jennifer Lalnunmawii)