Photojournalism: Career Outlook for the Photojournalism Professions

Published Sep 02, 2009

RSS Feed

Print media, television and wedding Photojournalists may use still photography, video and audio to tell factual stories. Photojournalism is a competitive field, and the career outlook for the Photojournalism professions is average, with projected growth rates similar to the average of all occupations. Read on to find out if a career in Photojournalism is right for you.

Newspaper or Magazine Photojournalist Overview and Career Outlook

Newspaper and magazine Photojournalists utilize still images to enhance a story. While many newspaper Photojournalists work at the local level and cover most news stories, those who have made it to the national level usually work in one department. In contrast, magazine Photojournalists tend to take celebrity pictures for national publications and gossip magazines. Photojournalists use digital cameras, laptops and mobile phones to take photos and transmit data; they are also generally familiar with editing software. With the recent rise of amateur photography, the escalation in Internet distribution and the slackening of copyright laws, many freelance Photojournalists are experiencing a drop in residual income, notes the American Society of Media Photographers, www.asmp.org.

Television Photojournalist Overview and Career Outlook

Oftentimes, TV Photojournalists operate cargo automobiles, known as ENG vans, and operate live remote equipment. They use audio and video mediums to record people, places and events. Once TV Photojournalists capture their story, they use editing software to create compelling, factual and memorable representations of stories and news events. With the rise of the Web, television new stories are being uploaded to the Internet as rebroadcasts. While the Photojournalism field is competitive, there has been a general movement towards multimedia and away from print photography, says the American Society of Media Photographers.

Wedding Photojournalist Overview and Career Outlook

Wedding Photojournalists include cinematographers and photographers who previously worked as Photojournalists in TV, movies or print. The role of the wedding Photojournalist is to capture weddings in a factual, documentary style as opposed to a more staged photographic approach. They often work in black and white and color, in film and digital media. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov notes an average career outlook for photographers, with an employment rate increase of ten percent through 2016.

Featured School Choices: