The responsibilities and duties of the photojournalist varies from
newspaper to newspaper. The primary duty of the photojournalist
is to take pictures. They are responsible for providing clear,
easy-to-read, high quality, truthful images, that
communicate a meaningful message to the readers of the publication
they work for.
Most newspapers also give the photographer other duties such as developing
their film, editing film, scanning their pictures into a computer,
adjusting the tone and color of the pictures using Adobe PhotoShop
and mixing chemistry. They may also be required to read stories
and work with reporters to come up with ideas of what to photograph
to go with the story. The photographer might have to call sources
to set up the time and place of the photo session. Photojournalists
generally carry police and fire scanners with them so in the event
of breaking news, they can get to the scene quickly.
Just like any other job, the job description of the photojournalist
varies from publication to publication. To make it easy, I will
outline a typical day for a photographer at a newspaper I use to work
at.
When a photographer arrives at the beginning of their shift, they
take a few minutes to get their mail, read messages left for them
and take a peak at the story budget for the following day. They
they will go to the photo assignment desk and pick up their photo
assignments for the day. As photo editor, I would very rarely
give out more that three photo assignments per 8-hour shift per photographer.
I find this is also an industry average. Any more assignments,
and the photographer will have to rush through shooting and not be
able to spend enough time with their subjects. And because of
limited resources, it is generally not possible to lower that average.
The photographer will read over their photo assignments to make sure
there are proper directions, contact names and phone numbers, that
they understand the angle of the story and if there will be opportunity
to be able to take photographs that will tell that story. If
the photographer has any questions they will ask the photo editor,
reporter or desk editor.
A photographer is expected to manage
his or her own time. They must complete their assignments, which
includes scheduling a 1/2 hour lunch break, by the end of their shift.
The photographer may need to change some of the appointment times
on their assignments to do this.
The photographer may go and shoot one or two of their assignments
and come back to the newspaper and process their film or download
their images. While their film is drying, they may choose to
take their lunch break After lunch, they may go and shoot
their third assignment, then return to the lab. While the third
assignment is developing, they will start editing and scanning in
the film from their first two assignments.
After the photographer looks over their film, they will get the photo
editor to edit the film with them. It is at this time the photo
editor will not just work with the photographer and pick the best
photo(s) for the story, but also critique how the photographer did
on that assignment. The photo editor will look at the film and
discuss with the photographer their approach to the assignment.
Is there enough variety in their images? Were there any missed
opportunities? Did the photographer use the best lens and/or
try a variety of lenses? Is their film over/under exposed?
And if so, discuss why this happened. Was the photographer too
far away or too close to their subject? Does the photo tell
the story? Is there emotion in the photograph? The photo
editor will point out the positive things about the work the photographer
did as well as discuss how it could have been done better.
At most newspapers, the photographer must download, crop and
tone the photographs on the computer. (At other newspapers,
there is a person on staff who does that for the photographers.
This is good because it give the photographer more time to spend on
shooting their assignments.) Toning a photograph means that
the photographer makes adjustments to the image on the computer the
same they would have done when photographic prints were developed
in a darkroom. These adjustments include; color balance, contrast
and burning and dodging.
The photographer must also write caption information for each picture.
The caption will explain the "WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY AND WHEN" of the
photograph. Complete caption information is extremely important.
When this is done, the photographer will discuss with the photo editor
and/or the page designers how the photograph will run in the newspaper.
Will it run on the front page? Will it be the main photo on
the page? Or will in run on an inside page big or small?
Does the photo need to be cropped? Or are there any questions
about the caption information that the photographer provided?
When the photographer has completed their assignments, they will clean
up their work station, file their negatives, and check the schedule
for the following day.
I had a great photo staff at the Observer-Dispatch. Every photographer
helped each other out, especially in editing and critiquing.
Also, when my staff had free time, they would help me out with my
duties by reading advanced story budgets to see if there is something
that could be assigned early. They also helped out by working with
interns, returning phone calls from readers or tracking down problems.
We all worked together as a team and that was important to the happiness
of the entire staff, which in turn, allowed us to produce quality
photographs for our readers.
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