Photojournalism

What is more exciting than traveling the world in order to capture breathtaking, life changing, and mind boggling images? What is more amazing than to take a picture of a boy smiling amongst all the calamities occurring in his third world country? What is more fulfilling than to leave people amazed, to teach people, to show people the other side? Photojournalism, where pictures are used to illustrate an event instead of, or with text, is a fascinating job.

Photojournalists choose interesting or significant settings to photograph. The task is not as easy as it seems considering they must achieve a desirable effect. In order to do so, journalists must use high quality cameras and adjust the settings according to the scenario. They also use background lighting and work with a crew to make sure the photo comes out as best as possible. Usually, the pictures which go viral are universally understandable. Pictures which are subjected to one area may have difficulty being understood by people from different areas.

Photojournalists can either work freelance or for a company.  If they are freelance, they must submit their photos to publishers, magazine companies or any client in order to make money. The photo can come with full text, it can be alone, or it might accompany a title.

The job does not require an education; however, clients and companies prefer to hire photojournalists with at least some educational background.  Suggested high school courses are communications, media, math, science, history, world issues, art, and business. It is also possible to obtain a degree or diploma specifically in photojournalism. Jobs that are somewhat similar to Photojournalism include print journalism, and photographer.

Statistics do not list how many people in Canada have this job; however, the number of photographers is slightly decreasing. There are few job opportunities as people with more experience are usually hired.  Moreover, people with a vocational diploma are more likely to get a job. Most of these jobs are located in Quebec and Vancouver. The average range is from 18,000 to 60,000; however, newcomers usually earn 12,000 or less.

Money or no money, Photojournalism is definitely a job or hobby I would love to look into.