This is a brief introductory presentation on Photo, Photography, Photo-Journalism. The presentation also highlights career opportunities in photography and Photo-Journalism.

1. What is
Photo/Graph(y)/Journalism
By S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO,
olasunkanmi.arowolo@lasu.edu.ng
Department of Journalism, School of
Communication, Lagos State University, Ojo.
Permission for use granted for any classroom teacher
in a public or not-for profit /non-profit school system.

2. Steichen is an American
photographer, painter and
art gallery and museum curator
Photography is a major force in
explaining man to man
-Edward Steichen
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

3. Who can tell?
What it is…
Photo • light
Graph •Write or
Draw
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

4. Photography
…to write/draw with
light
The term is owed to Sir. John Herschel who first used it in 1839.
1839 was the year when the photographic process became public.
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

5. Again, who can tell?
What it is…
Journalism
•Timely
reportage of
newsworthy
event(s).
Photo-
Journalism
• Timely
reportage of
photographic
newsworthy
event(s).
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

6. Who is a photographer?
A photographer is someone whose profession is
to produce still images by the means of actions
of light on a sensitised surfaces.
Ojomo (2008, p. 3) explains a photographer as a
person who “captures and mirror reality.”
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

7. Types of photography?
Photography is a broad field.
Olusegun Ojomo (2008, p. 11) offers the following few of
the types of photography:
 Studio Photography
 Marine or Underwater Photography
 Wedding Photography
 Sports Photography
 Nude Photography
 Modelling Photography
 Fashion Photography
 War Photography
 Travel Photography
 Documentary Photography
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

8. Who is a photo-journalist?
A photojournalist is person whose profession is to
“use photographs to tell a topical story to a large
audience through mass medium.
o PROFESSIONAL who is
o GUIDED BY PURPOSE of
o TELLING TOPICAL STORIES WITH PHOTOGRAPHS
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

9. Career options in photo-journalism
STAFF
…employed as a fulltime staff in a media organisation.
… his schedule and assignments are defined by his/her employer
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

10. Career options in photo-journalism
FREELANCE
…works for himself. He can sell his photographs to different media organisation
“…decides what to shoot, where and when to work and for how long”
(Ojomo, 2008, p. 23).
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

11. Career options in photo-journalism
STRINGER
…works as a contract photo-journalist with a specific media organisation.
…he gets instructions on what to shoot but uses his initiative to shoot.
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

12. Why Photo-Journalism ?
…why is it of great importance?
According to Ojomo (2009, p. 17),
Since the Second World War when pictures taken at the
battle front were sent to families at home to see the events
at the war, photojournalism has assumed a place of great
importance in the practice of journalism.
Thus,
Pictures became the backbones of any print medium,
especially newspapers and magazine
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

13. What PHOTOGRAPHS does
Photographs shows reality.
PLEASE NOTE: In this context, we were referring to original
photograph
While written news is subject to biases (subjectivity), with
pictures, you can achieve more objectivity.
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO

14. What does a Photographer do?
…produce still images on a sensitised surfaces.
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO
What does a photo-journalist do?
Photojournalists use photographs to tell a topical
story to a large audience through mass
medium.

15. I hope you have learnt…
Let’s make it…
…a wrap.
Any comment?
S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO