History of Photojournalism

Photojournalism had its birth in conflicts and war.

Study the PDF below (for academic use only)

The first photograph to be used in illustration of a newspaper story was a depiction of barricades in Paris during the June Days uprising, on 25 June 1848. The photo was published as an engraving in L'Illustration, 1–8 July 1848.

During the Crimean War in 1855, the British Government hired the photographer Roger Fenton to document the war. People like him were called as Campaign Photographers. The First Photojournalism Series was by Roger Fenton during Crimean war, 1855.

Roger Fenton can be described as the first war photographer. Roger Fenton didn’t show the cruelties of war but everything around it. It was not just because of the technical limitations of his equipment. The British Government didn’t hire Roger Fenton to simply document the war, but to portray it in a positive and romantic way. The first complete series in the history of photojournalism was for propaganda. With the positive photographs of Roger Fenton, Govt wanted to distract from mismanagement and paint a positive image of the Crimean War.

The American Civil War, attracted a lot more photographers making it the most photographed historic event of the 19th century. Mathew Brady was the most prominent photojournalist of the American Civil War. Thanks to the many photojournalists, the general population witnessed the reality and cruelty of warfare for the first time. Newspapers had no choice but to show, that war is not the romantic fight, but suffering on every front.

Up till now photojournalism was only war/conflict/tragedy photographs. The printing of images in newspapers was rare. John Thomson, in the 1870s, in collaboration with the radical journalist Adolphe Smith, began publishing a monthly magazine, Street Life in London, from 1876 to 1877. The project documented the lives of the street people of London and established social documentary photography as a form of photojournalism. Instead of the images acting as a supplement to the text, he pioneered the use of printed photographs as the predominant medium for the imparting of information.

Influenced by technological advances, photography became more dynamic and versatile. Thanks to the introduction of flashes, Jacob Riis had the option to photograph inside of buildings and wasn’t forced to photograph outside anymore. Jacob Riis photographing the poor of New York made a very powerful social documentary, and had a direct impact on the living conditions of the citizens in New York. Photojournalism can become very influential.

Arrival of the 35mm film compact Camera, 1925. This camera allowed the photographer to be more flexible and be more in the middle of the action. They could move quickly to action-packed scenes. The new Leica gave them a lot more freedom and opened up the modern approach to photojournalism. For the first time it was possible to create truly candid photographs and display the life on the street or on battle field as it really is, instead of having people to stand steady for a posed photograph.

The GOLDEN AGE of Photojournalism, 1930s to 1950s

Many factors made it the golden age: compact commercial 35mm Leica camera in 1925; introduction of the flash bulb 1927-30; quality illustrated magazines; founding of agencies like the Magnum (1947), and emergence of famous photographers such as Henri-Cartier Bresson, Robert Capa, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Margaret Bourke-White, W. Eugene-Smith, Dorothea Lange.

Photojournalism

Magnum Photos was founded: in 1947, the most influential photojournalism agency of the 20th century has been founded. The photographers Robert Capa, David Seymour, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger, and William Vandivert founded Magnum in Paris. Magnum Photos has visually documented most of the world's major events and personalities since the 1930s covering society, politics, events and conflict.

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