Photojournalism: noun : The practice of communicating news by photographs, especially in magazines. The definition is straight to the point when it comes to photojournalism. The practice of communicating news by photographs. Basically it is telling a story through a photo. The best photos tell a story. They do this by eliciting an emotion. I'm all about emotion and stories, and telling those stories. What those emotions and interpretations are is dependent on the viewer of the photo, that is if no caption is given or it's in a different language. I love how ten different people from all over the world can look at the same exact photo and interpret it ten different ways because of their life experiences. But how a photographer composes the photograph they show the world will effect how people view the photo.
Unlike many photographers who dreamed of being a photographer for National Geographic one day I just wanted to take beautiful photos of landscapes like Ansal Adams. That didn't end up happening. I found I enjoy photographing people and telling their story. It may only be a snippet of their story through a prom or newborn photo session. I discovered photojournalism on a trip to San Francisco during the Occupy Wall Street movement back in 2012. After exiting BART, Bay Area Rapid Transit, I was smack dab in the midst of Occupy San Francisco. I had my camera with me and thought this was unexpected and neat, I'll photograph it. It was history in the making and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. As I photographed the demonstrators, the police, and the onlookers I started to get excited. It sparked a passion for photojournalism. Something I never had before. This in turn influenced how I photograph my portraits of clients. Gone are the stiff poses from another tired session. In are the comradery, joy, and life that makes each session unique. This passion for photojournalism helps me to tell not just the stories of local events but your events. I still actively go out and photograph local events such as Wreaths Across America and protests. I find that telling a story that shows no one viewpoint and just the facts is even more important in today's political climate. A neutral standpoint that shows events how they happened versus staged to give a bias is rare. But those unbiased photos will show things how they really are and not just how they appear to be is what keeps me doing what I do.
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