Basic photojournalism job duties cover much more ground than merely taking photos. The role of a photojournalist involves communication, leadership, and the person should be swift & a go-getter. In addition to capturing news photos, a photojournalist may be responsible for:
- Use a variety of cameras to take photographs of important locations, people, events or moments.
- Process photos by developing negatives or editing digital images to produce clear visuals.
- Compose headlines, captions or other descriptive tag to interpret a photo.
- Use photo editing software such as Print Shop Pro or Photoshop to edit or enhance an image.
- Travel to local and international regions to cover the photo requirements of a story.
- Collaborate with reporters to ensure images correspond with news stories.
- Present photos to editors or supervisors for review and approval.
- Negotiate the price of images and photography services when working as freelance press photographers.
- Manage time effectively in order to achieve assigned tasks.
- Conduct research to verify facts about an event or incident prior to photo shoot.
- Keep record of photographs in an image database.
- Manipulate parameters such as lighting, focus, depth and distance to obtain clear images.
- Capture images of life-threatening situations such as crisis, war or extreme weather conditions.
- Specialize in one or more aspects of photography such as sports, press, documentary or freelance photography.
- Conduct interviews to obtain facts which validate a news story.
