Careers in Photo Journalism

Photojournalism is a form of journalism, wherein the person clicks, develops, and submits images relevant to a news story. Initially, the term 'photojournalism' was restricted to still photography. Its scope has now widened and in the present time, photo journalists even shoot videos to come up with a good news item/ feature – a trend commonly seen in citizen journalism. Photo journalism is not merely about taking the best shots, but also how to click news-worthy photographs, in accordance with the interest of the reader. Generally, the work of a photojournalist is quite similar to a reporter, except the fact that a photo journalist doesn’t gather, write, and report news stories. To become a successful photojournalist, one should have thorough knowledge about the three principles of photo journalism - timeliness, objectivity, and narrative. He/She should be able to use modern gadgets like digital camera, state-of-the-art studios, and other software in order to develop quality photographs. Photojournalism is a lucrative career option in India, since it has become an integral part of mainstream journalism. As a result, many institutions that offer courses in journalism have also included photo journalism in their curriculum.

Course Details
In India, many educational institutions have started conducting separate courses for photo journalism at postgraduate diploma level. For enrolling in the program, candidates are required to have a graduation degree from any recognized institute or university.

Career Prospects
Photojournalists can work for newspapers, magazines, or any other media houses. One can opt for commercial photography, fashion photography, industrial photography, wildlife photography, aerial photography, scientific photography, etc. as his/her specialized field.

Top Colleges Offering UG/PG/Other Courses
Some of the leading institutions offering programs in photo journalism are India International Photographic Council (New Delhi), Amity School of Journalism & Communication (Delhi), Asian College of Journalism (Chennai), Biju Patnaik Film & Television Institute (Bhubaneswar), Bhavan’s Institute of Communication & Management (Mumbai), Indian institute of Mass Communication (Delhi), and Indian Centre for Media & Communication (Pune).

Remuneration
Newspapers and news agencies pay according to the assignment offered to the photojournalists. Generally, at the beginning of the career, a photojournalist can earn around Rs. 12,000 - 15,000 per month. The experienced ones can easily extract between Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 30,000 per month. Those who have acquired perfection in the field are offered high pays by reputed organizations.