What Is The Value Of Press Photography In Age Of Media?

The world today is governed by this ever-expanding and ever-intrusive demand for photographic content. Much of this has got to do with the rapid rise of digital era and the shifting of majority reader consumption from newspapers to mobile phones. This creates a constant hole that needs to be filled up by photographic content. Websites, unlike newspapers, can’t do with presenting their material only once a day.

This is where the value of press photography and photographers in today’s digital age come in.

What does the job of a press photographer entail?

Press photographers work with media houses or news companies to capture important photographs of news-worthy event. While their exact role may differ from one news agency to another, the basic requirement remains the same. They are to provide high-quality photographs to cover real-life events and engage more readers.

Press photographers have several specialisations like hard news, fashion, travel, sports and much more. Each of these fields is heavily dependent on photos to supplement the content. So, here’s discussing the importance of photographs in details:

The value of photographs in news

Going back to some of the biggest news headlines of the last several years, be it the moon landing or the 9/11 attacks or even the fall of the Berlin Wall – each one has a striking image that stays in people’s memory.
These press photographs help sustain news stories and allow them to go beyond the constraints of language. While people from a certain country might not be interested in the socio-cultural issues of a different country and hence, refrain from reading an article on the same, a photograph will catch their eye and make them sympathize with the situation.

Pictures, unlike words, have the power to transcend differences of language and boundaries and as the saying goes, speak a thousand words.

The value of photographs in sports

Needless to say, people always remember the most important moments in sports history by an iconic photograph. Be it Maradona’s Hand of God goal, or Bolt breaking the 100-metre record or Nadal winning his first French – the photographs of these moments help increase their longevity and popularity.

As soon as an event is over, publishing houses compete with each other to be the first one to get the pictures published on digital media. Even today, the reach and demand for sports event photography are massive.

Value of photographs in fashion and travel

Fashion and travel photography, while being their own sub-genres, can also fall under the gamut of press-related photography.

Imagine an entire cover story on a travel magazine done without the use of photographs. Or reporting of an event in a fashion-weekly without any pictures of the event. The pictures, in many cases, are not add-ons to the content but the content itself.

Fashion photography plays a very specific role in capturing the essence of designs and making them appeal to fashion lovers. Similarly, travel photographs serve the purpose of driving more tourism to these places.
Fashion and travel are big industries that will fall flat without the right photographs.

Above all, with the emergence of digital media, 55% of internet users spend less than 15 seconds on a particular page. So, to give an entire message in barely 3 – 5 seconds, photographs prove to be the most powerful tool today.

No content without visual element

A recent study stated that when people hear information, they’re likely to retain only 10% of it after 3 days. However, pairing an attractive and relevant image will see 65% retention of that same information.

This goes to show how important images are in today’s media-driven scenario. The value of press photographers to a media house or news agency is unparalleled. It is their images that determine how most people engage and interact with the content.

As long as there remains a demand for the coverage and knowledge of the world, there will always be a demand for press photographers.