Photojournalism is a form of journalism in which a story or news item is communicated largely by means of pictures. A well-written news story, containing all the facts, will suffice for telling the reader what happened, where it happened, who was involved, etc. But, this is only if the reader reads the story. Display elements must be offered to attract the reader's attention to the story. Headlines do it, artwork does it and photographs do it. By sheer impact, a good photograph will attract a reader's attention faster than most headlines or art work. In addition, a good photo reinforces the information contained in the written account or presents new information that is not written. Headlines are seldom remembered from day to day. News stories, too, fade from memory rapidly but the "you are there" aspect of a good news photograph may live in one's memory for years to come.
Today, a picture editor has a mission which includes planning, selecting, editing and releasing photographs which tell the story of his service. It may also include taking, processing, and printing these photographs by himself or by working with the photographer in the field as a team.

Taking photographs for publication

The requirements are necessary before you can take a photograph for publication. You must:

● know your subject;
● know your publication;
● know your target audience.

Know Your Subject
Millions of photographs are taken every year by amateur and professional photographers alike. Most photographers use people as their prime subject.
Photojournalism is a form of communication that portrays people and their environment; therefore, your subject choice is relatively simple. Or is it? Think of people you have known and select some of the differences between them. The obvious fact is that "all people are different." To photograph people, you
must understand their individual differences and explore "in depth" the world in which they live and work. Not the world, but their world. In people photography the list of questions is endless, however some questions you will have to ask yourself and your subject are:

● What does this man, woman, or child do?
● Where does he live?
● Why do I want to photograph this subject?
● What do I wish to show?
● What is there about this person that will be interesting to my audience?

Know the Publication
Every publication is designed for a particular group of people. Just as we have individuals in life, we have individuals in publishing. Each publication has its
own method of reaching viewers with the information that it publishes. Consider the possibility of getting the editor of Good Housekeeping Magazine to use your photograph of tanks on an FTX...not a good idea. But the same photograph sent to Hunting Times might be published because you have chosen the correct outlet for your work. The best way of getting your photograph and text published is to submit them to the publication that can use them.

Know Your Target Audience
Each article in a publication is designed for an individual audience. Not only feature photographs and stories, but even advertising is slanted toward particular readers. The photographer must know who is going to read or view his work (Target Audience).
Army subjects will be more interesting to soldiers if the subject matter lends itself to their particular "world." Farmers read the almanac and Farmer's
Weekly. Soldiers read Army Times and the post newspaper (among other things). Generally, people look for newspapers, magazines, and articles that affect their lives or are related to their work. With this in mind you must know the many different outlets for your work and slant each shooting session toward that "target audience." Armed with this information, you can communicate with viewers concerning timely subjects of interest to them. As a photojournalist you will serve a wide range of audiences. Not only must you plan your shoots to obtain interesting and usable
images, you must obtain sufficient supporting information for those images by keeping both primary and potential audiences, such as hometown newspapers, in mind.

Leafing through a magazine, do you stop and examine some photographs more closely than others? What makes us stop and look at a photograph more closely? It might be the subject matter, composition, color or lack of color that attracts us.