This page is an overview of photojournalism research resources to guide librarians, faculty, and students. Other sources are available on the Journalism page.
AP (Associated Press) Archive (Fee-based)
This is an important database for photojournalists. The Associated Press' photo library and negative and print library are available. Currently includes over two million photographs, with thousands of new photos added daily.
The Big Picture
"News stories in photographs," hosted by the Boston Globe.
Great Photojournalism
From the website: "Great Photojournalism is an online free community of selected or invited members. Professional photojournalists from all over the world, display their very best work here."
Library of Congress Photos, Prints, and Drawings
Limit search by format, date, location, collection, and other attributes, or select "Collections with Photos, Prints, Drawings" tab to browse collections.
LIFE Magazine Photo Archive
Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Add "source:life" to any Google image search and search only the LIFE photo archive. For example: computer source:life
Picturing the Century
A collection of one hundred years of photography from the National Archives. Selection of photographs commemorating the end of the twentieth century. Portfolios of seven US photographers. Photographs are available for purchase through the website.
U.S. Government Photos & Images
Searchable collection of photos and images of government activity and those created by various units of government
World Press Photo Archive
Award winning work from photographers worldwide. Images available from 1955-present are organized in categories such as arts, contemporary issues, daily life, general news, humor, nature, people, portraits, science, sports, and spot news.
Video Archives
AP (Associated Press) Video Archive (Fee-based)
A business-to-business site, licensing content for use by media professionals. Over 20,000 stories added each year; historical content back to 1929, and subject compilations also available.
British Movietone
British Movietone’s newsreel archive spans the period 1895 – 1986. It was the first newsreel to include sound and the first to use color film.
British Pathé
Spanning the years from 1896 to 1976, the collection of 85,000 films includes footage from around the globe of major events, famous faces, fashion trends, travel, science and culture.
Internet Archive - TV News
Repurposes closed captioning to enable users to search, quote and borrow from the Internet Archive’s collection of 500,000+ US TV news broadcasts aired since 2009. Borrow shows (select "Borrow a DVD" on any show detail page) from the Internet Archive library on a DVD-ROM for 30 days for a $25 processing fee.
Universal Newsreels at Internet Archive
In the pre-TV era, people saw the news every week in their neighborhood movie theaters. Newsreels were shown before every feature film and in dedicated newsreel theaters located in large cities. Universal Newsreel, produced from 1929 to 1967, was released twice a week.
Vanderbilt Television News Archive
This archival collection includes more than 30,000 television evening news broadcasts from ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN, as well as over 9,000 hours of "special news-related programming" (such as presidential press conferences). The archive has been developed since 1968. Subscribing institutions can search abstracts of the news programs and view limited streaming content. DVDs of the news programs can be ordered from Vanderbilt for a fee.
Awards
British Journal of Photography International Photography Award
British Journal of Photography’s annual International Photography Award is "a leading showcase for contemporary photographic talent," including photojournalism. Winners listed from 2005 to present.
International Center of Photography Infinity Awards
Since 1985, the annual ICP Infinity Awards have recognized major contributions and emerging talent in the fields of photojournalism, art, fashion photography, and publishing.
Aperture
Aperture is considered the top magazine for photographers of all fields. Excellent quality of photographs.
FOTO8
Online magazine produced by Jon Levy, a British photographer and editor.
Photography and Culture
From the Ulrich's Global Serials Directory website: "Aims to interrogate the contextual and historic breadth of photographic practice from a range of informed perspectives," including photojournalism.
Visual Communication
Quarterly peer-reviewed journal published by SAGE. Includes articles on photojournalism.
Visual Communication Quarterly
Official publication of the Visual Communication Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Witness Magazine
From the website: "focuses on a host of long-term projects and investigative journalism.
Our goal is to provide an outlet for projects that are not published in their entirety by commercial publishers because of their editorial content or because of the length and complexity of the story."
The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)
The NPPA is the professional association for photographers working in the news media and others who have a direct professional relationship with press photographers, such as reporters or editors. This is an excellent website for the practitioner with links to job banks, business practices, negotiating practices, copyright information, etc.
Vision Project
From the website: "dedicated to the development of documentary photography, investigative journalism, video, multimedia, and education... about a broad range of social issues."
The White House News Photographers’ Association (WHNPA)
This association has over 500 members who provide news coverage for the White House and Congress. One of the most important activities of the WHNPA is the annual Still Photo contest. The WHNPA also provides grants for freelance photographers.
World Press Photo
Based in the Netherlands, this is an independent, not-for-profit organization which supports and promotes international, professional, press photographers. World Press offers master classes and seminars for photojournalists. The website includes information about the classes as well as the winning photographs from its yearly photo contest.
Education
About Photojournalism
Basic website that features articles and links on photojournalism. Features famous and historic photojournalists and documentary photos.
Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar
A non-profit organization founded by photojournalists to promote the highest standards of photojournalism. The APS has a series of events every December such as hands-on workshops, seminars with leaders in photojournalism, portfolio critiques and a photo contest. It is an excellent source for students of photojournalism or for the beginning photojournalist.
Poynter Institute
Daily columns, tip sheets, ethics and leadership resources, courses and seminars, to support journalism, photojournalism, and design/graphics.
PROOF: Media for Social Justice
A non-profit organization founded in 2006 in New York City that "uses visual storytelling and education to inspire global attitude and policy changes." It seeks "to unite the skills and experiences of internationally renowned photojournalists for social good."
Books
The ethics of photojournalism in the digital age
draws from moral philosophy and histories of photojournalism to understand the emergence of this distinct practice and discuss its evolution in a digital era
Photojournalism: A Social Semiotic Approach
Explores the role of photographs in newspapers and online news, analyzing how meanings are made in images and exploring text-image relations, illustrated with authentic news stories from both print and online news outlets.