A senior faculty member from the Poynter Institute spoke to ASU journalism students on Monday night about photojournalism.
Kenny Irby, who specializes in visual journalism and diversity, talked about photojournalism’s role in the industry, its importance and the adversity it faces in today’s smartphone world.
According to Irby, photojournalism “is a thorough examination of the moment,” telling stories through photographs, drawing people in and eliciting emotion.
Irby said professional photojournalism suffers when journalists are asked to take photos with their cell phones.
“The Constitution protects free speech, but it doesn’t fund it,” Irby said.
While smart phones are tools for expression, that doesn’t mean taking a photo of an event is storytelling, he said.
“Still photographs have power,” Irby said. “Selfies are not compelling content.”
Irby said photojournalists should value constructing a clear, concise picture of an event, and that a camera in the hands of a compassionate individual can create great work.
“Build on the power of frozen moments,” Irby said. “There is this natural reaction in the human experience to talk about pictures.”
He said photographs make people want to know more, and photographs and visuals are more important than ever before.
“If media companies miss the opportunity to invest in people like yourselves — who have a passion and a drive to help grow free society, to help inform individuals about the world around them — then you know what? You might have to do it yourself,” he said.
Irby said photojournalists must now build a brand to stay relevant. He said people follow photographers whose content has emotionally impacted them.
Arizona State University freshman Ashley Altmann was inspired by Irby’s speech and is approaching social media with a more critical eye.
“When you go on Instagram and you see people’s selfies, it’s not really saying anything,” said Altmann. “But when you see pictures of soldiers at war, or you see an immigrant’s family surrounding the cardboard coffin, that’s different, that provokes emotions.”
Irby’s lecture gave ASU sophomore Lilia Calvillo her own takeaway on photojournalism when he explained that still moments hold power.
“It made me look at photos a different way,” Calvillo said. “Selfies are shameful, and I’ll never take another selfie again.”
Contact the reporter at ellenpierce@asu.edu.
