Newspapers using more amateur photographs

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News photographs making it into newspapers are increasingly being snapped by passers-by, rather than professional news photographers. Amateur shots of accidents, fires, and other unexpected situations to which staff photographers cannot be dispatched in time.
     "There have always been magnificent news pictures, in which a photograph taken by an amateur has been the one showing a decisive moment in an ongoing event. There are examples from history, and the more recent past: the shooting of US President John F. Kennedy, the fire on a Concorde jet, and the sinking of the cruise ship Estonia", says Merja Salo, Professor of Photography at the University of Art and Design, Helsinki.
     She adds that the proliferation of mobile phone cameras has greatly increased the possibilities.
     
Almost every week Helsingin Sanomat publishes a picture taken by a reader. Last week a front-page picture of a lorry that had fallen over at the beginning of the Länsiväylä motorway in Helsinki was taken by Aarno Salminen, manager of environmental and safety affairs at the chemicals company Kemira, whose office window provided an excellent vantage point.
      "I understood in that situation that a photo angle from above in the office was exceptionally good, and I went to get my camera from my car", says Salminen, who is also an amateur nature photographer.
      A picture of a fire blazing on Tuomiokirkonkatu in Tampere which appeared in the newspaper Aamulehti on Sunday, was taken by Misa Lammio, who lived next door.
     Salminen and Lammio had digital SLR cameras suitable for demanding amateur work, but pictures taken by mobile phone cameras have also appeared in newspapers; slight shortcomings in photographic quality are often overlooked.
     
"As digital and mobile phone cameras become more common, one might imagine that news services will improve from the reader's point of view", Salo says.
     "It also allows newspapers' professional photographers to concentrate on taking better pictures of anticipated, more ritualistic news events."
      Hannu Vanhanen, Professor of Photojournalism at the University of Tampere says that the phenomenon is primarily one of the Internet, which is also reflected in the printed press. As he sees it, amateur pictures fill a niche of their own in news journalism.
     "This is something that newspapers have lacked. The aesthetics of photos taken by ordinary citizens are less considered, and at best, fresh."
     However, Vanhanen is concerned about the implications for the overall quality of photojournalism:
     "French photo critic Christian Caujolles has written that the hype surrounding amateur photography is a danger to photojournalism, and to journalism, leading to a decline in the visual quality of newspapers. He speaks strongly in favour of the profession, and I agree with him. The vision of professional photographers is still needed. They are better able to focus things visually, in a manner appropriate to the media."
     
Photographs taken by readers are used in many other countries much more systematically than in Finland, notes Reetta Meriläinen, Editor-In-Chief for news at Helsingin Sanomat.
      "For instance, in Norway and the United States, readers have been taken into the production of newspapers much more than in Finland. We still have much to do in this respect."
     Meriläinen says that readers are being encouraged to send in pictures, because it is technically the most convenient way to move forward. New ways of letting readers participate are constantly being developed."
     "Perhaps readers' news of some kind might be a next step in the development."
     She does not feel that the use of amateur photo materials contains any real risks, as she feels that readers are able to differentiate between photographs taken by professionals, and those taken by amateurs.
     "And editorial control works in any case."
     
Helsingin Sanomat has taken measures to make it easier for readers who have photographed a newsworthy event to get their pictures considered for publication.
     One way to do this is to send a camera phone picture as a multimedia message to the telephone number 13134. The cost of the call from most Finnish subscribers is EUR 50.
     Another possibility is to use a website set up for the purpose (see link). Pictures that are used in the printed paper, or the online publication earn a fee for the photographer.


See also:
  HS readers´ pictures website (in Finnish)

Helsingin Sanomat