In search of visual expertise: examining skilled vision in the work of news photo professionals

Abstract

Photojournalism professionals play a key role in producing and choosingthe visual coverage that we see in the daily news media. This article focuseson photo editors and other photojournalism professionals behind the newsimages, and explores how they see and look at pictures professionally inorder to decide what is newsworthy. The actual work practices of photojournalismprofessionals were scrutinized by using methods of newsroomobservation and interviews at three media organizations. The theoreticalframework applies ethnographic studies of vision in professional practicesthat consider vision as a socially situated activity and education of attention.The findings suggest that the education of the professional eye of photojournalismpractitioners involves informal and everyday work practices thatinclude characteristics of an apprenticeship. Finally, four areas where theprofessional knowledge accumulates were found: (1) constant following ofnews; (2) the use of reference images; (3) the use of specific software; and(4) social interaction among the professionals. In conclusion, it is arguedthat photojournalism professionals’ visual expertise is poorly understood.The shared vision is constitutive for the social organization of the professionwhile it concurrently narrows the visual coverage published in the media.