Why This Matters
These photographs aren't just famous pictures—they're visual arguments that changed history. In Photojournalism I, you're learning how a single frame can shift public opinion, end wars, spark movements, and force viewers to confront uncomfortable truths. The images in this guide demonstrate core principles you'll be tested on: composition under pressure, ethical decision-making, visual storytelling, and the photographer's responsibility to subjects and audience.
When you study these images, don't just memorize names and dates. Ask yourself: What compositional choice made this image powerful? What ethical dilemma did the photographer face? How did context—the publication, the moment in history, the viewer's expectations—shape the image's impact? These are the questions that separate snapshot-takers from photojournalists, and they're exactly what your exams and critiques will assess.
War and Conflict: Documenting the Unthinkable
The most powerful war photography doesn't glorify combat—it reveals its human cost. These images succeed because they prioritize emotional truth over tactical information, forcing viewers to see individuals rather than statistics.
"Napalm Girl" by Nick Ut
- Raw human suffering in motion—the screaming nine-year-old Kim Phúc, clothes burned off by napalm, running toward the camera creates unbearable immediacy
- Unposed authenticity distinguishes this from propaganda; Ut captured chaos, not choreography
- Shifted public opinion against the Vietnam War more effectively than years of written journalism; won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography
"Saigon Execution" by Eddie Adams
- Split-second timing captured the exact moment of death—South Vietnamese General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner
- Moral complexity emerged later; Adams regretted how the image oversimplified the situation and destroyed Loan's reputation
- Won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize but demonstrates how a photograph can tell truth and mislead simultaneously
"The Burning Monk" by Malcolm Browne
- Self-immolation as visual protest—Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức's 1963 suicide in Saigon protested religious persecution by the South Vietnamese government
- Stillness amid horror creates the image's power; Browne's steady composition while others fled shows professional discipline
- Changed U.S. foreign policy by exposing the corruption of America's ally; President Kennedy reportedly said, "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion"
Compare: "Napalm Girl" vs. "Saigon Execution"—both Vietnam War images that won Pulitzers and shifted American opinion, but Ut's image shows civilian suffering while Adams' shows military brutality. If asked about photography's role in ending wars, these are your primary examples.
Some of the most enduring images work because they reduce complex events to a single human form. Isolating one person against overwhelming forces creates instant visual metaphor and emotional identification.
"Tank Man" by Jeff Widener
- Anonymous individual vs. state power—an unknown man blocking a column of tanks during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests became a global symbol of resistance
- Telephoto compression flattens the distance between man and tanks, intensifying the confrontation visually
- Censored in China but iconic worldwide; demonstrates how images can transcend the contexts that try to suppress them
"Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" by Joe Rosenthal
- Collective effort visualized—six Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi, 1945, became the defining image of American sacrifice in World War II
- Compositional perfection through luck; the diagonal flag, straining bodies, and triangular grouping create textbook dynamic composition
- Won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize and inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial; the most reproduced photograph in history
"V-J Day in Times Square" by Alfred Eisenstaedt
- Spontaneous celebration captured—a sailor kissing a nurse amid Victory over Japan Day crowds, 1945
- Gesture over context—the tight crop eliminates everything except the embrace, universalizing the moment
- Ethical questions emerged later about consent; the nurse, Greta Zimmer Friedman, didn't know the sailor and described being grabbed unexpectedly
Compare: "Tank Man" vs. "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima"—both feature individuals against larger forces, but one shows defiance against oppression while the other celebrates collective triumph. Notice how framing choices (telephoto compression vs. low-angle heroism) shape interpretation.
Humanitarian Crisis: Bearing Witness to Suffering
These images force viewers to confront poverty, famine, and displacement. They raise the hardest ethical questions in photojournalism: When does documentation become exploitation? What responsibility does the photographer have to intervene?
"Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange
- Environmental portrait of desperation—Florence Owens Thompson and her children in a California pea-pickers' camp, 1936, during the Great Depression
- Composition directs sympathy—children turn away, mother gazes into distance, hand touching face suggests worry without melodrama
- Documentary photography as advocacy—Lange worked for the Farm Security Administration; this image helped secure federal aid for migrant workers
"The Vulture and the Little Girl" by Kevin Carter
- Proximity without intervention—a starving Sudanese child crawls toward a feeding center while a vulture waits nearby, 1993
- Ethical controversy defined Carter's legacy—critics asked why he photographed instead of helping; Carter stated he chased the vulture away but was instructed not to touch famine victims
- Won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography; Carter died by suicide months later, haunted by what he'd witnessed
"Afghan Girl" by Steve McCurry
- Eyes as focal point—twelve-year-old Sharbat Gula's green eyes, captured in a Pakistani refugee camp in 1984, create intense viewer connection
- Portrait as symbol—the image represented all Afghan refugees without reducing Gula to her circumstances
- National Geographic's most famous cover (June 1985); McCurry relocated Gula in 2002, raising questions about photographers' long-term responsibility to subjects
Compare: "Migrant Mother" vs. "The Vulture and the Little Girl"—both document poverty and won Pulitzers, but Lange's image led to direct aid while Carter's sparked debate about photographer passivity. Use these to discuss documentary ethics and the line between witness and participant.
Civil Rights and Social Justice: Images That Mobilized Movements
Photographs of injustice can do what written accounts cannot: make abstract oppression visceral and undeniable. These images succeeded because they documented perpetrators, not just victims, showing exactly who was responsible for violence.
"Birmingham" by Charles Moore
- Fire hoses and police dogs—Moore's 1963 images of Birmingham police attacking peaceful protesters, including children, appeared in Life magazine
- White violence made visible—showing attackers in uniform forced white Americans to confront systemic racism they'd ignored
- Direct policy impact—President Kennedy cited these images when proposing what became the Civil Rights Act of 1964
"The Falling Man" by Richard Drew
- Vertical descent frozen—a man falling from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, captured in a pose of almost peaceful surrender
- Controversy over publication—many newspapers ran it once, then pulled it after reader complaints; raises questions about what suffering we're willing to witness
- Identity debates continue—the man was likely Jonathan Briley, but his family denied it; the image represents all who faced impossible choices that day
Compare: "Birmingham" vs. "The Falling Man"—both show human beings in moments of crisis, but Moore's images were embraced as tools for justice while Drew's was suppressed as too painful. Consider how context and perceived purpose determine whether difficult images are accepted or rejected.
Perspective Shifts: Reframing How We See
Some photographs change not just what we think about a subject, but how we see ourselves. These images use unusual vantage points or contexts to defamiliarize the familiar.
"Earthrise" by William Anders
- First view of Earth from space—captured during Apollo 8's lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, 1968
- Fragility made visible—seeing Earth as a small, isolated sphere against the void reframed environmental consciousness
- Credited with launching the environmental movement; the first Earth Day occurred sixteen months later
"Lunch atop a Skyscraper" by Charles C. Ebbets
- Vertiginous height normalized—eleven construction workers eating lunch on a beam 850 feet above Manhattan, 1932
- Depression-era resilience—the image celebrated American labor and risk-taking during economic collapse
- Staged promotional photograph—created for the RCA Building (now 30 Rockefeller Plaza); demonstrates that iconic images aren't always spontaneous
Compare: "Earthrise" vs. "Lunch atop a Skyscraper"—both use dramatic height to shift perspective, but Anders' image looks down at humanity while Ebbets' celebrates human daring. One humbles us; the other elevates us.
Quick Reference Table
|
| War's human cost | "Napalm Girl," "Saigon Execution," "The Burning Monk" |
| Individual vs. system | "Tank Man," "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" |
| Documentary ethics | "The Vulture and the Little Girl," "Afghan Girl," "Migrant Mother" |
| Civil rights documentation | "Birmingham," "The Falling Man" |
| Perspective and scale | "Earthrise," "Lunch atop a Skyscraper" |
| Spontaneous celebration | "V-J Day in Times Square" |
| Pulitzer Prize winners | "Napalm Girl," "Saigon Execution," "The Vulture and the Little Girl," "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" |
| Ethical controversy | "The Vulture and the Little Girl," "V-J Day in Times Square," "The Falling Man" |
Self-Check Questions
-
Which two images both won Pulitzer Prizes for Vietnam War coverage, and how did their compositional approaches differ in depicting violence?
-
Compare "Migrant Mother" and "The Vulture and the Little Girl" in terms of photographer intervention—what ethical stance does each image represent, and how did public response differ?
-
If asked to discuss how photography shifted public opinion on a political issue, which image would you choose and why? Identify the specific visual elements that made it persuasive.
-
"Tank Man" and "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" both feature individuals against larger forces. How do their compositions create opposite emotional effects (defiance vs. triumph)?
-
Several images in this guide sparked ethical debates after publication. Choose one and explain: What was the controversy, and where do you stand on whether the image should have been published?