NPPA president Todd Stricker addresses the issue of photojournalistic ethics.

It’s all about the truth. It really is that simple. The photojournalist’s job is to take the pictures that best tell the story and portray the truth. Whether you work in television or with still images, the rules are the same now as they were back when the first news picture was taken.

Or are they?

The National Press Photographers Association has a code of ethics that every photographer must agree to upon joining the association. Part of that code is, “It is the individual responsibility of...

Consultant Bobbi Wendt questions the notion that photographers must have their own studios.

As long as there has been a photography industry, commercial photographers have required studios to create and print their images. However, in today’s economic climate, the wisdom of this convention is being questioned.

I can speak from experience. Early on in my career in the photography business, I worked as an in-house artist agent and executive producer for a successful photo studio in Denver. The environment was stunning. It was a remodeled, 5,000-square-foot movie theater with a 17-foot tin ceiling and four large skylights that allowed us to go from bright and sunny to pitch-black in a couple of minutes. It was studio heaven.

To NANPA president Jim Clark, nature photography is both an idyllic endeavor and a very demanding business.

Late November at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. As the sun dips below the horizon, the New Mexico sky is painted with hues of red and violet. Suddenly, an explosion of wings echoes across the landscape. Thousands of snow geese rise from a distant field and take flight toward the marsh where I am standing.

For a nature photographer, this is heaven. We cherish these moments. Most importantly, for those trying to make a living photographing nature, such moments can help generate a sale. Selling a photograph these days, however, is not guaranteed...

With today's instant interconnectivity via the internet, pictures matter more than ever before.

The Chinese philosopher Confucius once observed that “a picture is worth ten thousand words.” Nearly 2,500 years later, Life magazine reported that, in the US alone, there are 47 million photos taken per day.

While this may sound a little oversimplified, how often in...

Like so many things in life, photography runs in cycles based on reaction and a desire for change, even if that means reinventing the wheel at times. Sometimes these changes lack the proper historical perspective of all that has gone before. Other times, the changes sought harken back to seemingly safer, more predictable times.

In the post-Civil War years, American photographers began turning their attention from the war to the West. They brought home images of the incredible, endless landscapes of the new frontier to an East hungry for expansion. They built an enthusiasm for these places that would help lead to the founding of the national park system, starting with Yellowstone National Park in 1872.

Today, more than a century later, nature photographers are still bringing home images...

Learning a bit of foreign language opens doors to photographing people.

Photography is an international language spoken by everyone, right? One picture being worth a thousand words, and all that entails. But sometimes understanding a photo is a whole lot easier than creating it, especially if you can't say a dang thing in the local tongue.

Imagine walking on a beautiful beach along the Mediterranean's famous Riviera. You spot the perfect couple frolicking in the light surf. Aim the camera and they start giving you a very bad time in French...

Balancing rates and rights is no easy task for most photographers.

When it comes to the business of image making, many photographers are short-sighted. They focus intently on the creative or logistical challenges of the assignment, but are fuzzy on its financial details. While skimming quickly over the fine print on a purchase order, they fail to realize that the primary goal of negotiating is not to win the immediate assignment. Instead, it is to win the respect of the client with whom a long-term relationship will result in job after job for years to come...