Emotion as a Key Element in Photojournalism

Emotion is a key element that makes a photograph stand out, according to veteran photojournalist Kate Geraghty. She believes such images can create conversation and prompt viewers to seek more information about the subject.

Geraghty, the chief photographer for The Sydney Morning Herald, has worked in the field for 25 years, covering conflicts and natural disasters across the globe.

A Career Documenting Conflict

Her first major assignment was covering the 2002 Bali bombings. The following year, she photographed the war in Iraq. Since then, her assignments have included the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, and numerous conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.

Geraghty stated that planning for assignments can change quickly due to the fluid nature of conflict zones.

Perspective and Responsibility

Geraghty stated that the challenges faced by journalists are less significant than the experiences of civilian populations in conflict areas. She described the responsibility to document events accurately as a privilege, noting that civilians often lack the protections afforded to journalists under international humanitarian law.

She considers it an honor to document these stories, noting that people in conflict zones sometimes share accounts of events with journalists to inform the world.

Principles and Challenges

A guiding principle in her work is focusing on the stories of the people being documented, rather than on the journalists themselves. She stated that this approach is shared by other photographers at her publication, and that a common trait among them is dedication to storytelling.

In 2010, while covering the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Geraghty was detained by Israel after the flotilla was raided. She stated that getting her photographs out of detention was difficult.