PHOTOJOURNALISTS: USE PHOTOJOURNALISM TO HELP CHARITIES TELL THEIR STORY

Photojournalists can provide photo documentation that many charitable organizations desperately need (yet often cannot afford) to monitor and verify their work, apply for grants, raise funds, increase public awareness, and create educational materials.

Photojournalism has long been a powerful segment of the media, but perhaps even more so in recent times. During and after the tsunami in Asia, the earthquake in Pakistan, and hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the United States, photo journalists snapped pictures that not only informed the public and brought the gravity of the events to people's attention, they also served to loosen purse strings and prompted individuals to donate to specific charities so they could in turn help the victims. Thus while the Chinese proverb, "one picture is worth ten thousand words" certainly holds true in today's world, a more fitting saying here may be, "one picture is worth thousands of dollars."

A collateral effect of the public's generous response to catastrophic events often is that donations typically decline for organizations not involved in relief efforts. Even when there are no major disasters to focus the public's attention, charitable organizations typically find it is a constant struggle to get the financial and other support they need to remain viable and able to accomplish their mission.

As a photojournalist you can help reduce the burden of that struggle by taking photographs for organizations which in turn can use them in ways that further their goals. Your photo journalism skills may be needed, for example, to provide photographs for a wildlife reserve to help them produce new educational materials, as volunteers have done at the Scottish Wildlife Trust or contribute to an environmental photo archive. Or you could take photographs that monitor progress of relief efforts, photographs that can be used both internally and to raise public awareness and prompt people to take action. You could also snap pictures that will be used to create an educational exhibit or that provide material for a database which the charity can draw from as needed, or perhaps even contribute to a nature documentary.

As a volunteer photojournalist, it's best to make arrangements with one or more charities before you leave on your vacation so you will have an idea of the types of photographs they may need, where their projects or events are taking place, and if the charity provides any type of accommodations or supplies.

• One World Photography, which assists about two dozen international nonprofit organizations, offers opportunities for volunteer photojournalists to document social and environmental issues that are often ignored around the world. If you're taking pictures in a foreign country, you might want to learn how to say "smile" in the native language!
• Both the National Parks Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service need volunteer photojournalists to help them monitor and record natural and cultural treasures across the United States.
• Idealist.org provides a directory of volunteer opportunities for photographers, ranging from local projects to international volunteer vacations.

As a photojournalist, you can bring a charity's story to life without words, and life to the words the charity brings to the photos.