What’s it Like to Be a Photojournalist in 2020?

Photographing at the White House, covering Covid-19, documenting protests and more

Writeup by Conference Chair Thomas Smith

2020 has been one of the most tumultuous years in recent history. From the global coronavirus pandemic to Black Lives Matter protests, photojournalists have been challenged like never before and forced to adapt to new conditions on a nearly daily basis.

A group of press photographers shared their work and experiences from the streets of New York to inside the White House at the 2020 Digital Media Licensing Conference from the Digital Media Licensing Association. From hospitals and looting, to demonstrations and Rose Garden press conferences, this year has dished out non-stop news.

John Angelillo Staff Photographer, UPI, Anthony Behar Staff Photographer, Sipa USA, Angela Weiss Staff Photographer, AFP, and Oliver Contreras Photographer, Freelance photographer with White House access spoke, and the session was moderated by Jonathan Wells of SIPA USA.

• The priority this year has been staying safe. Photographers use double masks, sanitize everything, disinfect cameras with alcohol, wear separate clothing and undress outside of homes, etc. in a process that has been tedious but important for safety.
• 2020 started off with entertainment, happenings around New York City, news events like the Weinstein trial, events like the Westminster dog show, covering the Superbowl. Access was very important. While traveling, photographers started to hear about Covid-19. Around late February, things started to get more pronounced with Covid-19. Photographers started to focus on masks. The International Toy Fair happened just before Covid-19, as well as other entertainment events. News gradually become more and more serious — especially around March 2nd. In mid-March the city was shut down. Photographers were out wearing masks and gloves. PPE became ubiquitous, and testing sites ramped up. Photographers were looking for specific visuals to capture, like food hoarding, toilet paper hoarding.
• Photographing Covid-19 victims, food insecurity, photographing people who became violent after being photographed, and more were decisive moments.
• Before, shoots were very well planned out in advance, access was secured, and more. Now photographers are “enterprising”, going onsite, working with whoever is there, trying to get an interesting shot based on what’s happening.
• When photographing the Weinstein Trial, several female photographers discovered that one could get an overhead view of Weinstein from a women’s bathroom on the 15th floor of the courtroom. Photographers were hanging out the windows in the freezing cold to get the shot.
• Many photographers had to pivot from Entertainment to News overnight, with new requirements in terms of metadata, descriptions, and more.
• During protests, photographers were dealing with teargas, some were arrested, they were bumped around in crowds.
• Later in the year, the focus pivoted towards politics. Photographers covered the campaign trail, watch events for the debates, and more.
• Basic things like finding a bathroom, finding a safe place to edit photos in public, and the like were challenging during Covid-19 and especially in combination with Black Lives Matter protests.
• In February, it could take 15 minutes of waiting to get a shot of someone wearing a mask. The stock exchange was one of the first places where it was clear that somethin serious was happening with Covid-19.
• In the beginning of Covid-19, there were no assignments. The only events available were mayor and governor press conferences. Photographers were out on the streets trying to take whatever photos they could. They had no idea what they would capture. Empty landmarks were an important visual.
• Photographer John Angelillo loves shooting the Met Gala, and couldn’t come to terms with not shooting it. He showed up to the event (which was canceled) with a flash, just in case.
• Photographers captured sporting events and other events in New York with no fans, limited access, remote cameras and the like.
• Freelance photographers were especially impacted by Covid-19 because they couldn’t work as normal.
• Photographers knew the year was going to be crazy beginning with Donald Trump’s impeachment in January. Photographers have a lot of access within the White House under the current administration. White House photographers learned about Covid-19 and its seriousness in large part when there started to be briefings about it daily at the White House with the president.
• Before Covid-19, White House photographers could enter the White House with a specific credential that allowed them access to the press room at any time. Now they cannot enter unless they’re on a specific assignment. Restrictions have come both from the White House and correspondents’ own organizations.
• Photographers have also focused on photographing nature (lightning, etc.), personal projects (covering musicians), taking cityscapes and the like during times when they have less assignment work.
• Photographers were scared of getting Covid-19 while working at the White House. Spaces are very small and distancing is challenging.