Maria Piscopo

The photography of natural disasters and human tragedy—from earthquakes to suicide bombers—is an area of photojournalism filled with challenges. Photojournalists often face both physical and emotional obstacles but still need to keep a cool head and continue capturing the images. While their photos will tell the story of the event, photographers have their own personal stories to tell as well. The accounts told here are mostly about business but also touch on the heart of why someone takes on this area of photography and keeps going despite the emotional toll. We discuss issues of privacy and model releases, working at a disaster scene, what agencies to coordinate with, handling injury and trauma, and the pros and cons of pursuing this work.