News Agencies are a business and need to produce a very specific kind of imagery that will fit newspapers’ front covers. If these guys are taking this shot, it is also because they believe it is a picture interesting to publish; maybe we should wonder why is there some photo editor buying this kind of imagery on the other end. Agencies also demand their photographers not to miss what other agencies have covered, so if everyone is taking that shot, there is no choice but to take it too just in case (that’s why it almost looks like a press conference). I also can’t avoid thinking about colonialism (maybe of another kind) when I see a bunch of white dudes taking a shot of black people in a country that’s not their own. However, I would like to think that being sent by an agency or newspaper to cover breaking news such as Haiti’s earthquake can give a photographer the opportunity to do another story in the same location that might make a difference. It is a very fine line to walk.
