Photojournalism is often talked about like it’s different from or more niche than other forms of journalism. But it’s really just as common as your run-of-the-mill news article or package. I mean, there’s almost always some kind of photo or graphic accompanying any given news article.

And photojournalism is one of the most common forms of visual storytelling around. As Journalist and Writer Andrew Losowsky writes in his book, Visual Storytelling, emotional reaction and narrative information are some of the core concepts to visual storytelling. That’s exactly what photojournalists employ in their photography to further a story, or to tell their own.

There are even some instances where I think photo journalism can be even more impactful than a written piece. There are just some things that cannot be communicated through words. 

So, here’s a look at some especially impactful photos taken by photojournalists in recent years that tell a story of their own: 

Photo 1: Man Saves Sheep from Wildfire

In this photo, we see a man riding a motorcycle down a dirt road. One hand on the handlebar, another supporting a sheep on his lap. As he rides, he seems to be screaming something. His brows are furrowed and he looks almost angry. In the background, we see smoke rising above houses on the hill. A warm, orange-y glow also paints the photo. From all of this information, we can glean that this man is fleeing from a wildfire. And that is what’s happening. 

This was taken in August of 2025, and shows a man fleeing with his sheep on a motorcycle during a wildfire in Patras, Greece.

Photo 2: Detainees make an SOS call

In this image, we can see a group of people standing in a dirt field. They’re wearing prison uniforms, though not all the exact same. Some red, some orange, so we know this is not a typical prison. The detainees spell out the letters “SOS” with their bodies. Some of them wave in the direction of the cameras. Three men walk toward the group, looking as though they plan to join. From this, we can begin to understand that these people are imprisoned somewhere and calling out for help. 

This image was taken in April of 2025, and shows Venezuelan detainees at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Texas, spelling out “SOS.”

Photo 3: People Vying for Food

This is an incredibly busy photo. My eye is first drawn to the man in red, who seems to be calling something out. Then I look down to the huge pot of food he’s standing over. Looking into the background, we see a massive crowd of people with pots, pushing over each other to try and get to the front. A man stands on an elevated surface with his hands up, seemingly trying to calm the group. More people stand around the pot, looking to the man in red for instructions. We come to understand these are people trying to get a meal at a food bank. 

This photo was taken in May of 2025, and it shows Palestinians struggling to get food at a community kitchen in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war.

Photo 4: Overturned Statue

This is a stoic photo. No people, yet it tells a story. We see a toppled statue of a man. It sits atop a mountain overlooking an isolated city. The statue is completely destroyed. Pieces lie all around it, and in some parts, we can see the underlying structure of the statue. We can understand that this is a defaced statue that was attacked by a seemingly large group of people, based on how sturdy the statue looked to be and how destroyed it is. The way his hand is up looks like he’s being inaugurated or maybe sworn under oath, meaning he’s likely some political leader. We can gather this statue was probably overturned as part of a revolution. 

The photo was taken in January of 2025 in Dayr Atiya, Syria, and shows a toppled and defaced statue of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad, following the overthrow of the Assad Regime.

Photo 5: Woman Fleeing from Rubble

In this photo, we see a woman running with two dogs in her arms. Behind her, smoke billows from a building. We see a burning car and rubble strown about the park or square she’s in. A man behind her weeps into his hand. The woman has a look of panic, with her mouth slightly agape and downturned. We come to understand this woman is fleeing from either that destroyed building behind her, or maybe another nearby. She’s likely running with her own dogs, trying to save them from the wreck. The rubble and smoke tell us it’s possible there was recently an explosion. 

This photo was taken in July of 2025 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and shows a woman carrying her dogs as she runs from her apartment that was exploded by Russian strikes.

Photo 6: Woman Assessing Pile of Debris

I think this image is really interesting in terms of the lighting and framing. We are seemingly inside this house, based on the decor, wall paint and furniture inside, yet the image is incredibly bright. It seems to be daylight. Then we look up, and we notice, we can see the sky. We can understand the roof was likely torn off during whatever caused the destruction in this home. The woman grips a stack of disheveled papers as she looks into the pile of rubble. Her face is scrunched up as though she is crying. The spread of rubble, including insulation, drywall and dust, plus the fact that her wall is still intact tell us this wasn’t complete annihilation like an explosion may cause, and we can gather that this may have been caused by something like a tornado. We guess that this is this woman’s home and she’s surveying the damage caused by this tornado.

This image was taken in May of 2025 in London, Kentucky, United States. It shows a woman surveying the debris of her house the day after a tornado struck her town.

Photo 7: Fans Celebrating

This image focuses on two men embracing. One has a seemingly relieved look on his face, as the other man cries into his chest. As we look further back in the picture, we see people smiling and hugging, a man kisses a pregnant woman’s stomach, another man wipes his tears with a flag. Even further back, we see we’re in a stadium full of people. They all seem to be wearing similar black and white jerseys and flags. Based on all this, we can understand these are fans of a sports team, celebrating a seemingly huge victory. 

This photo was taken in November of 2024 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. It shows Botafogo fans celebrating their team’s victory over Argentina for the South American Football Confederation’s Libertadores cup.

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Even without the news story accompanying these images, it’s easy to glean the general idea of what the story of the image is. 

That doesn’t mean photojournalism can nor should stand on its own. We still need the text to provide us context. Where was the image taken? When? What led up to this event? What came after? But, visuals are still an important part of journalism that can show an aspect of the story we can’t always tell with our words.