Motive für die Wahl der Pressefotografie als Beruf

The paper investigates people's motivations to work as press photographers. Against the background of precarious working conditions and a relatively poor image of the occupation, why people choose to work in this field seems like an interesting question. Several theories of occupational choice are examined for their usefulness with regard to the focus of the research, taking into account the processual nature of the formation of motivations as well as the special attributes of the field of press photography. A combination of phenomenological and biographical concepts is selected as the theoretical framework of the study, and key elements thereof are explained. The data obtained through several narrative interviews is analyzed and interpreted, resulting in three main dimensions of typologies describing the process of the formation of motivations leading to the occupational choice of press photography. The three dimensions are finally integrated into one typology which describes the different types of peoples choosing press photography as their occupation.