Social media has revolutionized how today's photojournalists communicate and share images.
Here are 12 photographers on Instagram who have changed the way we see and understand the world by bringing their powerful images to our fingertips.
*Warning: Some viewers may find the following images disturbing, NSFW, and incredibly powerful.*
1. Lynsey Addario
Lynsey Addario is an American photojournalist who has covered nearly every major conflict in the 21st century. Her book, It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War, shares a fascinating look into the motivations of a conflict photographer and the six harrowing days that she was held captive in Libya.
It was announced by Warner Bros. that Steven Spielberg has signed on to direct a feature film based upon the book, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Addario.
2. Paula Bronstein
Paula Bronstein is an award-winning photographer whose images have shown a wide range of conflicts and news in the greater Asia region. In 2011, she was a nominated finalist for the Breaking News Pulitzer Prize.
3. Anastasia Taylor-Lind
Anastasia Taylor-Lind is an English photojournalist known for her powerful depictions of women struggling in harsh circumstances. Her images have received a number of awards, including the Observer Hodge Award and the Guardian Weekend Photography Prize.
4. Erin Trieb
Erin Trieb's coverage of the Texas gubernatorial elections in 2006 and a U.S. military medical unit in Afghanistan in 2010 won her international acclaim. She is currently working on a documentary film about U.S. infantry units in Afghanistan.
5. Andrea Bruce
Andrea Bruce is a documentary photographer whose images bring attention to those coping in the aftermath of war. She has been named Photographer of the Year four times by the White House News Photographers Association. In 2012, she received the Chris Hondros Fund Award for the "commitment, willingness and sacrifice shown in her work."
6. Stephanie Sinclair
Stephanie Sinclair's work brings attention to international gender and human rights issues. Her powerful 2012 documentary Too Young to Wed tells the story of an Ethiopian girl married at age 11.
7. Malin Fezehai
Malin Fezehai is a Swedish and Eritrean photographer whose images lend powerful views of displaced populations. This year she received a World Press Photo Award for Daily Life for her depiction of an Eritrean wedding.
8. Glenna Gordon
This past February, Glenna Gordon won a World Press Award for her reportage on the abducted Nigerian school girls. Her powerful images have also shed light on Boko Haram, ISIS, and the recent Ebola outbreak.
9. Matilde Gattoni
Matilde Gattoni is an award-winning Italian photographer whose work brings attention to human rights and water issues around the globe. Her 2002 book, Uzbekistan, gives a potent look into the past, present, and future of the former Communist nation.
10. Arati Kumar-Rao
Arati Kumar-Rao's photographs focus upon ecology and land use among indigenous populations. Her project River Diaries: Brahmaputra, documents life in the Brahmaputra River basin, one of the most vital rivers in Asia.
11. Maggie Steber
Maggie Steber has pursued a wide range of impactful stories in over 64 countries around the globe. Her photographs are held in the Library of Congress and have been awarded a number of prestigious accolades, including the World Press Photo Award for Spot News and the Leica Medal of Excellence.
12. Nina Berman
Nina Berman's powerful photographs tackle important issues surrounding the American social and political climate. She is the recipient of two World Press Photo Foundation awards and was included in the 2010 Whitney Biennial.