Press photography was taken with the purpose of publishing it in print and electronic media in order to broadcast the news, happening or an entertainment cultural event. It must be a clear, accurate and authentic show of a certain motive and meet the quality standards and aesthetic appearance. Along with the textual part it makes an informative and thematic unit and it forms the visual identity of the newspaper. Before the first photos were represented in the newspapers, for many years the world's newspapers have been graced with the hand-drawn pictures. The main problem was to make better the newspaper layout and to devise the technique for better image imprint on paper. When it was finally done at the beginning of the 20th century, photography began to get a new role with the play of events. In Croatia in the 20th century the press photography was becoming more prevalent but it has taken the real bloom in the last three decades through the most prominent Croatian media. Through out of the photographs published in the Polet, Globus, Glorija and Jutarnji list we stepped back in time with an emphasis on how photographs can greatly affect the changes taking place. In the final paper the journalistic photos in Croatia through the last three decades were analysed. In the paper the focus is given to the photographs published in the Polet, Globus, Glorija and Jutarnji list. In particular, the development of life-style photography and the role of war photography in the development of press photography in Croatia were analyzed.