This paper concerns the contemporary status of the documentary or news photograph of suffering. Using the paradigmatic case of the return of photojournalists to the scenes of compelling images they have made, it suggests a contemporary need to reconnect them with the lives and voices of those photographed. The paper draws upon theories of photojournalism that emphasize the need to take their connection to the real seriously and describe the civic space they open up between photographers, the photographed and the public. When photojournalists return, the paper suggests, they are confronted with these contemporary expectations of the photograph, expressed as both political and ethical demands. It proposes also that the reflexivity of the return can allow photojournalists to negotiate some of the ethical problems that arise when making photographs of others’ misfortune. In particular, it can transform the return into an act of caring. These points are used to explore ways in which the discourse and further images that surround a powerful image can reconnect audiences with those photographed.