Aspiring Photo journalist

Schmowen

Ok so I did a search on the forums here and didn't really come up with much, so I'm gonna ask anyway.

I'd like to become a photojournalist but haven't really any idea where to start, or rather where to get my foot in the door so to speak. I don't have the time or money to go do a course in photography and so I was wondering if anyone here might be able to give me a starting point.

Anyone?

dazftw

You need to shoot new's worthy images and submit constantly to Newspapers. You could also go the magazine route and do more detailed/specialized stories but this will be harder, maybe.

I'm sure PCPhoto will come on and correct me if I'm wrong so don't take this advice yet.

If you don't have time for college read/look at some books on the subject. There's plenty of cheap resources out there. What are interested in shooting most?

I'm in the same boat as you by the way aspiring "photojournalist" but I'm going to go the college route in 2013. You don't need to go to college but it will open up opportunities.

Schmowen

2013 might be an option for college just not right now. AS for the area I'd like to get into , well I'm not 100% sure yet although I do aspire to get photos in National Geographic. So who knows.

Kenny Logins

Have you much photography experience?

Sorry, can't offer any advice, just curious how these aspirations came about.

dazftw

Schmowen wrote: »

2013 might be an option for college just not right now. AS for the area I'd like to get into , well I'm not 100% sure yet although I do aspire to get photos in National Geographic. So who knows.

Well I'm leaving to Australia in January to work/save up and come back to go to college. In that year I'll be gone I know I'm going to build up a lot of experience shooting photo's. Putting together narrative stories and personal projects.

I have to say if your thinking about getting into this for money or fame id forget about it. Only go for it if you have a underlying passion for photography. I know I probably won't be rich or famous but as long as I can make a living I'll be very happy. It take's quite awhile to build up a reputation to where you can earn a nice enough living. It's not like any other career where its possible to go through 3 - 4 years of college and come out and land a great job.

I reckon go to the library or book shop and pick up/browse some books. I was at the gallery of photography today in Dublin City and they had quite the selection. I could have sat there for hours looking at them.

magicbastarder

Schmowen wrote: »

I do aspire to get photos in National Geographic.

i was once told that nat geo will generally hire photographers with a masters in the area of the article being written - they have the luxury of being able to demand and get what they demand.
so it's not as if you simply turn up at their door looking for work.

far fewer papers hire photographers these days; it'd be through agencies you'd get work. if you don't have any formal training, you're depending entirely on your portfolio, which is a tough one to assemble because it's not something you get without work.

any particular breed of photojournalism? you do realise a hell of a lot of it in ireland is based around waiting outside courtrooms for a photo of a guy with a leather jacket over his head?

From my brief experience/overview of Photojournalism;

You really need to know your camera stuff, as you'll be in lots of different situations from daylight to night time to shooting people at events/ceremonies to shooting Garda cars and car accidents.

You'll need a decent kit of gear and a few lenses to cover lots of focal lengths (I use a Sigma 10-20, Canon 24-105 and Sigma 70-200 a lot, with 24-105 being my most used) and at least have a backup for your most used lens (or insurance that'll cover renting gear) in the event of anything breaking.

You'll need to know people. This is the hardest part, in my opinion/very brief experience of this area of photography. People let you know what's happening and give you a heads up on stuff. Either know people, or hope that you're very lucky.

Being good at talking to people that approach you (for general out and about stuff), and having a hard neck (standing beside a car crash taking photos isn't always the most comfortable or admirable thing to be doing), are also quite useful traits.

Also, it would seem, that, although I can't say what most people are making, there isn't a lot of money in this area of photography. The few photojournalists that I know or talk to, seem to have had a few pretty good years, but now, as per Mr. Recession and papers not wanting not pay for things, financially it's becoming more of a struggle.



I know PCPhoto on here is the boards' resident photojournalist expert and he's always willing to help people out and often helps boardsies get their photographs to the papers. He's also at it for a long time and has probably more experience and knowledge of the area than anyone else with a boards.ie account. He'd be the man to talk to, without a doubt.

I don't think doing a course in photography will help you out (unless you don't know how to use a camera properly, in which case you're probably better off getting that down first, and then looking into what area of photography you enjoy most).