Ten Tips for the Budding Press Photographer
I was recently asked by Digital Photographer magazine to write an article on my ten career tips for those wanting to enter the world of press photography. While this is far from everything you need to know, I thought it could be of use to share my thoughts here.
1 - Cultivate an online identity - This may seem a no-brainer but it pays to develop your “brand” and work at getting your name out there to the industry through social media and websites. This is obvious for the freelance photographer but equally important for those lucky enough to have a staff position. As with everything in life, nothing is set in stone and if you were to find yourself suddenly turfed out of your secure job, the last thing you’ll want to do is begin building an online presence from scratch. The issue of seeing yourself as a brand, while somewhat pretentious, deserves consideration when deciding on how you will promote yourself. Too many of a certain type of picture in your portfolio may result in you becoming known for only one area. If this happens, make sure it’s the one that you actually want to work in.
2 - Shoot for yourself - A photographer can strive throughout his or her life to find a shooting style that becomes instantly recognisable and sadly one of the things that gets in the way of this is daily life. It pays to keep an eye on how other people have covered a story but if you find yourself consistently emulating the “successful” pictures that you see, you’re at risk of losing your own identity. To set yourself apart from the rest, be brave and try to recognise your style and develop on it. If a publication or company has hired you, they hired you partly down to how you shoot so nurture that rather than becoming a clone of another photographer.
3 - Don’t necessarily follow the pack - There’s a time and a place for herd mentality and only experience will teach you this. The thing to remember though is that sometimes there is only one picture to be had, while at other times everyone is just shooting the same picture because it’s the easy one. When I first became aware of the workflow of the news agencies, I knew that that AFP and, eventually, Getty Images would be companies that I would love to work for due to their history of trying to find the different viewpoint. The mentality of looking for a new angle is something that I try my best to remember when covering any story. Sometimes, the picture that matters isn’t the headline person but how the people around are reacting, or what’s happening behind the scenes while the main event is taking place.
4 - Be available - Nothing pleases a picture desk more than a response to the question of availability with an immediate “yes”. While we like to think that it’s due to our incredible creative abilities, when a picture editor rings a freelance photographer out of the blue, they’re desperate. They need a photographer to say that they’re set and ready to go with no questions or stipulations. If you can be this person, you’ll soon begin to make your way up the list of freelance photographers that a desk will call upon. Before securing a staff position at an agency, I had experience with this issue. Following a successful meeting and after agreeing to use me for future assignments, one major national newspaper called me three times, but on each day I was already booked by others. After three attempts, I never heard from them again, despite all of their initial interest.
5 - Get on with people - The exact figure will differ slightly between photographers but it’s safe to say that the percentage of time that you actually spend pressing the shutter release compared to the time that is spent meeting people, waiting for jobs to begin and generally networking is tiny. It’s possible to be the world’s greatest photographer but still struggle to get work if your interpersonal skills are weak. Whether you’re putting a subject at ease during a portrait shoot or dealing with press officers and media handlers, if you’re approachable, you’ll be approached. As soon as you start becoming hard to deal with, you’ll soon find that the phone stops ringing.
6 - A picture desk is, more often than not, in a constant state of photographic “plate-spinning” with accreditations to arrange, diaries to check, features to organise and assignments to budget for. Because of this, the actual time spent thinking about creative and sexy projects that will captivate the reader is low. Really low. If you want to get noticed and get regular work, bring them the pre-planned project, gift-wrapped and ready to shoot. If you can find that paragliding shepherd who’s willing to let you follow him for two days as he minds his flock from the air, then you’re already halfway there. Plan the days, budget the assignment and get it all ready to go. Ringing an assigning editor with all of the these boxes already ticked will earn some serious brownie points. Having said that, don’t tell them everything about the idea as you don’t want them stealing it!
7 - Working on the coverage of a major news story demands a whole list of attributes beyond the ability to patiently wait for hours on end, talk nonsense with your fellow photographers and know where all the local toilets are. A skill that can be overlooked is the ability to see what is needed to get the picture. It’s easy to get caught up in the chase to get “the shot” but sometimes a story is more than a single image. When covering an event such as an election, it would be easy to think that the only image that counts will be the eventual winner but sometimes, being sent to cover an element that at first glance seems weak can produce very strong content. I used to say that newspapers are more than just a front page and the same now applies for online galleries. While it’s great to get the defining image, don’t overlook the wider story and it’s implications during your coverage.
8 - Develop your skills beyond photography - In previous decades, a photographer could be just that; a person who only makes photographs. Now, with budgets shrinking and demand for shifts and jobs greater than ever, it pays to set yourself apart from those who only have the one skill-set to offer. I started my site purely as a way to teach myself to write in an editorial style and went on to find that my previous employer would ask me to write for the official AFP blogs from larger stories. Also, while I’m more Wibbly Scott than Ridley Scott, I regularly supply video footage from larger events or features that I’m covering. Both of these add to the overall package and make you a more desirable employee to have on board.
9 - Be prepared - When working in news photography, it’s safe to say that you have absolutely no idea what you will face on any given day. Because of this, it pays to be ready for anything, or at least have the gear that can get you out of a problem in a scrape. It’s impossible to carry everything from your photography cupboard that you could need (unless you drive a very secure van to work) so over time you’ll work out what is worthwhile cramming into your bag. Aside from obvious things like a range of lens focal lengths and cameras, you have to think to emergency situations and consider jeweller’s screwdrivers for loose camera mounts, batteries for flash units and, one of my favourites, pre-torn strips of gaffer tape on your lens hood, ready to save the day. It saves carrying the whole roll and you can forget about it until disaster strikes!
10 - Enjoy your job - When you look at the daily life of a press photographer, it can be seen from two very different viewpoints. The pessimist may just see long hours, winter conditions and heavy equipment. However, the optimist will look beyond that to see the incredible variety of working environments and experiences, the opportunities to witness momentous events first-hand that others only read about, and the chance to work in a creative and exciting industry. It can be a little mind-blowing when you first realise that you are being paid to provide the “eyes” to readers around the world. How you compose your shot and when you press the shutter release will dictate how the world interprets a story. With that power comes a huge amount of satisfaction that no other job can provide.
If you feel that there's anything further you want to ask, please do drop me a line through Twitter at @tabascokid
Good luck!