Advice for Young Photographers

Matt518

Since we don't have a dedicated Photojournalism forum (yet. AHEM!), I figured this would be best posted in "People" since it deals mostly with photojournalism. I found this article by Michael Kamber through another forum and thought I would share.

Advice for young photographers:
10 June, 07
I am writing this from the Baghdad bureau of The New York Times where I am on assignment.

I have received dozens of queries from photojournalists starting out in the business. I am writing this in response, partly so I can refer others to it in the future and not spend time on lengthy replies.

Some beginners ask for advice on gear, others on how to get started finding assignments and selling their work. I will describe my own path into photojournalism here and give some general advice that may be useful.

This is not definitive in any way. It is simply my experience and opinion formulated from twenty years experience as a photojournalist. No doubt others can weigh in and improve this with their comments and ideas.

I started as a photojournalist by going to art school. I thought I would be a fine art or landscape photographer, but I took a photojournalism course and was quickly hooked. When my money ran out after a year, I dropped out of school, but continued to work as a teaching assistant for photojournalism classes. I may have learned more in this way than I did as a student. I received no credit, but photography is a meritocracy. In over 20 years, I have never been asked for my degree; in the world of photojournalism, your portfolio is your degree.

This is just an excerpt; for the full article see here: http://www.lightstalkers.org/advice_for_young_photographers

Richard

Interesting article Matt. I'm going to move it to The Big Picture. Thanks for the link.

mercphoto

Interesting statement that "your portfolio is your degree". That is probably very much true. But I would certainly hope that PJ School would aid a student in building that portfolio much faster than by trial-and-error or doing it all on your own.

I also think that having Business courses is a must anymore. Or just flat reading about business topics in books. PJ seems to be moving more to freelance work. How do you develop your business plan? Market yourself? Quote a price that will allow you to pay for your expenses? Etc.

By the way, I've been out of school for 20 years now, B.S. in Computer Science, as a programmer in the semiconductor industry. It is fully expected when I interview that I prove what degree I have and where from, but its more a formality. The degree, and the reputation of the school, helped a ton on my first job, but anymore nobody is going to look at me more favorably simply because I went to Rose-Hulman. Now my skills are my portfolio, so to speak. In other words, "your portfolio is your degree" is good advice and applies to nearly any industry you are in.

Matt518

This is precisely why we need a dedicated PJ forum; I've found so much info that I'd like to share, but I'm always reluctant to post it because I'm never sure where it belongs.

Richard

Matt518 wrote:

This is precisely why we need a dedicated PJ forum; I've found so much info that I'd like to share, but I'm always reluctant to post it because I'm never sure where it belongs.

Matt,

If you aren't sure where something belongs, The Big Picture is a good bet. But don't let it stop you from posting...mods can always move stuff around if it seems like a good idea. The People forum is usually the best place for PJ shots, but not necessarily for discussions about training to become a PJ.

sweet caroline

Matt518 wrote:

This is precisely why we need a dedicated PJ forum; I've found so much info that I'd like to share, but I'm always reluctant to post it because I'm never sure where it belongs.

I'd like to see a PJ section, too. I haven't gone in the direction yet, unless you count yearbook for my kids' school, but I'm definitely interested for the future. I've often wondered about whether going back to school for photography would be worth my while, and whether a degree is really important in this field.

Caroline

Matt518

In today's world of print media, I think publishers are more concerned with one's ability than where they obtained their education (if any). With dSLR's being fairly affordable and easily obtainable, it has become more important to showcase that you know how to use the camera and photograph and write, as opposed to proving that you have a piece of paper saying you can. There are far too many "photographers" running around who get a dSLR as a gift (or buy it themself because it's inexpensive) and have little to no knowledge of what makes a good photograph.

I have a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, yet I don't think I know a fraction of what I need to know to do the job this degree supposedly qualifies me to do. In that respect, the degree itself is almost worthless.

I agree that print media seems to be moving toward freelance work, and in that regard it is a necessity to have an understanding of business practices. Most degree programs seem to include some kind of business or business-related course(s) that are universally applicable, however it's not the responsibility of the publisher to concern themself with how a freelancer is managing their business, as long as the photographs (and writing if applicable) is printable and salable.