Regarding Photojournalism

Stussyfied · Nov 10, 2007

Hey guys, im currently new to this.
Im basically doing a research on photojournalism
Basically i just want to know more about photojournalism and what it takes to get a good quality photo.
Care to share some tips and knowledge?

thanks alot!

Coldow91 · Nov 10, 2007

I searched on google and found this

http://www.ehow.com/how_138350_become-photojournalist.html

Might help.

JIP · Nov 10, 2007

I do think regardless of what anyone on here or anywhere else might tell you #1 in that link is the most important thing you can do. It is imperative even starting out to have the best gear you can get. That means 2.8 lenses all the way through and a decent (not the top but close) body. I cannot stress more the importance of having 2.8 lenses for becoming a journalist. I had to leave photojournalisim and a job freelancing for several papers because I decided to invest in medium format gear for weddings instead of a 2.8 lens for photojournalisim. I would say to begin with the most important lens to have would be a Nikon 70-200VR 2.8 or the Canon eqivalent I left out other brands because I am a realist and because if you are serious about getting into professional journalisim Canon or Nikon are the only brands to use. If you get into a paper that might have gear you can use I guarantee you you will never find one with Olympus, Minolta, etc.... I know this FACT might offend some but that is just what it is, a FACT look on the sideline of any professional (or amatuer for that matter) and find me one of those other brands. All the other things in that link are important as well but I would say school and gear are the 2 tops and things like internships follow if you are good enough.

Stussyfied · Nov 11, 2007

wow, thanks for the quick response guys. Hmm so far im quite clear about photojournalism.

well it takes time to become a professional one though.

Snyder · Nov 11, 2007

Good gear is important I use two camera bodies when im out on a shoot with a short and long lense. The most important part of photojournalism is telling a story with your photos. Also a good caption in your photo is a must for telling that story, hitting all the who, what, when, where, why. I recomend getting a degree in P.J., and what kind of P.J. do you want to persue, small town covering local events, Big cities covering large events, Magazines traveling all over the world, Combat Photography covering warzones and ect...

hyakuhei · Nov 13, 2007

Compared to most I'm very new to photography but I have been lucky enough to get a job doing press work.

At the end of the day, don't over-reach. Going on about gear is fine but if by "Press" you mean news papers then the quality is never going to be huge...

The one thing I found whilst doing press work is that you end up needing a very good wide lens... It lets you control the image a lot more and also forces you to get close and personal with your subjects... Of course, everyone wants a 400L f2.8 down their trousers but I have no doubt I'd use my ****ty little wide angle more than an uber grey lens.

For me at least, its not about who has the best gear but who has the best mastery of their gear, no matter what level your at.

Still, whadda I know ....

JIP · Nov 13, 2007

hyakuhei said:
Compared to most I'm very new to photography but I have been lucky enough to get a job doing press work.

At the end of the day, don't over-reach. Going on about gear is fine but if by "Press" you mean news papers then the quality is never going to be huge...

The one thing I found whilst doing press work is that you end up needing a very good wide lens... It lets you control the image a lot more and also forces you to get close and personal with your subjects... Of course, everyone wants a 400L f2.8 down their trousers but I have no doubt I'd use my ****ty little wide angle more than an uber grey lens.

For me at least, its not about who has the best gear but who has the best mastery of their gear, no matter what level your at.

Still, whadda I know ....

That's funny because when I shot for the few papers I did shoot for the only lens I think I really needed was the 70-200VR 2.8 (actually at the time 80-200 2.8) if I had that lens when I was in PJ I would have stayed in it rather than moving in to weddings. For me I think the last lens you would want for journalism would be a wide lens because I think your subjects would not want a big wide lens stuck in their face. But that is just me and I only did that (PJ) for like 3-4 years.

Snyder · Nov 13, 2007

I believe the more variety you have in your tool kit the far better off you will be, I myself prefer using wide lenses and getting in close to the action however some things you document it just isn’t possible for example gun fire fights and bombs being dropped for that I use my 70-200vr to try to stay at a some what safe distant.