Art and Design

Press Photographer

Photographers can work as employees on the staff of a paper or a magazine, or on a freelance basis - offering their pictures to any paper or magazine which might be interested. Freelance photographers often sell their work to small magazines and local papers and periodicals. If they're very lucky, freelancers occasionally get a scoop of an unexpected newsworthy happening which they can sell to one of the national papers. The work of the press photographer can include both routine and highly exciting elements. Much can depend on the type of paper or magazine for which you work.

Working for a national daily or an international bureau, press photographers are often under considerable pressure. Conditions in which they are required to take pictures are often very crowded and uncomfortable and, sometimes, extremely dangerous - think of war reports, for instance - and may involve endless waiting. Photographic scoops are of considerable importance to a newspaper's sales, and editors always expect their photographers to get the best and most daring shots.

GETTING STARTED

The ways into freelance photography can be many and varied, and a career may develop film a broader photographic training - see the earlier section on photography - or even film a hobby. Freelance photographers very often have another occupation which provides their basic means of living, with their income from photography as a bonus. It is not possible to generalize about training for freelance work other than to state the obvious - that you will need to be as skilful a photographer as possible, with the equipment and knowledge to produce results which equal those of professional photographers. With experience, it is possible for freelancers to become members of the National Union of Journalists or Institute of Journalists.

TRAINING

There are two main training routes into press photography:

Direct entry

You can apply directly to an editor for an indentured traineeship under the national scheme of the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCT]). Four GCSEs at grades A-C, including English, or possibly an Intermediate GNVQ, are required. Press photographers receive the same basic rates of pay as other journalists, and trainee photographers serve similar indentures to those of trainee reporters, attending twelve-week courses at Sheffield College in their first and second years and working towards a National Certificate.

Pre-entry course

The National Council for the Training of Journalists runs a one-year full-time pre-entry course in press photography at Sheffield College. Applications for the course must be made directly to the NCT]. You would normally need a minimum of four GCSEs at grades A-C, including English language, plus one A level, or qualifications of equivalent standard. This would be followed by a period of on-the-job training with a newspaper. The annual intake for the course is very small and competition for places is fierce. Grants for the course are discretionary, so check with your local education authority whether an award can be made.

The London College of Printing runs a postgraduate diploma course in photojournalism, but this is not recognized by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

Adults: applicants over 30 years of age may have individual training arrangements agreed with the employing editor, but would still be expected to achieve the standards required of indentured trainees.