Ways to improve your craft...

[Scott Martin]

Looks like this new category is off to a rather slow start, so here's a possible spark.

Over my career, I've worked as a newspaper staffer and a freelancer. Sometimes newspaper assignments were photojournalistic in nature and many times they were not. Same thing with freelancing.

I market my services as a corporate and editorial photojournalist and, for many years now, PR agencies and corporate communications folks have loved this style of photography. And these assignments have been much more lucrative than editorial magazine work, which I also shoot.

My questions to you working photographers that consider what you produce to be photojournalism:

How do you, in the course of your job, daily life, etc., improve the craft of photojournalism?

How do you keep the 'creative juices' flowing for daily assignments?

And lastly, how do you measure your progress in improving your craft?

[Bulldog1]

Q 1: Keep shooting. The more you shoot, the better you will get. I've come to the point in my level of work that it's pretty hard to tell my independent contractor status to that of a salaried staffer as far as images are concerned.
Also, don't be afraid to embrace new technology. I forced myself to take all sorts of college classes in desktop publishing, digital photo processing, scanning etc. in the late 1990's and it's all paying huge dividends for me today.
The digital world has made me a much more productive photographer and I've been able to upgrade all of my equipment to that of a pro level, not needing to ever compromise in just about any situation.

Q 2: I'm most excited by shooting things I've never shot before. Being a newpaper photojournalist, and being a photographer in general, has given me access to some eye-opening experiences not available to most people in the world. The "all access" and command and respect of a given situation you are given because you carry $5K to $10K worth of hardware around your neck is something that you will find in very few other capacities...
I think the sheer variety of assignments, plus the fact that I am in my mind a real photojournalist in the pure sense since I write all of my own stories and take the photos to go with them keeps it fresh.
I do also work as a "hired gun" where I shoot only, and that's a lot more fun to me than always having to sit down and tap out a story, but getting paid to do both makes it all worthwhile and the feeling I get of not having to rely on anyone else to get my assignment done fits my personality to a "T".

Q 3: I don't have any steadfast way of measuring my work, other than comparing it to what is out there. Can I out-shoot the other independent contractors where I work? With lethal accuracy. Can I out-shoot the salaried staffers where I work? Most of the time. Can I out-shoot the top dogs of the industry who show up in S.I. each week? Not yet, and that's what I strive for.
A fellow photographer whom I always admired and became friends with locally moved on to the Big Apple a few years back and is now a regular contributor to S.I.
That's where I want to be: well known and good enought to command assignments from the best known sports publications around.
I was never one for news or anything else outside of music and sports and it's great to be able to make a comfortable living doing just what I love best.
I think if you believe the old cliche that success in work equates to doing something you'd be willing to do for free because you love it so much, but you're lucky enough to get paid to do it, then you're more than 1/2 way there.
Just my opinion; your mileage may vary. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Scott:

For all the questions, one answer (long answer)

I look at as much other photography as possible. Everyday I look at the SportsShooter.com updates. I look at the American Photojournalism web site. I read papers, look online, check out 4-6 magazines per week. I speak with other photogs, listen to other photos, and experiment. I experiment on my own and on assignments.

......what keeps it interesting, what keeps me balanced, what keeps the juices going is pure love for what I do.

[Scott Martin]

photojournalism : journalism in which written copy is subordinate to pictorial...

While my old Webster's implies presentation as the yard stick of the definition, I've always felt photojournalism was simply journalistic photography of 'people' which sometimes extended to their 'things' and 'living spaces.'

Like Steven and Bulldog, I'm constantly looking at photographs in a variety of places. Identifying trends and looking for unique styles and solutions to situations helps me to evaluate my own work.

Self-evaluation is necessary to improve at anything.

I'm still optimistic that photojournalism will survive in print publications. But, it seems that I look less in the newspapers, even though I live in a metro market that has two large competing dailies.

To me its seems the 'craft' of photojournalism is taking a downturn; especially in newspapers. The recent (now almost two years) tightening of the economy have forced corporations to tighten their collective belts so much, that there is less budgeted for photojournalism in its documentary form.

The staff photographers I know are more efficient with digital gear, but seem to be running from assignment to assignment to produce more with less photographers. I shot three freelance assignments in the course of a twelve-hour day yesterday. It was a good day for my business, but capturing images with visual impact was tough with deadlines looming.

The last bastion of the craft may be on the wide world web and a few specialty consumer magazines.
The internet is where I turn more than ever to check out what hot shooters are producing. If you know other examples, please post them on this thread.

While it seems a lot of freelance assignments don't lend themselves to experimentation, I try to take as many 'visual chances' as I can after I've captured the basic images to fulfill and complete the assignment. Unusual angle, lighting and lens selection play a part in this experimentation for me.

Early in my career, my photo editors accused me of not managing my time well. Back then I worked good situations and assignments longer when I felt I could possibly make a great photo. These employee evaluations certainly increased my efficiency, but did little for developing my craft and style.

This is what this topic is all about - a discussion of developing your style and improving your craft.

Weigh in with your thoughts and ideas...

[Neil_Turner]

How do you, in the course of your job, daily life, etc., improve the craft of photojournalism?

It's very difficult to seperate yourself from the daily grind. I find myself trying new techniques, forcing myself to shoot with the "wrong" lens and I have been using a lot more light for about the last five years. I try to make sure that my "hit rate" goes up and that instead of one in five being an OK image I have one in five that won't do the job. I also spend a lot of time looking at what other photographers (in all areas) are doing and learn from them.

How do you keep the 'creative juices' flowing for daily assignments?

That's a lot easier. Every job is a challenge and I have developed a reputation for tackling the hard assignments. Being creative is a lot easier than telling the story sometimes.

And lastly, how do you measure your progress in improving your craft?

There's the "hit rate" of course, but in practice you know when you've done a good job and that's what counts. My peers are my best critics, and they point out where I've gone wrong. Nobody said that photojournalism is easy, and that's fine by me. I love the job, it's a great way of life.

Neil.


www.dg28.com

[DavidBlumenfeld]

Get together with another one or more photoraphers for a weekly or monthly beer;pizza;photo night. Force yourselves to do a photo project each. ...something personal not for the paper...something that you are interested in and care about...Then meet once every 2 or 4 weeks and each person in the group has to "show" something they have been working on for the others to see and everyone to talk about--like a portfolio review...I've done this in several cities I've lived in when things started getting bogged down and it always works.www.blumenfeld.com

[TomBraid]

[ QUOTE ]
How do you, in the course of your job, daily life, etc., improve the craft of photojournalism?<P>It's very difficult to seperate yourself from the daily grind. I find myself trying new techniques, forcing myself to shoot with the "wrong" lens and I have been using a lot more light for about the last five years. I try to make sure that my "hit rate" goes up and that instead of one in five being an OK image I have one in five that won't do the job. I also spend a lot of time looking at what other photographers (in all areas) are doing and learn from them.<P>How do you keep the 'creative juices' flowing for daily assignments?<P>That's a lot easier. Every job is a challenge and I have developed a reputation for tackling the hard assignments. Being creative is a lot easier than telling the story sometimes.<P>And lastly, how do you measure your progress in improving your craft? <P>There's the "hit rate" of course, but in practice you know when you've done a good job and that's what counts. My peers are my best critics, and they point out where I've gone wrong. Nobody said that photojournalism is easy, and that's fine by me. I love the job, it's a great way of life.<P>Neil.<P><BR><A HREF="http://www.dg28.com" TARGET=_blank>www.dg28.com</A>

[/ QUOTE ]


Thank you Neil for your great post. I believe that on your last sentence is where the secret lays. This is not a "job", but it is in fact a way of life. And life is 24/7.

The secret to success and even getting to the top of this "job" is in fact that this is indeed a way of life. The best ones, today and yesterday live and lived it like life, 24/7.

You have done that yourself with your great websitewww.dg28.com you are online 24/7 helping others get to the top by sharing your knowledge. I hope more people come forward to support keep you online.

There is a very interesting site out there that I visit to read what some in the past and present had to say about this craft of Photojournalism and other forms of Photography.

www.photoquotes.com Worth a look and a read if you have not seen it before. Sample below;

"Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution." -Ansel Adams

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." -Ansel Adams