I Need to know who i'm trying to impress.

[Gray Nelson]

I know rangefinderforums has a track record for great people and I've been wondering how i can get my foot in the door of the seemingly lacking photography "scene" in my area? I hope I've come to the right place 😛. I live in a somewhat small tourist town thats slowly coming on the map (hint: we've had a school board shooting and recently also tiger woods got his divorce here ) and this might be the best time to try and get out there with the local news paper, news station or local magazines. But i still don't know what to they want in a local contact? And what could i do to tailor my portfolio to fit into that photojournalism/portrait market?

And i'm sorry that i'm asking alot and just making this so dense 😱
But what would you look for in a photographer for a small newspaper, tv station (cameraman more like it) or local niche magazine?

All i do know:
I've been using cameras extensively the past year and a half (mainly film slight)
currently have an internship at a local tv advertising company. (good springboard)
interned a year at a school for mentally handicapped children. (my community bit)
still in high-school but doing work all online so hours are flexible.
Got a car so location shoots aren't a problem
and when i get the photos collected i'll have some portfolio booklets and business cards made to pass out.

But the only equipment i have that i could say i could use and not waste time is:

Canon t2i
battery grip and 2 spare batts
3 different flashes (fastest is a fixed head minolta flash with a 5 burst)
18-55mm ef
50mm ef
the rest is older k,sr,fd mount lenses, some general lighting gear and a l-357.

so what should i do, change or get?


because i'm about to say **** it and just use the police radio i found and just eavesdrop until something happens then i'll show up by "coincident". and then just giving them away for next to nothing.

 

[Chris101]

...

because i'm about to say **** it and just use the police radio i found and just eavesdrop until something happens then i'll show up by "coincident". and then just giving them away for next to nothing.

Worked for Weegee.

 

[Gray Nelson]

Worked for Weegee.

if i get there the same time as the responders what would i say? i don't have any fake press passes and i just can't really assert my need to take pictures on somebody in their late thirties with a justice complex i might get some brutality with a side of night in jail. Because the only time i got anywhere close to a scene was when some trucker hit a pole nearby and when i approached with my camera i got off about 3 shots before being told to leave by a cop and a firefighter for getting in the way a good 20 feet away from them. 🙂

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

You've been taking pictures for a year and a half. Keep in mind that you'll be competing with professionals, people who either went to school for photography or spent MANY YEARS practicing and in many cases both went to school and have many years of experience. You have a lot of learning and practice ahead of you before anyone is going to hire you.

 

[Ranchu]

But don't worry about that. You'll need another body like the one you've got, and a fast tele with IS (that new macro looks good). Use DPP and Picture Style Editor. Be relentless.

 

[sevo]

Forget about crime scene coverage if the police radio is the only connection you've got - you'd be competing with every 12 year old with a cellphone withing five blocks of the crime, plus every other fool with a police radio. If you don't have a more exclusive access to information and to the sites you won't be able to live on it. And even if you have a police press pass and get your personal tips from the local police, be warned that petty crime coverage is more often a dead end in a career in journalism than a good start...

Another word of warning: As a journalist you'll first of all have to deal with people - don't get into journalism unless you excel at socializing with strangers.

You want to be an expert at something. Find one relevant subject you are passionate about and/or have a compassion for, and spend as much time as you can researching it, writing about it and photographing it. Build up a portfolio of text as well as photography - PJs must be good at both.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Show a local newspaper your stuff. Tell them you'll shoot spot news for free. Then use their name to get into crime scenes. Sleep with a scanner. Shoot constantly. Work relentlessly. Get little recognition and no pay.

Man, what a life! 😉

<--- Newspaper photographer for 40 years.

 

[Gray Nelson]

You've been taking pictures for a year and a half. Keep in mind that you'll be competing with professionals, people who either went to school for photography or spent MANY YEARS practicing and in many cases both went to school and have many years of experience. You have a lot of learning and practice ahead of you before anyone is going to hire you.

Well from seeing the results around here i have a feeling no ones left auto or spent the time to try and learn composition.

I'll add in a few little personal research projects/editorials with nice complimenting pictures for that interview kit 🙂. And i'm sorry to repeat this but really don't know where to start lol i'm stuck and i'm really at an impasse between trying to get out there and making strong contacts and just going out there and shooting. Because correct me if i'm wrong but is it just me or good photographers (that actually stay in business) are even better socialites. Because it really pisses me off that someone who can be outclassed easily but is still in the market because he's/she's knows people who are willing to pay. But then again hell everyone would love to be that person?

 

[robklurfield]

Well from seeing the results around here i have a feeling no ones left auto or spent the time to try and learn composition.

You need to look deeper. If you have seen any work on this site that impresses you, you haven't look enough yet. Most people here are very generous with the support of others, so please watch who you tweak with snide comments. (Your comment above is stupefying uninformed. Think before you click "send" or "save.")

I can't give you any advice about earning a living at this, but there are great many very accomplished, talented photographers here -- amateurs and pros alike. Watch and learn. Make lots of pictures. Shake a lot of hands. Be friendly. Hope for a lucky break. Keep a decent day job whilst you pound the pavement.

 

[Jamie123]

You're young and relatively inexperienced so I think the best way would be to try to get an internship at the local newspaper you wish to work for.

Anyways, don't get professional advice from strangers on an internet forum. Sure, there are both talented and talentless, both experienced and inexperienced, both amateur and professional photographers on here. The problem is most of the times you just don't really know who you're talking to. It's best to make real world contacts whose advice you can get and who you can learn from.

 

[LKeithR]

Well from seeing the results around here i have a feeling no ones left auto or spent the time to try and learn composition.

I honestly think you're in the wrong place to asking the kind of questions you are. There are some "very" talented shooters who hang out here but I really think the focus of this site is a more "artistic" than "journalistic". I know that's a generalization and you will get some good advice here as well but there may be some other sites which focus more on the area of photography you wish to pursue. Here's one that comes to mind...

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/27

Some of the guys who hang out there will rip you a new one before you're done--especially if you sail in there with the same attitude you brought here--but you'll also get some sage advice along the way.

And a couple of tips from me...

1. Learn to repect your elders, and other people as well. When you're well established you can be as arrogant and obnoxious as you want but at this stage of the game you need all the help, friends, advocates and mentorship you can get. Being nice to people will earn you a lot more brownie points.

2. Learn to write good english. Internetspeak is OK for some situations but unless you plan to do nothing but take pictures a good grasp of the good 'ol english language is a tremendous asset--a necessity, actually--for a career journalist.

3. If you really plan to become a pro photographer understand that there will be many years of tough sledding--unless, of course, you get some good breaks (see item no. 1)--before you can consider yourself established. Learn the business side of photography because you will soon find out it's more important than taking pictures.

 

[semordnilap]

Um... guys, "here" in his post seems to mean his town, not RFF.

I don't know anything about journalism, or about making a dime on photography 😉

Good luck Gray! Be positive and work hard-that's my best advice for anything!

 

[Darshan]

Um... guys, "here" in his post seems to mean his town, not RFF.

I think so too. He wouldn't have said it about RFF if he ventured in the "gallery" section (this is assuming he can differentiate between good and bad). 😀

Just trying to cut you some slack Gray, welcome to the forum.

 

[robklurfield]

don't let us scare you. come on back.

 

[-doomed-]

Intern at your local paper. You don't need press passes if you're showing up at accident and on-the-street crime scenes. Your instinct to use the police scanner is a good one, being an intern at a paper gives you an advantage over some random kid with a camera.
I'd invest in a good long zoom like a 70-200 since there are times when the police will push you back as far as possible to so you need to get in there somehow.
Flip through the local paper/papers to get a feel for the type of shots they take from their staffers and try to get that style in but keep your own edge on it. Contact the editor and see if they could use your work and continuously progress with your work. Learn to take criticism and getting hung up on well, and don't be against being a pain in the ass. We've got a freelance guy who shoots in essentially a warzone of a town and we consistently use his stuff because he seems to get the shots nobody else is getting.
Your canon t2i will probably get you by at first, but like I said invest in a good long zoom and a better wide to normal zoom to cover you, if you can swing a spare body, even a good used one -- do it.

Good Luck.
Give the internship a whirl, even if its for free at first. You have a better chance of getting known if you put yourself out there.

 

[Gray Nelson]

I think so too. He wouldn't have said it about RFF if he ventured in the "gallery" section (this is assuming he can differentiate between good and bad). 😀

Just trying to cut you some slack Gray, welcome to the forum.

Lol, thank you I leave for an hour to go get some lens filters and this happens? It didn't hit me that people might mistake that comment as these forums, i ment my town. For a second there i thought that you guys were really big hearted and concerned about my arrogance and outlook on others then a realization kicked in as i went down the posts, now i feel like i know how this forum works 😛. Hilarity aside in all need to keep trying street and events until i get a reasonable amount of good photos?

 

[robklurfield]

make lots of photos. build a big archive. everything else will take care of itself.