NGO's - How hard is it?

[Dunn]

How hard is it to volunteer or work with an NGO as far as photography?

Has anyone ever done it?

I have a read a little, but there doesn't seem to be much about it.

I feel like it would be a good way get experience in the field, but a few things I have read seem to be mixed.

What do you guys think? I mainly want to know if you already have to be a semi-recognized photographer or what.

 

[Neare]

Just saying NGO's is quite broad, what sort do you have in mind? Local groups or doing something bigger like following around the Red Cross? Many organisations won't just want a photographer coming in and nosing around.

I have done some things, it's about finding a topic your interested in. But you have to think about what can you offer the group by taking photos, if it is simply for your own pleasure you'll find it hard to get in the door.

If you are contacting anyone, be polite and express interest in what they are doing. I have in the past said things like how photos might give the organisation wider exposure etc. So you're selling yourself as well.

As for being a semi-recognised photographer, I don't recall that I had ever been asked to show a portfolio to any NGO groups, but I don't ever ask for money either. I have worked for government organisations which is always paid, but those jobs usually come about due to who you know.

If you can, go for it. I think it's one of the best ways to build up a photojournalist portfolio. It can take you places the public eye will never reach.

EDIT: Oh, just a note if you're thinking about volunteer organisations, don't be just a photographer and be open to helping out with what they need to do. It will stop you being that 'outsider' with a camera to a colleague or friend.

 

[Dunn]

Just saying NGO's is quite broad, what sort do you have in mind? Local groups or doing something bigger like following around the Red Cross? Many organisations won't just want a photographer coming in and nosing around.

I have done some things, it's about finding a topic your interested in. But you have to think about what can you offer the group by taking photos, if it is simply for your own pleasure you'll find it hard to get in the door.

If you are contacting anyone, be polite and express interest in what they are doing. I have in the past said things like how photos might give the organisation wider exposure etc. So you're selling yourself as well.

As for being a semi-recognised photographer, I don't recall that I had ever been asked to show a portfolio to any NGO groups, but I don't ever ask for money either. I have worked for government organisations which is always paid, but those jobs usually come about due to who you know.

If you can, go for it. I think it's one of the best ways to build up a photojournalist portfolio. It can take you places the public eye will never reach.

I would prefer working with the larger organizations. I am more interesting in doing work related to human rights or in countries that just need help. I would like the experience as a photographer as well as a person.

I haven't contacted anyone yet. But I thought after I travel New Zealand I would try to get into it. It's the kind of work that actually feels important to me.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

you could just join the peace Corps and take a camera with. That's a great way to get out there, do some human interest work and get some photos while at it.

Come up with some proposals to do some real research, write them out or better yet, get an experienced grant proposal writer to help you, then float the ideas to the NGO's of your choice.

Phil Forrest

 

[Turtle]

In general, smaller NGOs are going to be more interested in a non-established PJ coming out to support them, but you might have to do some hunting to find one that suits you. I can assure you that there are a LOT of smaller NGOs out there doing really interesting work in the fields you are interested in. Also, when you get to know one NGO, you hear about things other NGOs are doing. As with everything it is about networking.

Larger NGOs can be rather difficult to deal with from the outside and so having an 'in' will make things much easier. Some may well want you to shoot very much in line with their needs (and with directions on style) so be aware of that.

In outline, what you mention is very possible. Just be prepared to pay for your air travel. Local support with them is often easy because you can just 'tag long.'

I hope to be doing something with UNODC in Afghanistan next year, but the contacts I met here as a result of photographing related subjects independently.

 

[Turtle]

A very good person to talk to would be 'emraphoto.' He has lots of experience with this sort of thing.

 

[johannielscom]

Not from perzonal experience but from a photographer who does this: plan a trip first but do't pay for ticket etc yet. Then contact mjltiple NGO's working in your country of choice, tell them you will be going to said country, offer to shoot a story on their activities. Start with the NGO thats most likely to invite you and if they do, use that for leverage.

If its a country that has bad infrastructure, you might want your embassy there suggest you a good guide that can bring you from one NGO location to the next. Students also often can be good guides, they make a buck, practise conversation and get connected abroad. Contacting the English faculty of a university might be useful for that.

Hope this helps!

Who can refuse a photographer thats showing up on their doorstep without causing lots of hassle?

 

[nickw]

I work for a NGO (in the communication department), and there are many in need of quality photos. The problem is most don't have the budget. Even if you volunteer your time it still costs a lot send a person around to all their different active projects and shoot.

We had a photographer friend of mine do ours. He spent a year and travelled to about a dozen different countries. He ended up doing it all on his dime (He offered, we didn't ask). It was his way of trying to give back. Incidentally his wife is a journalist who ran a small paper. She did hundreds of interviews and now they are editing the content down into a book. It's about life change stories.

You may have better luck doing is finding a NGO who sends teams out for a few weeks at a time, then tagging along with them.

For us, now that we have a quality base, there are a few of us who are into photography that keep it topped up. We don't charge for any of our work because it's not about making money (in this case). It's about furthering the cost.

Feel free to PM if you like. I might be able to help you out more.
Cheers!
Nick

 

[rxmd]

How hard is it to volunteer or work with an NGO as far as photography?

Has anyone ever done it?

I have a read a little, but there doesn't seem to be much about it.

I feel like it would be a good way get experience in the field, but a few things I have read seem to be mixed.

What do you guys think? I mainly want to know if you already have to be a semi-recognized photographer or what.

If you're American, Peace Corps is a good idea. It's a long stay overseas, but you get to see a lot and have a lot of freedom to do things you like. At the same time you are well covered by American diplomatic presence abroad, which can be an asset - when the revolution broke out here last year, the Peace Corps volunteers got shelter at the US army base, for example.

Also spending time with Peace Corps will then allow you to get a degree for very little money from good universities, and it looks very good on the resumé if you care about that sort of thing.

Outside Peace Corps, you can always try to hitch an internship with a larger organization. If you have a bit of journalism experience it helps, of course. It's always easier to do this from within the country you want to go to. I have a reasonably good job for a large German development organization in Central Asia and I wouldn't have got the job if I hadn't happened to be in the region and could have talked to the people on the ground, before sending my CV to an insensitive HR drone in some headquarters in Germany.

The most important thing in the world is knowing languages. This holds both for getting jobs and for working effectively as a journalist. In practice that could also mean that if you know a foreign language well enough, for example, to teach in that language, you can always go and teach basic photojournalism at a college in the country of your choice. Within a short time you'll get lots of offers to photograph things.

It means a lot of work for free (which is usually a bad idea), but if you can cover this under a humanitarian engagement and you are genuinely interested in what they're doing, it might be worth it - as opposed to doing internships at home, which is a waste of time and effort.

The idea of organizing a trip yourself short of booking the tickets, and then sending around a few emails that you'll be in the country and whether they would be interested is very good. My brother, who's a medic and speaks Spanish pretty well, organized himself a half-year internship in a Mexican emergency room by calling all the local divisions of the Red Cross in Mexico and asking wether they have use for a German medic who'll work for free, with no strings attached. As soon as he found one who said yes (didn't take long), he didn't contact them anymore so that they couldn't say no, organized the tickets for himself, flew there and did it, and everybody learned a lot in the process. I guess you could do a similar thing.

 

[Dunn]

In general, smaller NGOs are going to be more interested in a non-established PJ coming out to support them, but you might have to do some hunting to find one that suits you. I can assure you that there are a LOT of smaller NGOs out there doing really interesting work in the fields you are interested in. Also, when you get to know one NGO, you hear about things other NGOs are doing. As with everything it is about networking.

Larger NGOs can be rather difficult to deal with from the outside and so having an 'in' will make things much easier. Some may well want you to shoot very much in line with their needs (and with directions on style) so be aware of that.

In outline, what you mention is very possible. Just be prepared to pay for your air travel. Local support with them is often easy because you can just 'tag long.'

I hope to be doing something with UNODC in Afghanistan next year, but the contacts I met here as a result of photographing related subjects independently.

I wouldn't mind working with some smaller ones, but I don't really know how to find smaller ones. It's easy to know the big ones. Also, I would want to find one that suits me, like you said.

I work for a NGO (in the communication department), and there are many in need of quality photos. The problem is most don't have the budget. Even if you volunteer your time it still costs a lot send a person around to all their different active projects and shoot.

We had a photographer friend of mine do ours. He spent a year and travelled to about a dozen different countries. He ended up doing it all on his dime (He offered, we didn't ask). It was his way of trying to give back. Incidentally his wife is a journalist who ran a small paper. She did hundreds of interviews and now they are editing the content down into a book. It's about life change stories.

You may have better luck doing is finding a NGO who sends teams out for a few weeks at a time, then tagging along with them.

For us, now that we have a quality base, there are a few of us who are into photography that keep it topped up. We don't charge for any of our work because it's not about making money (in this case). It's about furthering the cost.

Feel free to PM if you like. I might be able to help you out more.
Cheers!
Nick

Yeah, I really don't care too much about getting paid. I mean, it would be nice of course, but I know not a lot of ngo's pay. But I would probably need to find one to cover flights and such just because I don't have a huge budget. If I had the kind of money I would volunteer all the time.

I'll definitely contact you when I start getting ready to work with someone. Thanks.

If you're American, Peace Corps is a good idea. It's a long stay overseas, but you get to see a lot and have a lot of freedom to do things you like. At the same time you are well covered by American diplomatic presence abroad, which can be an asset - when the revolution broke out here last year, the Peace Corps volunteers got shelter at the US army base, for example.

Also spending time with Peace Corps will then allow you to get a degree for very little money from good universities, and it looks very good on the resumé if you care about that sort of thing.

Outside Peace Corps, you can always try to hitch an internship with a larger organization. If you have a bit of journalism experience it helps, of course. It's always easier to do this from within the country you want to go to. I have a reasonably good job for a large German development organization in Central Asia and I wouldn't have got the job if I hadn't happened to be in the region and could have talked to the people on the ground, before sending my CV to an insensitive HR drone in some headquarters in Germany.

The most important thing in the world is knowing languages. This holds both for getting jobs and for working effectively as a journalist. In practice that could also mean that if you know a foreign language well enough, for example, to teach in that language, you can always go and teach basic photojournalism at a college in the country of your choice. Within a short time you'll get lots of offers to photograph things.

It means a lot of work for free (which is usually a bad idea), but if you can cover this under a humanitarian engagement and you are genuinely interested in what they're doing, it might be worth it - as opposed to doing internships at home, which is a waste of time and effort.

The idea of organizing a trip yourself short of booking the tickets, and then sending around a few emails that you'll be in the country and whether they would be interested is very good. My brother, who's a medic and speaks Spanish pretty well, organized himself a half-year internship in a Mexican emergency room by calling all the local divisions of the Red Cross in Mexico and asking wether they have use for a German medic who'll work for free, with no strings attached. As soon as he found one who said yes (didn't take long), he didn't contact them anymore so that they couldn't say no, organized the tickets for himself, flew there and did it, and everybody learned a lot in the process. I guess you could do a similar thing.

I'm not super keen on the Peace Corp. Nothing against it though. I have very little journalism experience. I'm trying to get a little more, but it is hard. I have no formal teaching.

I definitely agree about the internships at home though.

I would love to learn another language, but it is just so time consuming. I'm the closest to learning Spanish so maybe I should practice that.

What your brother did sounds really interesting. I actually really want to go to Mexico. I've wanted to do a story on Mexican immigrants for a while. I know quite a few Mexicans from where I have worked and there are a lot of immigrant field workers where I am from. I'm still developing that idea though.


I would like to find someone who can write really well to tag along with me. I'm not the best at taking notes and writing. When I have done it, I always felt it could have been better.

 

[Pablito]

be sure you have a clear agreement, in writing, about copyright, credit, and about how images may be used or how they may NOT be used.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I would like to find someone who can write really well to tag along with me. I'm not the best at taking notes and writing. When I have done it, I always felt it could have been better.

Buy a good digital recorder. A GOOD one, not a junky thumbdrive with a tiny mic.

With still photos and a collection of sound clips or interviews, you can tell a very compelling story that has more than just one flat element.

For photojournalism these days, it's good to know some video as well.

If you have no journalism experience, you want to get writing too no matter what. Grab your camera and your new recorder, go out and start shooting a few interviews. Then send yourself on assignment and make a little audiovisual slideshow of your images playing with an audio track. Keep growing the scope and size of those interviews and you'll get a good amount of experience in a short amount of time. Don't forget to research things either. History, politics, religion, culture, region, all the things that make a place and its people unique.

Phil Forrest

 

[Turtle]

Do you know where you want to go geographically? What fields are you interested in photographing (all that you would consider)?

Just remember there are lots of PJs struggling to make ends meet so expect to have to organise this with few inside leads...

 

[dave lackey]

Jeez, pardon me, but what the hell is NGO?🙄

 

[Sparrow]

Jeez, pardon me, but what the hell is NGO?🙄

It's like a Quango, but it isn't quasi autonomous 🙂

 

[dave lackey]

It's like a Quango, but it isn't quasi autonomous 🙂

Funny.🙄 Want to be a PJ? How about spelling it out as this is not Twitter...RU 4 typing the real words? Please, humor me, but spell out what NGO is for us who are perspiring to know.

Or you can just dismiss this request and any input that may or may not be helpful from me.

 

[Bob Michaels]

Jeez, pardon me, but what the hell is NGO?🙄

Hoping I do not come across as a smart*ss, but googling "NGO" will yield much info.

 

[dave lackey]

Hoping I do not come across as a smart*ss, but googling "NGO" will yield much info.

No, Bob, I respect you more than that...just unhelpful. By that I mean that I am willing to enter a discussion at a point where someone can just answer the question in far fewer words than the past several posts telling to google or go to a link.

Since when do we tell long standing members to just google or go here or go there? A sentence would suffice. I prefer a discourse with real people. I could use google for 90% of the questions I post on RFF, but then that would not be helpful with interaction with other members.

Pardon me if I don't know the abbreviations about NGO like some here seem to think I should or find it myself as I am not worthy of entering this discussion.

So, with that I have my answer. I am out of here.

 

[Sparrow]

Quango/Qango and NGO

 

[David_Manning]

Non-Governmental Organization.

Sheesh...