Become a photojournalist
I started my career as a photojournalist intern at The Trentonian newspaper in Trenton, New Jersey during the summer break between high school and college.
The role of a photojournalist is to document everything happening within their chosen community. During my internship, I photographed house fires, police shootings, gang murders, high school sports, college sports, beauty pageants, portraits of politicians, FBI raids, car crashes, random buildings the newspaper just needed a photo of, and government meetings.
The following advice assumes you are a college student or high school student.
Your college major does not matter. Your course selection does not matter. Your GPA does not matter. You must choose a college (or already be enrolled) that has a newspaper within driving distance.
Photojournalism is extremely expensive to get into and does not pay well. It is not possible to do cheaply, and it is not possible to do without financial support from your parents.
Many photojournalists are forced to shoot weddings, engagement proposals, corporate headshots, personal portraits, and events in order to have enough money to live. They do photojournalism part-time on a freelance basis. Except for a few highly sought-after jobs, it is nearly impossible to be a full-time photojournalist.
With that in mind, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. To get started, the following items are mandatory:
- A camera body. My first camera…
