Photo Tips

Jason Geil is the photo editor at WeSay and a professional photojournalist.

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This may be overly simplistic, but the wonderful world of photography can be divided into three parties: Those who make money at it, those who enjoy it as a hobby, and those who just enjoy viewing it.

We love you all the same, but if you fall into the first or final category, this article is not suited for you. This is for those of you trying to hone your photography skills and attempt to break into the field of photojournalism.

Like any other job field, establishing a career in photojournalism takes time and effort. It's a competitive business, controlled by editors who are often over-worked and, as if it wasn’t difficult enough, relies a great deal on a certain amount of subjectivity. In other words, even if you think highly of your photographs others might not agree.

FOCUS ON PEOPLE.  I always suggest to those trying to make a leap into the profession to shoot photos of people. The basis of photojournalism is the visual documentation of what is going on around us all. Nothing illustrates that more accurately than photographs of people doing the things people do.

The recent floods in the midwest highlighted this. Countless photos of flood waters were ommonplace on mainstream media wires and hundreds more were submitted to newspapers every day. What sets the good photos apart from the ever-increasing stack of common photos, are the people and actions photographed. A photo of a person feverishly grabbing his belongings before his house floods is almost certainly going to be a more gripping photo than the one of the flood water and nothing else. At least, that's the case in the world of photojournalism.

More information is derived from photos like these. Document the people affected by the news you are covering and you will step ahead of most other amateur photographers.

FOOT PATROL.  When you're out shooting photographs, get out of your car and walk. Meet people. Talk to them. Ask them questions. You may be surprised to learn how many unique story ideas you can come up with just by being curious. Having a unique story is a quick way to impress an editor, but you will rarely find it driving around in your car.

IT’S OKAY TO BE A COPYCAT.  Keep an eye on professional photojournalists while they work. Check your ego and watch how they go about getting their photographs and you may learn a few things. Even simple things, like how they carry a notebook and pen with them to write notes and names while on assignment, will give you an edge. They are professionals for a reason so you can learn plenty from modeling yourself after them. If you’re at an event professional photojournalists are covering, follow up the next day by looking at their printed work in the newspaper or Web site they work for. Somewhat surprisingly, you can learn a lot by doing this on a regular basis.

HEY, HEMINGWAY.  Concentrate on writing good captions. A striking difference between amateur photographers and professional photographers is the pros have perfected the art of collecting information about their photographs. Who? What? When? Where? If you can't get the facts straight, and write them in a clear, concise and accurate caption, you will not make it far in the business of photojournalism.

HAND OVER THOSE PHOTOS.  I have never understood why some photographers treat their work like it's a priceless piece of art that everyone is trying to steal. First of all, it isn't. And second, it's hard to get noticed in the field of journalism if your work is never seen. So show your work to someone in a position to publish it. Or publish it yourself. Plenty of independent blogs get noticed these days. As long as eyes are on your work, the odds of you making it in the field are better.