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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Where to start
David Hague, Photographer, Student/Intern
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California | Pa | USA | Posted: 11:25 PM on 03.28.09 |
| ->> Well I am a photographer for the college I attend and I am about to graduate. I was wondering I have made a few contats with newspapers (very small and localized ones) but what paths would you say to have me go down. I am having trouble trying to get youth sports. I have 3 youth football teams and that is all that I have right now. I would just like to be pointed in the right direction. |
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Jeff Mills, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 12:04 AM on 03.29.09 |
->> David, the unfortunate truth is that there are a ton of people who don't know where to go right now. Not just recent grads but seasoned staffers and a wide range of photographers young and old who are seeing their publications close down, or facing massive cuts and layoffs. The face of the newspaper industry as a whole is never going to return to what it is and who knows what the next few years is even going to hold.
Who knows what photography as a whole is going to turn into as the intergration of stills and video continues to evolve. In 5 years time no one may be shooting stills anymore, or if we are, they may be coming from the 20megapixel camera built into the latest generation of our IPhone.
Best and only advice I can really give you is to not simply worry about the present but rather look to your future and what your going to do a few years from now.
Adding another youth football team is fine and good to help keep a roof over year head next month but what are you going to do next year ?
What steps are you taking to make yourself stand out from the countless other grads this year ? What skill set can you hone so that when theres an 85% staff reduction you can provide a valuable enough contribution and keep your job ?
Simply as an example, maybe thats being skilled in video production and editing.
Lets face it, every new DSLR on the market is going to shoot HD video now, its here to stay. Thing is, how many still photographers can the skills to shoot intresting video footage and more importantly, edit something together ? Thats a unique skill set that perhaps you could work to gain that might give you an edge in this market. |
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David Manning, Photographer
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Athens | GA | | Posted: 12:35 AM on 03.29.09 |
| ->> Make that editing video on deadline. Thats something you need to be able to do. Not just edit video or edit it well but edit it fast and well. |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 12:48 AM on 03.29.09 |
->> Learn to light, and learn to do it well. In the studio, in the field, both strobes and hot lights for video.
Good lighting is still a differentiator. |
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PJ Heller, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 1:54 AM on 03.29.09 |
->> You might find this a good read (as well as some other posts on the site):
http://tinyurl.com/dyynfp |
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Jon Wright, Photographer
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Wayzata | MN | USA | Posted: 8:11 AM on 03.29.09 |
| ->> My best advice is to diversify. That has been my key to long term success. I'll tackle just about any photo job that comes my way and I network continuously. I've been blessed to survive without being anybody's employee for 15 years now. Every photographer finds their own route to a successful career. Unfortunately you are coming out of school at a very challenging time in our industry. It is also an exciting time in photography as we all adapt to an ever changing creative environment. All we can do is try to embrace these changes and use our imagination and creativity to "ride out" these bumps in the road. If you really love doing this and if you don't ever give up you will find your way through these difficult times. |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 1:56 PM on 03.30.09 |
->> Couldn't agree more, David. The ability to control light will be a important key. There was a thread on here a few weeks ago about what is a professional. The one thing I didn't see was "someone who controls light".
Good lighting stands out. Good lighting separates you from the amatuers and wanna be's.
GOOD BUSINESS SKILLS. You must have those. If you don't; go get em. It's absolutely a must. |
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Darrell Miho, Photographer
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Los Angeles : SFO : HNL | CA | usa | Posted: 2:46 PM on 03.30.09 |
->> it would help to know what you want to do. newspapers? youth sports? something else?
people can't point you in the right direction if they don't know where you want to go. |
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