Getting your name out there

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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2005-11-28

Getting your name out there
By Jim McNay, Brooks Institute of Photography

Photo by Brad Mangin

Enjoying the sunshine next to the pool near his office is Jim McNay, Visual Journalism Program Director at Brooks Institute of Photography in Ventura, California.

Photographers are often looking for ways to have their name more widely known. Wide respect opens doors to important assignments, to additional freelance work, to being invited to speak and teach at workshops and seminars.

So how does a photographer become known to a wider professional community?

However it is done, it will probably involve something extra from the photographer.

One way could be extra work and extra time to produce better photographs. Another might be inventing extra projects beyond the photographer's main job description.

But any success at getting more widely known will probably involve something beyond the normal job routine.

Some photographers are good at contests such as the Best of Photojournalism, or Pictures of the Year or World Press Photo. Local competitions such as state and regional ones also are valuable. Even clip contests, regional and national, bring attention to photographers. It's all good stuff.

Another approach is more personal. If there is a company or editor a photographer aspires to work for, that photographer should visit, should send a portfolio, should make sure they meet the editor or get seen by someone in that company.

Then, follow-up regularly with examples of new work. Editors want to see if the photographer is just another one-visit-and-it's-over candidate, or if they seriously keep coming back and reinitiating fresh contacts.

Editors won't tell a photographer when they are being watched as the photographer grows and develops in their career. But editors do watch people they consider emerging talent.

Editors want exceptional photographers working for them. If they see a photographer with potential, and that potential is gradually blossoming in the job the photographer has now, editors will often wait and watch. When the editor has an opening, and when the photographer's development is ready for the large opportunity at the editor's publication, the editor might well bring the photographer on board.

There are ways to spend time with photographers one admires. Consider taking a workshop from a photographer or editor you want to work for. Outstanding photographers and editors often teach at professional organization's workshops. Sometimes they appear as faculty at more commercial, for-profit workshop settings. Taking such a workshop, showing a portfolio and perhaps even doing exceptional work on the workshop assignments is one sure way to get noticed.

Recently a couple of seasoned pros visited our campus after teaching a major photography workshop in Mexico. They could not stop raving about the work of one as-yet-unknown-photographer who attended the workshop and did particularly well. They admitted giving this person names of people to see in New York- the following week!

Volunteering for special duties inside a photographer's company or professional society is another way to get noticed. Having people know who you are ultimately means those people who do not know you now know you as a result of some interaction with them. Even inside one's current company, if the way to meet the editor, the publisher or even the company controller is to run the United Way drive, maybe a few weeks of extra effort is worth it.

And is there a professional photography or journalism society that doesn't need more volunteers to step up and take on some of the load, maybe even run for office? This is another great way to get to know people you don't now know- and have them get to know you.

And though you may see yourself maybe as just another photographer, you might end up writing articles for a great photography website one day. Ya never know.

Bottom line: When it comes to getting known to a wider circle, and to get your career moving in a direction you'd like it to go, there are ways---and there are ways. Pick one.

Photographers, particularly those in school or seeking to break into the photojournalism, are welcome to send ideas for future columns to Jim McNay at jim.mcnay@brooks.edu.

Questions about getting started in photojournalism that might be answered in future columns are also welcome.

Related Links:

Jim McNay's Member Page

Brooks NPPA Student Chapter

Brooks Institute of Photography

Related Email Addresses:

Jim McNay: jim.mcnay@brooks.edu