Wanted: Talented individual willing to risk life and limb to get the best picture possible. That's pretty much the job description for successful photojournalists. They need technical know-how and creativity, plus they have to be daring. Great photographers are aggressive enough to get the shot but are also sensitive to the subject.
Instructions
1. Invest in good equipment, such as a high-end Nikon or Canon film or digital camera. You'll also need different lenses and flashes or other types of lighting gear.
2. Attend photography or journalism school. Develop your eye, improve your style and technique, and make contacts in the field. It's a good background whether you want to work for a community newspaper or travel the world as a freelance photographer.
3. Get an internship with a magazine or newspaper. This gives you real-life experience and gets you published, and it can turn into a full-time job. Some people have several internships before they find permanent work.
4. Develop a portfolio that showcases your expertise with a wide range of subjects. It should include everything from one-shot car crashes to photo essays about people's lives. Most newspapers and magazines want to see published work, but a student portfolio may get you an internship or entry-level position. You'll work your way up from there.
5. Learn how to scan prints or download images from your camera, depending on whether you use a film or digital camera. Get training on image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop (adobe.com).
6. Know how to think on your feet. News events happen fast and can pack an emotional wallop. Your ability to stay calm and make quick decisions will greatly impact your success.
7. Go for the best story rather than settling for the easy shot. Just as a reporter would do, look for balanced reporting and seek out opposing viewpoints of the stories you cover.
8. Prepare yourself for physical and mental challenges. You'll carry heavy equipment in all kinds of conditions. You never know whether you'll cover a storm, a robbery or an accident. Some photojournalists work well even in dangerous (sometimes life threatening) situations and are assigned to cover wars, regional conflicts and other hot spots around the world.
9. Hold up under pressure and get your work in on time. News editors can get pretty touchy when they're on deadline.
What is a photojournalist?
A journalist tells stories. A photographer takes pictures of nouns (people, places and things). A photojournalist takes the best of both and locks it into the most powerful medium available - frozen images.
A photojournalist is a visual reporter of facts. The public places trust in its reporters to tell the truth. The same trust is extended to photojournalists as visual reporters.
This responsibility is paramount to a photojournalist. At all times, we have many thousands of people seeing through our eyes and expecting to see the truth. Most people immediately understand an image.
In today's world of grocery store tabloids and digital manipulation of images, the photojournalist must still tell the truth. The photojournalist constantly hunts for the images (or verbs: "kicks," "explodes," "cries," etc.), which tell of the day-to-day struggles and accomplishments of his community. These occurrences happen naturally. There is no need to "set up" reality.
What does it take to be a great journalist?
A great journalist cares about people and an ideal world. A great journalist can approach a topic as vast as the universe and make it simple and interesting to both Einstein and the new immigrant, who is trying to learn the language.
The written word has power. With skill, reporters can expose the dark deeds of the world and bring them into the light. However, journalism is limited to non-apathetic, mono-linguistic people with some time to kill and a few neurons still firing.
Enter photojournalism. It destroys almost all barriers. Justice can draw its sword in the time it takes an eye to scan an image. An image has no age, language or intelligence limits.
http://www.ehow.com/how_138350_become-photojournalist.html
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