Journalist Blaze Photo Blog

You cannot open a newspaper or magazine, watch television, listen to the radio, or turn to the Internet, without someone telling you about the dire economic times we are living in. For many, asking the question of whether or not the economy will bounce back again is something they have given up doing. Still, there are those that cling to hope, responding to claims that one day unemployment will be a thing of the past. But can watching the news affect the economy in any real way? The answer might surprise you.

Yes, being exposed to the daily news can most definitely influence the economy, because it influences the people. This is called consumer confidence, and in the US there is a CCI (Consumer Confidence Index), which actually measures how much consumer confidence there is when it comes to retail purchases.

What is very interesting is that things that occur in the rest of the world can influence our consumer confidence. Even if the news is about something happening in the Middle East, for example, it has the power to influence the economy at home.

The people who take up photo journalism are those who look for news. In essence they are different breed of people who are inquisitive and are very alert and always look out for news under strange or unexpected situations. The most remarkable attribute of a good photo journalist’s is his or her anticipation of an event, which he/she posses a gut feeling or sense something dramatic will happen. This is apparent among the journalist photographers who are present at the scene or happening. The photo journalist’s posses eye for detail capturing the very interesting action news. The photo journalist uses the photo images effectively to depict the actual news or the story of any particular news event. In other words, photo journalism has become an exciting profession for people who look for challenge and excitement.

The photo journalist has the eye for a captivating news photo. It is the intuitive, alert mind and sharp eye that gives the photo journalist the edge in choosing the visual image that will tell the news most effectively. In photo journalism taking photos at the right moment is vital.

1. Use Appropriate Camera Equipment

If you want to become the photo journalist, you should not only have the eye for detail and also should be bold enough to get in to the middle of the action irrespective of the camera equipment you possess.

2. The Compact Digital Camera

If you are a new to photo journalism, depending on the circumstances, initially the compact camera may be adequate instead of a Digital SLR. The advantage of compact camera is it can be concealed and conveniently used if in a sensitive or an undercover situation where the photographers personal safety is at a risk. However, there are limitations on using digicam for photojournalism. For example, the lens and zooming capability will not help the photographer to take photos at distance from the subject. In other words, you need to go closer to the subject if you need any clear pictures.

Similarly, the response time of compact digital camera is very slow, as a result volatile or quick action situations where the journalist have to move fast, the digicam may not be able to capture the seen owing to slow response. The main reason is the zoom and sensors which are electronically operated takes a few seconds to get activated. In essence, the main disadvantage of compact digital camera is its slowness in capturing images. When compared to the DSLR cameras which has the auto and manual operations, most photo journalists would agree that digicam is very slow.

3. Digital SLR Camera

If you use DSLR instead digicam, you are able to capture exact moment, by pressing the shutter release button. In other words, DSLR can be zoomed very fast manually, and you can see the actual seen through the view finder rather than the LCD. Hence, you can at once capture the moment by pressing the shutter release button using hand and eye coordination.

Having looked at the advantages and the disadvantages of compact digital camera and the DSLR, one should realize that photo journalism not only selecting the right equipment.

It’s easy – all you need is to have a piece of your writing accepted by an editor and you can legitimately call yourself a freelance journalist. You don’t need any specific qualifications, background or experience. All you need is a nose for a good story, the ability to write well and an understanding of how and where to send your writing. But don’t worry if you feel you don’t have all of these abilities – you can learn them!

How can I learn what I need to Know?
Learning what you need to know to become a successful freelance journalist is best done with a practical course. This way, not only will you learn the theory of journalism, you’ll also get to put what you’ve learnt into practice. Some courses, like ours, also encourage you to send work off while you are studying. This is a great way to see what editors think of your work and, depending on their feedback, discuss how you can improve future submissions with your tutor.

Do you really know what Freelance Journalists do?
You probably think you’ve got a good idea of what it is like to work as a freelance journalist. But, just in case you’ve missed something, have a look at the list below and see if you’ve considered all these points.

Firstly, do you really know what working freelance entails? There’s no one telling you what to do, you and you alone will be responsible for your working day. This will mean you have to:
• find and write stories that editors will be interested in
• contact editors and negotiate fees for your work
• motivate yourself to write regularly
• meet strict deadlines
• learn about tax and which expenses can be claimed against it
• keep meticulous records of work you’ve sent to editors, who’s been invoiced and who need chasing up
• plan your finances to cover periods of sickness and holidays
• work unsociable hours
• work from home

Seems like a lot to think about but any good, practical course should teach you about these different aspects of freelance working. By the time you’ve finished studying you should be ready to set up your own business, confident that you’ve got all the bases covered.

Have you got what it takes?
To manage everything mentioned above you need to be a certain type of person. In particular, it helps if you have the following qualities in abundance. These include:
• a love of current affairs
• a yearning to share knowledge
• a liking for meeting people
• an keen eye for detail
• excellent listening skills
• endless enthusiasm

It’ll also make your time as a freelance journalist easier if you have the following character traits:
• a thick skin – remember not to take anything personally
• an open mind – be ready to write about whatever is relevant and current
• a sense of humour – laughter has helped ease many a difficult situation and is a great remedy to stress
• tenacity – fighting to find the truth is vital in this profession
• a sense of adventure – getting stuck into something you would not normally consider engaging in could result in a great article

Freelance journalism can be a great career and a lucrative one too! So, why not have a go, you might be surprised by where it leads you.