Curiosity

DliveMike

Hey there,I'm in 4th year and in recent months I'm becoming increasingly partial to the idea of photojournalism. I've been messing around with cameras
for as long as I can remember but I never really saw it as a viable career choice up until now. I know it's only 4th year but I don't think I've ever latched onto something quite like this. I find myself becoming fascinated with the stories behind photographers like Kevin Carter and Eddie Adams and photos like Tank Man and Arab Girl. Anyway I'm really here for advice. We've been told to start thinking about our CAO already (our careers teacher is a real cow) and I'm really considering photojournalism. I'm not too crazy about
feature photography and the artistic side of it (dropped art after 3rd year).
So I really just want a check list of what I need for a career in this. Do I need honors English and History,what are the best colleges for this kind of thing,how many points do I need for journalism, stuff like that,and yes I know this is a very vague question. I really don't even know where to start myself.

All help is appreciated.

challengemaster

I'd advise (as a 6th year) to speak with your career guidance teacher if you can. If not, then I'd advise you to start looking up things yourself. Decide what colleges you'd consider going to, look at each ones websites, and see what their entry requirements are. Then suss out for each one what requirements are for photojournalism.

I'd also reccomend attending open days (bit late now, but in 5th year if you can) - go to lectures and talk to lecturers and students doing the course, or even graduates if you can. Nobody will hand all the info to you on a platter - because it's your life/career - the point of you doing the work yourself is to see if you want to actually accomplish something or not. It's your life, its in your hands. You will hear this more and more often as you get nearer to 6th year

Here's a few links to get you on your way.

http://www.qualifax.ie/
http://www.careersportal.ie/
http://cao.ie/

Hope I could help somewhat

/edit: One more thing I wanted to add. If you want to do something, then do it. If it's 340 points for the course, you end up with 540, there's no point doing something like medicine just because you got the points. Do what you have a passion for, there's less chance you'll regret it later.

Thoie

Also, as far as I know (could be wrong), some of these kind of courses might want a portfolio as well. You're ideally placed in 4th year to start gathering a portfolio now, rather than trying to do it in 6th year when you've got more exam pressure.

I know very little about photojournalism courses, so bear that in mind, but some general advice:

• Do as well in your exams as you can - don't think "feck it, why do I need subject X?". Photojournalists use their knowledge of various topics to help take meaningful photos.
• Try to pick up a foreign language - two if you can. It may not be required for your course, but communication of all kinds would be useful in that area, and if you work abroad, the more languages you have, the more chances you have of communicating with people.
• A good grasp of English is always useful - thankfully you already seem to be starting with good spelling and grammar
• Even though you've dropped art, talk to the art teacher in school about your plans, and ask if he knows anyone locally that you could hook up with. Mention that you're hoping to put together a portfolio during the coming year, and ask if the teacher has time would they mind taking a look at some of your stuff every now and again to help with feedback - many of the "rules" of painting are also the "rules" of photography (rule of thirds, proportions etc.) so even if the teacher isn't particularly into photography they'll probably have a good eye for a picture. While you're not particularly interested in the artistic side, there are bits there that will be useful in all kinds of photography. For example, taking the tank man photo, look at the way the man is roughly one third from the bottom of the pic, and a third from the left. The diagonal line of tanks, as well as the road marking arrows all help "point" to the lone man. It's a powerful picture anyway, but (IMO) the framing and positioning of the various elements have helped make it even more iconic.
• Never be afraid to post some of your pictures here for comments and criticism - but be aware that constructive criticism isn't always what you want to hear. Listen to all opinions, even if you ignore them.
• Have a backup plan - in slightly reverse advice from challengemaster's, don't aim for "just" 340 points if you know you're capable of 380 or 500.
• Think about work experience with a local photographer. If your school doesn't do work experience during the year, maybe contact a few, explain your situation, and offer to work for them for free for a couple of weeks during the summer holidays - be prepared to make the coffee, do the post run or whatever but explain that in exchange you'd like them to show you bits of what they're doing - why they chose that lens there, or why they turned the flash off for that, etc.

PS - if I could follow all my own advice, I'd be a much better person, so don't feel overwhelmed by everything I've written!

melekalikimaka

Studying photography in college, ya can pm me with with any questions if ya want. It sounds like great fun in theory, its actually a fair bit of work tho, ya really gotta love photography to do well