A Little News

Composing your portfolio should be like being in a Mike Tyson fight. Hit ‘em fast, hit ‘em hard and hit ‘em often until you have them knocked out. Start with your best shot. Hit ‘em right in the face right off the bat. Then keep a steady stream of excellence until you have exhausted your repertoire. If the editor is still standing, fine, he deserves it. If he is out for the count you probably have yourself a job.

Now a bit of advice that is free with admission. A newspaper photographer is a generalist. Your portfolio should show as much diversity as you can show. I regularly have to shoot standalone features, hard news, environmental portraits, sports, lifestyles, slide shows for online content and even advertising. You will find yourself in places as diverse as a chicken house (God bless you in advance) and corporate boardrooms. Sometimes on the same day. You will stand on the sidelines of sporting events from you local youth baseball or football fields to NCAA and NFL games. You will have to shoot jobs that require lighting skills and you will have to shoot jobs that require split-second decision making. And some days you will just be bored.

So when you put together that portfolio, concentrate a few images in the area, or areas, of your strength but don’t neglect diversity. Editors can see whether or not you can shoot regardless of what you are showing but editors also want to see that you can handle a range of assignments. Just remember the first post and don’t include pictures just to say you have them. This will weaken your portfolio.

When you have your portfolio completely put together like you like it, remember to show it to some fellow shooters and mentors. If you are a student, solicit the advice of some people who are already working for the type industry you are aiming for. It would be pointless to show a newspaper portfolio to advertising executive so show a newspaper portfolio to a veteran newspaper guy. Most people are pretty decent to young shooters and will help you but there are some jerks who will just look at you as a threat so find someone who is willing to help. Some universities already have relationships with newspapers and you will find trusty worthy advice there.

I have included three favorites in this post and you have already seen them but they are among my favorites in spot news, portrait and feature photography. I would not hesitate to use any one of the tree as a lead picture in my book. Now, what would you do? It really depends on the paper you are applying to. Is it a heavy spot news paper? If so, the answer is obvious. If the job uses beats and you are applying to a lifestyles beat then the portrait may be your best lead. If it is a community newspaper then the kid with the fish may be your best lead. You can find a lot of this out in the paper’s advertisement. Some will say what type work they favor. Some will not but just about everyone is online and many have galleries of their photographer’s work online. You can check these to see how the shooters who already work there are thinking. Use any edge you can find. It never hurts to talk to staff shooters that are already working there if you can get in touch with them. Just don’t be shy about whatever approach you take. Be aggressive. Be Mike Tyson.

Photos copyright The Decatur Daily. The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.