News Photographer

As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” When you’re a News Photographer, you live and work by this saying. Your job as a News Photographer is to take pictures of different people, events, and things to give the readers of your newspaper an image to go with the news.

A career as a News Photographer means you can work for places other than newspapers, so your everyday tasks vary depending on where you work. If you’re a freelancer, you work on your own or with multiple Reporters. After taking the pictures, you shop these around to different sources to see who will buy them. Freelance work lets you take the pictures you want and gives you freedom to travel, but the downside is it doesn’t provide you with a very consistent paycheck.

When you work with a specific newspaper, your Editor will send you out with a Reporter after something happens. Once on location, it’s your job to take the pictures your Editor wants. Though you usually don’t have exact directions, sometimes the Editor will demand a certain size or angle. They might even require that you have certain people in your shot.

The disadvantage of taking pictures for someone else is that your Editor has the final say over which picture gets published. You might take a shot that’s incredible from an artistic perspective, but if it doesn’t capture the scene the way your Editor requires, it gets cut.