Any Freelance or Salary Newspaper Photographers out there?

Hello POTN,

I have wondered how does someone become a freelance Newspaper Photographer? I am just curious as to how it all comes about. Is it a day to day 9-5 sort of thing? - If so I would love to get into that!!! When looking at a newspaper I see many photos and they are all coming from different places in the area. Knowing that these papers are issued daily, I would imagine that there are a handful of staffed photographers out in the field capturing photos...Right? Anyone can chime in if you are knowledgeable or know what direction to point me in to get more information on this subject. Thanks in advance...

Its a rapidly shrinking field you are looking to join.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15804474
Its a rapidly shrinking field you are looking to join.

That wasn't an answer and it wasn't fair. He was asking for advice and help.

TimHphotovideo wrote in post #15804469
Hello POTN,

I have wondered how does someone become a freelance Newspaper Photographer? I am just curious as to how it all comes about. Is it a day to day 9-5 sort of thing? - If so I would love to get into that!!! When looking at a newspaper I see many photos and they are all coming from different places in the area. Knowing that these papers are issued daily, I would imagine that there are a handful of staffed photographers out in the field capturing photos...Right? Anyone can chime in if you are knowledgeable or know what direction to point me in to get more information on this subject. Thanks in advance...

Mostly repeated from a recent discussion in the Sports topic: the summary is that casual hobby photographers are generally not ready for the deadline and production pressures that newspapers present.

First, be warned that daily newspapers have drastically cut their photo staffs in recent years. If either paper has any openings, you're going to face competition from a growing number of photographers who have been laid off from other newspapers. That competition will have years of experience that you presumably will not have. There's a chance that you'll be able to find part-time work at individual events to fill in the papers' coverage gaps, but even that requires experience. One busy freelancer in this area is a former photo editor at a small-town newspaper.

Also, newspaper work involves meeting very tight deadlines. You'll need to have material ready for use in a couple of hours, when a photo editor wants the images, and not in a few days or when you want. Be aware that preparing photos for print use can mean as much writing as photography, because newspaper photographers must provide detailed caption information. You'll need to be in the field and operate on your own, and frequently you'll need to upload material using only a Macbook and whatever wireless connection you can find. I've seen deadline newspaper photographers sitting on the floor in an isolated corner of a high school gym or on a running track at a football game, selecting, captioning and uploading material to meet a deadline.

Being able to produce good material on deadlines and work effectively under time pressures is extremely important to being a successful newspaper photographer. What others on this forum produce in a week, you will need to produce in an hour. There are even some devices that are used to transmit images directly from a camera to a newspaper's photo desk. The time pressures that most of this forum's members avoid at all cost will need to be part of your life.

Also, while many members of this forum are comfortable only when they're in total control of a situation, you won't be in charge. You'll need to satisfy a customer; a photo editor who can be very demanding when it comes to meeting deadlines.

Now, there are and always will be many people who thrive under these intense conditions, but the job's not for everyone. A special type of photographer is needed, a non-ranter who is dedicated to producing good material under what many members of this forum would consider adverse conditions. Think hard about whether you want that sort of life.

MikeFairbanks wrote in post #15804605
That wasn't an answer and it wasn't fair. He was asking for advice and help.

Sorry, but its also a truth. Our local paper used to have an award winning staff of 5 or 6 full time shooters. They are now down to 1 full timer and a couple of semi retired stringers. They fill the paper with wire service shots, and reader submissions.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15804474
Its a rapidly shrinking field you are looking to join.

Maybe so, but I would rather that be the case than everyone with a camera trying to do the same thing.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15804628
Sorry, but its also a truth. Our local paper used to have an award winning staff of 5 or 6 full time shooters. They are now down to 1 full timer and a couple of semi retired stringers. They fill the paper with wire service shots, and reader submissions.

Cool, this answers one of the many things I never completely understood. Im sure every paper is different but apparently in some cases there are full time shooters...

TimHphotovideo wrote in post #15804670
Cool, this answers one of the many things I never completely understood. Im sure every paper is different but apparently in some cases there are full time shooters...

I should also note they were only hiring J school graduates for the shooter positions. Its a buyers market.

DC Fan wrote in post #15804623
Think hard about whether you want that sort of life.

Thank you for the detailed response. Whew, well after hearing it from that perspective it seems like the perfect job for a photographer extraordinaire by day and night. Not exactly something for people that would like to do this on the side. Still a very intriguing field and though I am probably years from being cut out for it now, It will always interest me. Thank you for the insight though, after reading that sounds like it is exactly on point with what goes on in the real world. Never really thought deep about what comes with the gig. Which is why I assumed that each paper had photographers by the dozen to capture every single event that happens in one day. Im in the DC area so The Washington Post is what lingers in my mind on this subject. Very big paper!

The vast majority of newspaper images are taken either by staff photographers who work for that particular paper (or an affiliate paper within the same company), or they are sourced from the AP . . . and almost all AP photos were taken by staff photographers, as well.

I have done freelance work for a few papers. Freelance means you are not on staff - you just contribute on an as-needed basis, and get paid per image, for each image used. There is very little money in this. One paper would occasionally send me to "cover" events that their staff photographers could not get to. I was paid $10 for each image they ran in the paper. Basketball game (high school) - they would use one or two pics, so I would get ten or twenty bucks. Homecoming football game? They'd use 3 to 5 pics, so I'd get as much as fifty bucks - that was a huge payday for a freelance newspaper photographer!

Back east where the papers were much bigger, I received as much as $50 for each image used, but they would only use one photo from each event - and sometimes they didn't use any at all. If they send you somewhere to shoot an event, then decide they don't have room to run anything about that event, you get nothing - not even a reimbursement for mileage. Nothing. (there was never any reimbursement for mileage, regardless of the paper I "worked" for, whether images were used or not)

If you want to get into it because you think it would be fun, then go for it!
If you want to get into it to earn some extra cash, then you'd probably be better off searching the gutters for dropped change - there is probably more money in that!

TimHphotovideo wrote in post #15804469
Is it a day to day 9-5 sort of thing?

For a full-timer, it's a shift schedule where sometimes they would work 9-5ish and other times 3-11. Newspaper work often involves extended hours, of course. If you're trying to get a better feel of newspaper photog culture, I would follow some local photographers on twitter.

Look into a book called The Photographer's Market. It used to be in all the book stores, published each year. Might still be.

Here's their website: http://www.artistsmark​etonline.com …OXrxsKavLYCFQTo​nAodD1cAcg

I really have no experience, but I do have a quick story that relates -

In the late 80's/early 90's, Long Island had an unusually late 'snow storm'. As I was driving back to my office, there was a wreck from the poor driving conditions. I had my camera, shot about 12 pictures, and headed over to the Newsday office. They took my roll of film and my information, and then I watched the paper for the next few days. Never saw anything I shot. About 2 weeks later, I got my developed negatives, a nice (albeit breif) thank you note, and a check for $50. I guess they may have used it in a more local edition. Ever since, I claim to be a freelance newspaper photographer. Total net lifetime earnings - $50.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #15804723
The vast majority of newspaper images are taken either by staff photographers who work for that particular paper (or an affiliate paper within the same company), or they are sourced from the AP . . . and almost all AP photos were taken by staff photographers, as well.

I have done freelance work for a few papers. Freelance means you are not on staff - you just contribute on an as-needed basis, and get paid per image, for each image used. There is very little money in this. One paper would occasionally send me to "cover" events that their staff photographers could not get to. I was paid $10 for each image they ran in the paper. Basketball game (high school) - they would use one or two pics, so I would get ten or twenty bucks. Homecoming football game? They'd use 3 to 5 pics, so I'd get as much as fifty bucks - that was a huge payday for a freelance newspaper photographer!

Back east where the papers were much bigger, I received as much as $50 for each image used, but they would only use one photo from each event - and sometimes they didn't use any at all. If they send you somewhere to shoot an event, then decide they don't have room to run anything about that event, you get nothing - not even a reimbursement for mileage. Nothing. (there was never any reimbursement for mileage, regardless of the paper I "worked" for, whether images were used or not)

If you want to get into it because you think it would be fun, then go for it!
If you want to get into it to earn some extra cash, then you'd probably be better off searching the gutters for dropped change - there is probably more money in that!

This is pretty much right on. I do freelance work for my state's largest daily and if it's something you're looking to get into for the money, do something else, although my pay is a bit better than Tom's. $10 an image is pretty brutal. During high school football and basketball, I can make $600-maybe $800 in a busy month, so it's not bad but a drop in the bucket relatively speaking. I do it for the networking. A deadline environment isn't for everyone. If you like to be in control, you won't like it. You get told where to go, when to be there and when the photos are needed. Everything else is up to you. Lot of writing involved with captions, etc. You have to get names if there are people in the photo. As for hours, a staff photog has a shift. I usually get an email a day ahead of time and that's all the notice I get.

Newspaper Freelancing