What is Reddit's opinion of Photojournalism, Sixth Edition: The Professionals' Approach?

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Keep in mind that photojournalism requires different equipment based on what you are shooting. The World Cup requires fast frames per second cameras with long lenses. Shooting breaking news, etc requires mostly wider lenses. When I was shooting political events in Iowa, the standard gear was 2 camera bodies. One with a 24–70 lens, and the other a 70-200. Would also carry a 17-40 and a 400 when needed.

May I suggest you do some reading about PJ first? There’s a lot to learn about ethics, how to conduct yourself, etc., that should be learned before diving into gear.

here is a good start

the Bible

https://www.amazon.com/dp/075068593X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_7HMT0S0BX9G7Y6YCC987

When I was in J-School this was a required text: https://www.amazon.com/Photojournalism-Professionals-Approach-Kenneth-Kobre/dp/075068593X Along with: https://www.amazon.com/Associated-Press-Guide-Photojournalism-Handbooks/dp/0071363874/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6NZV54XKAY02PNWDG14H

Ah, OK. If you're in the UK (i.e. UK resident) then yes, fees seem extortionate, but it's still not real debt. It doesn't get counted against credit ratings and you only start to pay it off if you earn over a certain amount (hopefully I don't sound too glib). So don't worry about it too much. That said, the fees are really high if you're a non-UK resident wanting to study here (not sure which is more, US or UK fees).

Languages would be OK, but you would need to have an idea of where you wanted to work, and then what happens if you want to work somewhere else? That's not saying don't do a language degree, but just something to bear in mind. I'm not sure what course I would suggest, just think about something that you would enjoy and would help you with what you want to accomplish. People I know have everything from English degrees to politics and beyond.

As for if it's harder to get jobs. Actual salaried positions are like gold dust here (and in some parts of the world). A lot of jobs tend to be dead man's shoes (they come up when someone retires, quits or moves to another agency). As an example with the guys employed by agencies in the UK (a lot of the guys also do photojournalism as well when they get given assignments or find a project they like), most have usually started off doing casual shifts with an agency or publication (which is a hard enough step to get to already), after a while they end up with a contract for a certain amount of hours per month and after that they apply for jobs when they open up (which is rarely). It's a dog-eat-dog world, so if you should be unavailable for a shift then they'll go to someone else and you end up at the bottom of the pile.

Having a photojournalism degree wouldn't put you above anyone else, plenty of the people working don't have one. I guess the main thing that a degree would teach you (if you were a complete novice) would be things such as working to deadlines, the practical bits and bobs and feedback on the work you're producing as well as networking opportunities (depending on how well connected the university is).

On getting work as a freelance, a lot of the work I do is on spec (I shoot it and send it through), often when I'm away I'll be working with various freelance journalists who have ties to publications, so I'll pop the pictures through to the relevant desk once they've filed their story. Other than that I just put pictures through to desks when I judge that I've shot something newsworthy (this is outside anything I do as a correspondent - hard to describe the agreement I have with the organisation, but it's not the standard stuff).

Hope that helps, to be honest I kind of do my own thing. Everything I do revolves around a long term project I've been working on, so I'm in my own world most of the time and my approach won't work for everyone.

I will say that think one of the main changes in the industry (again, not sure of the situation in the US so I'm talking about the UK again) is that there isn't a normal career path any more. No set steps that people follow to end up in x position; the approach that one person takes doesn't necessarily work for someone else. Others here will also have points of view that, I have no doubt, may fit better than my ramblings.

Maybe a good step would be to find an agency or publication near you and ask if you could do a couple of weeks work experience. Also, you could do worse than pick up a copy of Ken Kobre's Photojournalism: The Professional's Approach (quite a decent book that I recommend to people who want to start out).

Read this: http://www.amazon.com/Photojournalism-Professionals-Approach-Kenneth-Kobre/dp/075068593X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8