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I often write down my thoughts in a notes app. There are hundreds of notes. I found one listing my advice to aspiring/new photojournalists. A thread.
"Don’t idolize any photographers- they’re mere mortals and they’ll break your heart eventually." Admiration is healthy, though.
"Don’t waste a college degree on photojournalism." Even if you won't go into debt to get it, studying other things will allow you to bring more to the table in your career. Exception for doctoral (original research & furthering our understanding of visual comms is cool).
"You have to sacrifice your passion, relationships- your whole life- on the altar of greatness. Ask yourself if it’s really worth it." It's not a field with much room for mediocrity or half-assery, but the price is high.
"Learn why and how to say no to bad deals/situations/people." This is one of the most difficult things to internalize, but essential.
"You want assignment work covering a particular niche? Shoot and own it on your own time and dime first. The work will follow." Easy for me to say, hard for most folks in practice. This is an artifact of a system structured in favor of the privileged.
"Practice self-care. This line of work takes its toll." Again, easy for me to say. In 2020, self-care for me came in the form of turning down work that was high risk for Covid-19. Prioritizing my health and the safety of the people I lived with had adverse career consequences.
"Don’t become completely unmoored. Make sure you have a mothership and check in once in a while." A war photographer told me this when I was new to the game. It still tracks for me.
"Move to NYC once to get it out of your system and build a fun network. Don’t stay too long." This might not be relevant anymore. Don't move there, but do visit and have a nice time.
"There are predators of all stripes coming for you. Sexual, financial- sometimes violent- Prepare yourself for the onslaught."
"You should work at one or more small town newspapers for a year or so. They are masterclasses in human nature." Not a lot of them left and not very many positions available. If you can swing a job, I think this is still valid.
"Don’t shoot personal projects you don’t care about deeply. It’s a disservice to your subject and your own time." My 2020 corollary is to avoid personal projects you're culturally unqualified to work on where your lack of understanding can pollute the discourse & make shit worse.
