Editorial Photography

Photographing for Newspapers and Magazines presents its own set of challenges, being an editorial photographer keeps me sharp, working under constant pressure at high profile press events and being able to capture the moment as it unfolds, are all the areas in which I feel a photographer should apply himself on any task.

The Editorial section is here to showcase some of my Press work, therefore to the left you will find a link to a my Portfolio Slideshow and on the other editorial pages there are useful resources and links for editorial photographers to explore.

My blog contains photographs with explanations of press jobs and events that I think may be of interest and hopefully will give you an insight into the life of a London based press photographer.

I am writing blog posts about photographic techniques and the way I do certain jobs for editorial and commercial clients alike. Both editorial and commercial photography cross over on occasion especially when it comes to Public Relations photography. Often a client requires not only promotional shots for internal and external marketing, but also shots that are suitable for the press.

This photograph was taken for a Mega Brands Toy PR event for the toy called Battle Strikers, with lots of branding on display this shot is unlikely to be used by the press.

This shot is from the same shoot, trying to get a portrait suitable for the broadsheets with subtle branding is difficult whilst trying to keep your client happy.

Newspapers are all very selective when it comes to accepting stories and articles from Public Relations, they all have very different requirements and expectations about what images they will print. The Times for example is unlikely to print the same type of shot as The Sun, however they are both owned by News International. It is important to have knowledge like this to get the maximum coverage in the press for your client.

Hard news is generally all about being in the right place at the right time. With a pro-active picture desk and a thorough drive to seek out a story or event hard news is great, when you get a picture published in all the National newspapers as a result of a fast paced news event its one of the best days to be a press photographer.

Competition is high with the emergence of what is known in the industry as the ‘Citizen Journalist’. Anyone with a mobile phone can email a picture to the picture desks faster than you can as a professional photographer. By the time you have uploaded to your computer, cropped and adjusted your images and written your caption, the average techno-able member of the public could have beaten you to the front pages.

I like the competition but the challenges are huge, with relatively few staff jobs at each paper and agency and fewer freelancers being employed each day, getting any where near the top of the pile is hard, but staying there is even harder.