|
|
Frequently-Asked Questions: The Photojournalism Emphasis Area
What type of work do people do in photojournalism?
|
"Photojournalism graduates work as newspaper or magazine photographers. Many of them freelance. Most of our students start at smaller publications to gain experience and build their portfolios and eventually move to metros. We also have some students who work as editors for print publications or for online news sites."
David Rees
Photojournalism Chair
|
|
"Most photojournalists work for newspapers and magazines or freelance, but there are also some who work for related fields such as Web or commercial photography. The emphasis is on telling stories through photography."
Jackie Bell
Photojournalism Faculty
|
|
"Missouri Journalism alumni are working all over the world and are represented in every level from top management to entry-level. You might want to check out the Profiles in Success on this Web site. Alumni share information about their jobs, what they've learned and other highlights in these features."
Brian Brooks
Undergraduate Studies Dean
|
|
"Generally, there are two types of jobs available: editing and shooting. However, online and Web-related work offers photojournalists opportunities to combine their interests in photography with a rising demand for multi-media productions where visual and audio communication converges."
Shane Epping
Photojournalism Student
Tulsa, Okla.
|
|
"There are tons of different types of work photojournalists do, and it depends upon their area of experience and personal feeling towards a subject or issue. Work for a photojournalists could range from shooting mainly sports and sport-focused features for a magazine such as Sports Illustrated, covering daily and in-depth stories for a newspaper or covering in-depth stories for a magazine. Like a reporter, a photojournalist is just as responsible for communicating a story visually and providing another perspective to the story. They are not pawns in the newsroom to simply support a reporter's story. Instead, they should act and be treated as an additional reporter to communicate the story as a team."
John Tully
Photojournalism Student
Woodbridge, Va.
|
What kind of background is important?
"You need to understand both the business and the technical requirements. Therefore, you will have to learn the rules of storytelling, both written and visual, the market and the profession, the technical requirements of a camera and the way to link this knowledge into a story as you approach people."
Jackie Bell
Photojournalism Faculty
|
|
"It's important to be a good journalist, with writing and editing skills, and sometimes design skills, as well as good training in photojournalism. A strong sense of motivation to work in the field is necessary, as is persistence. It's not easy. Being able to generate ideas and to do the research to figure out how to bring these ideas to fruition is also important. Web design and audio-gathering skills are increasingly important."
David Rees
Photojournalism Chair
|
|
"Considering that I've met graduate photojournalism students with undergraduate degrees ranging from biology to finance to English, I would guess that the best background is one that prepares students to practice Henri Cartier-Bresson's anthem to 'place head, heart and eye along the same line of sight'."
Shane Epping
Photojournalism Student
Tulsa, Okla.
|
|
What type of hands-on experience might I get while I'm in school?
|
"Regardless of your choice of emphasis area, you will have at least one semester of hands-on experience at the J-School. Photojournalism students will learn reporting and photography during their semesters at the School's community newspaper, the Columbia Missourian. Students not yet enrolled in their emphasis area have the option of working for The Maneater, the official student newspaper of The University of Missouri. In addition to pay and experience, students who choose to work at The Maneater during their freshman and sophomore years will have newspaper clips of their work as well, which will prove valuable when applying for internships. I was successful in finding an internship at a large metropolitan daily newspaper during the summer after my freshman year."
Zach Honig
Photojournalism Student
Voorhees, N.J.
|
|
|
"Our students have the best of both worlds: a liberal arts education and ample opportunities to practice photojournalism."
Brian Brooks
Undergraduate Studies Dean
|
|
|
"Students at Mizzou learn by doing. Whether or not they know how to swim, budding photojournalists are thrown into the deep end of the pool; a hard work ethic and an attentive faculty keep them afloat. At the end of a photojournalist's academic emphasis area, he or she will shoot for both Vox magazine and the Columbia Missourian newspaper, where professional, award-winning editors guide the process. They will also have an opportunity to staff the Missouri Photo Workshop, College Photographer of the Year competition (CPOY) and Pictures of the Year International (POYi).
Shane Epping
Photojournalism Student
Tulsa, Okla.
|
|
|
"One great aspect of Missouri's photojournalism program is the immediate hands-on learning. Whether it's hitting the streets and meeting people for the first assignment in David Rees' class, experimenting side-by-side with Rita Reed in the studio or being critiqued by Jackie Bell or Rick Shaw daily at the Missourian, there is always guidance and real-world experience that you can't get from reading any book or sitting in a lecture hall with 300 other half-awake kids. From day one, it's hands-on, and if you work hard, it doesn't stop until you leave the School."
John Tully
Photojournalism Student
Woodbridge, Va.
|
How do you benefit from learning from faculty who have had practical experience in the field?
"I feel I benefit more from faculty who have had experience in the field because they are not teaching theory; they are teaching a lifestyle. They know what we are up against and teach us how to work with what we have available. I appreciate the fact that they tend to be more understanding toward students and personal circumstance but at the same time demand our best because they know it can be done. And lastly, I feel learning from a teacher who has field experience is valuable because photo heroes are talked about, life stories are told and the sights, taste and feel of photography is passed on through memories and not academic babble."
Christina Tercero
Photojournalism Student
Oak Harbor, Wash.
|
|
"Being taught by faculty who have had practical experience in the field is extremely important and a huge advantage because they know, first hand, what they're talking about. Most, if not all, of the faculty have had extensive and successful careers as photojournalists, and they share that experience through teaching and hands-on guidance. Again, you can read and study something in photography as much as you want, but until you actually get out there and experience it for yourself, you're not really learning anything. Having actually worked in the field increases credibility and conveys that the professors know what they're talking about."
John Tully
Photojournalism Student
Woodbridge, Va.
|
|
What other qualities and skills are valuable?
|
|
"Anyone can pick up a camera, look through a viewfinder, push a shutter-button and take a decent picture. Taking a picture that prompts the viewer to react emotionally, whether his heart breaks from sadness or his side splits from laughter, separates an amateur from a skilled photojournalist. Painters use brushes to link reality with creative imagination; photojournalists use cameras. They recognize decisive life moments in the form of honest human emotion and interaction (or lack thereof). In all instances, they are also masters of light, able to work long hours and conditioned to place themselves in uncomfortable positions, both socially and physically. Photojournalists are open-minded, yet critical, thinkers who work hard to tell stories without words. In so doing, they allow people to see the objective world from a fresh, subjective perspective."
Shane Epping
Photojournalism Student
Tulsa, Okla.
|
|
|
"Practice is valuable. I also think it is good to have a bit of grace for yourself as long as it doesn't turn into apathy. I feel photographers should also learn to write, and write well. And because of the one-man-show news production is turning into, I feel it is valuable to also learn photo layout and design."
Christina Tercero
Photojournalism Student
Oak Harbor, Wash.
|
Where do Missouri Journalism students get internships?
"Our students usually have had at least one internship by the time they graduate. These have been in news reporting, producing, advertising, photography, public relations, magazine writing, event planning, design and much more. The internships are in major U.S. cities as well as in smaller communities, representing the wide range of interests of our students, who, incidentally, come from every state in the nation and from more than 30 countries. You might want to check out a list of almost 300 student internships at media outlets, agencies and other organizations where our students have worked in recent years."
Phou Sengsavanh
Career Center
|
|
"Many students go to Washington and all of the other internships offered through the Journalism School's list serve. Others find their own way, return to their hometowns or have already had job offers lined up before they come here. Personally, I haven't had an internship during my time in Columbia. I have spent my time here teaching J2100, editing for Adelante and getting things in order for my master's project. Before I came to school, however, I had a summer internship with the Whidbey News-Times in Oak Harbor, Wash. in 2003. And later, I returned to the WNT and worked as a reporter and photographer for a year.
Christina Tercero
Photojournalism Student
Oak Harbor, Wash.
|
|
"Photojournalism students get internships at various magazines, agencies, newspapers, studios...the list goes on. But one thing to remember is just because you come to a photojournalism school with a good reputation does not guarantee an internship. You've got to work for it. The resources are here and the knowledge is here just waiting for questions and interest."
John Tully
Photojournalism Student
Woodbridge, Va.
|
|
What kind of jobs are graduates getting with a photojournalism emphasis?
|
|
"After graduating, most of the students first get internships with newspapers. Later, they move to work as staff photographers or picture editors. They might also work for commercial magazines or Web sites."
Jackie Bell
Photojournalism Faculty
|
|
|
"The quality of the job is directly related to the quality of the student's portfolio and his or her previous experience. That's one reason we strongly recommend our students have at least one internship before graduation. Many students will do one, two or even three internships after they graduate before they find their first full-time job."
David Rees
Photojournalism Chair
|
What are the salaries and working environment like in this field?
"Salaries depend on the particular job tasks, the size of company you'll work for, and the location or region in which you work. For information on specific jobs in certain locations, two Web sites to visit for more detailed salary information are www.salary.com or www.monster.com."
Phou Sengsavanh
Career Center
|
|
"If you get a job as a staff photographer at a newspaper, you could work in a city of almost any size. Some photographers freelance in addition to their regular job and others do this full-time. In this case, where your office is your car, where you work depends on the city you're in and what you are covering."
Jackie Bell
Photojournalism Faculty
|
|
"We have some students who start work immediately at a smaller or mid-sized newspaper. A few go directly to news magazines (Time or U.S. News & World Report, for example) but they have had a fair amount of experience previously."
David Rees
Photojournalism Chair
|
|
"Photojournalism is a competitive profession; jobs are based strictly on one's portfolio. Most students complete at least one formal internship before securing a steady job. As a result, some graduates pursue starting positions as photo editors where employment slots are more readily available. As a shooter, one can expect to work in the field; as an editor, one can expect to work in an office. Pay depends on experience and ability of the photographer as well as the size and reputation of the employer."
Shane Epping
Photojournalism Student
Tulsa, Okla.
|
|
What is one tip you would give incoming students about the photojournalism emphasis area?
|
|
"The Missouri School of Journalism is very competitive, and it is essential that you maintain a 3.0 grade point average. I'm not telling you that you can't have fun at college, but remember that classwork comes first. There are many opportunities to become involved in extracurricular activities at an institution of this size. Become involved in any way you can, be it the student government, school paper, or special interest club. Enjoy the next four years, they may just be the best years of your life."
Zach Honig
Photojournalism Student
Voorhees, N.J.
|
|
"Get involved with journalism right away. Don't wait until you are a junior. The MU Students News and The Maneater provide great avenues for photographers with and without experience to practice their craft. Not to mention the fact that you get paid to do what you love."
Elisabeth Gardner
Photojournalism Student
Carrington, N.D.
|
|
"Be familiar with the ins and outs of your camera, and don't hesitate to get advice from the professors. I really enjoy doing photo stories through the Journalism School."
Lyle Whitworth
Photojournalism Student
Washington, Mo.
|
|
|
"Journalism isn't a 9-5 job...it's a lifestyle. Hit the ground running, set goals, have patience and don't become too discouraged. Keep working hard and one day it'll all be worth it. I'd say most importantly is have a ton of fun while you can. The faculty here works extremely hard to give students every opportunity to learn and immerse themselves into the industry."
John Tully
Photojournalism Student
Woodbridge, Va.
|
|
Missouri School of Journalism Undergraduate Handbook
|
| Starting Your Program |
Freshman/Sophomore
Pre-Emphasis Area Requirements |
Junior/Senior
Emphasis Area Requirements |
Graduation |
Academic Policies |
Admissions
Sample Eight-Semester Programs
Computer Requirements
Other Options
|
Pre-Emphasis Area Requirements
Early Enrollment Programs
|
Emphasis Area Requirements
Off-Site Programs
Options
|
|
|
University of Missouri-Columbia Undergraduate Links
|
|
|
|
|
