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How does one become a war photographer? Anonymous
i figure this is the right forum for it and this place is more mature than the rest of this shithole...

ive been thinking about my future alot, what i want to do with my life, my career, etc. im 20, and im about to graduate with a degree in political science.

and ive realised that what i want to do is become a war/conflict photographer...how cna i go about doing this? can easy is it to do it freelance? do such photographers usually have to work on the side? how much can you expect to earn in a year? (money is not a big issue for me, but i would still like to know how much they earn).

of course this is unconventional so im at a loss as to where to get info from....so the help would be much appreciated anonymous
>> Anonymous
>>102482

Join the military. Look on monster.com then search for keyword "photographer" . You'll get plenty of opportunities.
>> Anonymous
>>102482

most war photographers are not owned by the military.
>> Anonymous
1. Go to a war.
2. Take compelling pictures.
3. Sell them to a wire service.

If you don't suck, you'll eventually move from freelance contributer to stringer (regular contributer to a wire service who takes assignments) to staff photographer. You will most likely have a hard time making ends meet for the first few years, longer if you aren't a good photographer or a good businessman.

The easiest and most financially secure option is to join one of the military branches and apply to be a photographer. It's hard to say if you'll actually get it though, as they're pretty bad about changing your assignment once you're done with basic lately.
>> Anonymous
>>102492

thanks for the info. i plan on travelling so i should hit some conflict spots also.

any guide as to how much such pictures sell for? or what the wage of a stringer is?
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>102492
It helps a lot if you have a secret identity as a superhero. Then you can just take pictures of yourself doing superhero work and get hired as a stringer by a newspaper pretty easily.
>> Anonymous
>>102494
Even if you suck at photography!
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>102496
On this subject, I think Eric Foreman really deserved the job more than Peter Parker did in Spider-Man III. Eric Foreman actually worked at his craft, and was smart enough to do things like keep a backup body in case a pissy superhero decided to smash his main body against a wall. Granted, shopping it to make Spider-Man look like an ass wasn't very ethical, but I would argue that it's not significantly less ethical than the shit that Peter Parker pulled. Not to mention that the paper they both worked for was barely above the Weekly World News tabloid level to begin with...
>> Anonymous
Don't go to Iraq if you want to be a war photographer! Seriously! There's good reasons you won't find many non-natives doing it in the thick of it there.

I hope you do well in whatever area of photography you choose, but in any unstable country a foreigner with a big expensive camera is asking to be kidnapped or killed. In a war torn country with religious fanatics you might be lucky if you are just killed and robbed.

Don't get too excited and carried away.
>> Butterfly !xlgRMYva6s
I'd post the image of a reporter on the buisness end of a isreli APC's main canon but I appear to have lost it and anyway the cockle-funloving mods/janitors would probably delete it beacuse even if it is FUCKING RELEVENT its not something I took. I'd go out and take another one beacuse all id need to do is go stand next to our dearl eader with a camera because hes a GIANT FAGGOT.
>> Anonymous
>>102508

thanks for the sound advice. im brown skinned so that should get me to many places as long as i know the local language, culture and mannerisms (india, parts of asia, latin america, north africa, middle east)
>> Anonymous
>>102508
AFAIK James Nachtwey (also a political science major, OP, along with art history) in everything he's done has only gotten injured that time he was riding in a humvee and someone tossed a grenade in.

And of course, being James Nachtwey, he kept photographing until he passed out from loss of blood.
>> Anonymous
>>102776
nominate for man of balls award
>> Anonymous
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War photography.

Camera-Specific Properties:Camera SoftwareAdobe Photoshop CS WindowsImage-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution300 dpiVertical Resolution300 dpiImage Created2006:12:16 14:57:40Color Space InformationUncalibratedImage Width750Image Height511
>> Anonymous
>>102500
Eric Foreman endagered the "reputation" of the paper. Sure it was a tabloid, but even the New York Post would be in deep shit if someone found out they'd shopped photos to make someone look bad.

Plus, Spiderman took better pictures.
>> Anonymous
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>>102513
>> Macheath !8b4g0BkNZg
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>>102500

Eric Foreman?
>> Anonymous
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>>102793
NOBODY'S TALKING TO YOU
>> Anonymous
>>102494
>>102500
>>102793
>>102797

What is going on here? Spiderman, then some guy, then House (or Hugh Laurie, at least) against the same background.
>> Anonymous
>>102482

Become a war mercenary and take your camera along on jobs. You will earn a shitload more than you will as a photographer and you can rest in the knowledge that even if your photos are shit, you do not lose out financially.
>> Anonymous
The US loves to throw photographers in dentition without charging them of any crime. An example, Bilal Hussein
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>102930
Well, that's understandable. I mean, he's got the last name Hussein, for God's sake. Obviously a terrorist.
>> eku !8cibvLQ11s
>>102940

Am I a victim of troll, if I have to corret you that Hussein isn't Saddam's surname?
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>102941
Not "troll" so much as "cynical joke".
>> Anonymous
>>102941
more like most english speakers probably have no clue how to read arabic names in the first place, so it's most likely not trolling or stupidity, just not knowing
>> Anonymous
>>102773
Make sure that you really want to do this. Read up on a infamous group called the Bang Bang club.
>> Anonymous
>>102806
Becoming a mercenary, at least for any of the major companies doing it, generally requires a military background or at the very least specialized civilian skills that would be of use to them. You can't just go down to your local mercenary recruiting office and sign up.
>> Anonymous
>>102941
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allankcrain/853722538/
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>102987
It's really kinda sad. I honestly thought that that girl was so obviously not a terrorist that it would be immediately clear that I was joking. But then 1986born was all "Graargh you Republicans make me sick graargh!"

There is certainly the strong possibility that I'm not nearly as hilarious as I think I am.
>> Anonymous
>>102993
I think they're funny, and it'd be hard to find someone less hostile to Muslims than I am besides, say, an actual Muslim.

There's a certain type of political extremist who basically has their head up their ass, stuck either in a MoveOn.org meetup or a tent revival. Both are best ignored and/or mocked, and I say this as someone with some pretty far left views myself.
>> Warren !WSxruxpIJs
There's a compelling documentary about James Nachtwey called "War Photographer." It's available on DVD and is worth owning if you're interested in the subject.
>> Anonymous
sup /p/
i wish to be a flame war photographer...
>> Anonymous
Oddly I just bought 'Slightly out of focus' The Robert Capa memoirs from WWII and finished the thing very quickly. According to Capa's story you can pretty much just bumble into it if you know enough famous people and make friend easily... Although that was many generations ago so it probably doesn't apply these days.

I think the merc idea has the most merit. Join one of the many private security firms and sneak a p&s around with you. You won't make a difference but you can tell everyone you're a war photog.
>> Anonymous
REAL war photographers CAUSE the wars they cover.
>> Anonymous
A few years ago, I saw this documentary about war photographers: http://www.cbc.ca/beyondwords/index.html If nothing else, it showed how fucked up a lot of the photographers have become over the years. They're really good at their work, but it's scarred them for sure.