The Writer As Photographer

by Steven A. Arts
 

If you have ever had to search through the yellow pages of your phone book, or through your memory for a good photographer, I have a great idea for you. Invest some money from a few stories or articles and buy yourself a camera. Believe me, it’s much easier to take your own photos than to try and coordinate your time with a professional photographer, especially if you have children and work.

It’s much easier to buy a camera that you like, practice with it quite a bit, and then start taking photographs to go along with your non-fiction articles. It is my opinion that a successful writer of magazine non-fiction should be his/her own photographer. It isn’t as difficult as you may think. You can even use the skills you learn to take photographs of your own children, other family members and even your friends. Who knows, some people may even offer to pay you to take their portraits when you get good enough at photography. 

All that you need, at first, is a camera body, flash unit, camera bag, a tripod, plus a 50mm lens and wide angle lens. If you can afford to do so, buy a second camera body (same model as the other one), medium range lens and zoom lens. Make sure that the cameras are SLR’s (single lens reflex). That simply means that 
what you see through the viewfinder is what the camera actually sees.

Some name brands to consider for the 35mm camera body and lenses are Canon, Yashica, Nikon, Minolta, Ricoh, Leica, Chinon and Olympus. You may even want to check out some name brands not mentioned here. Just remember that you should purchase the best quality camera equipment that you can afford, because you are on the road to becoming a professional photojournalist. Send for all of the available literature on all camera models before making a decision as to which you are going to buy. Many magazines still use photographs made from 35mm film. If you have some markets in mind that use digital photographs, then you might want to buy such a camera. Study the markets that you plan on shooting photographs for, to see exactly what they use, so that 
you don’t end up buying the wrong type of photographic equipment.

Once you have decided on the proper cameras, buy lots of cheap film, and practice, practice, practice. Your first hundred shots or so are bound to look amateurish, but don’t worry. Over the years, as you begin to take more photos for your articles, you will become more professional. Don’t expect to become a National Geographic staffer overnight. There are, of course, some people who are natural-born photographers, but don’t expect miracles.

Don’t try to sell your photos the first year, unless you are a prodigy. Not all editors expect you to be Ansel Adams, but you do need a degree of proficiency, and practice helps. When you first become somewhat proficient at photography, try selling first to paying markets on the lower end of the scale. Don’t try to sell to the higher paying markets right away, because you’ll only frustrate yourself.

The reason I say this is that most writers who take up photography, need quite a bit of practice, as I did, especially if you’ve never or rarely used a camera before. At first your photographs may be all right for the lower paying markets, who may simply be happy to receive photographs from a writer. Still, take the very best photographs for them that you can. This will be good practice for the years ahead, when your photography gets 
better and you are writing for the medium and higher paying magazines.

Try taking pictures of family, friends and fellow workers. If you are good enough, charge for your photo sessions, but don’t overprice yourself. There’s nothing quite like making a little money at the start of your career, to give your morale a boost. And, you need to start making your camera pay for itself. I have two camera bodies, and they paid for themselves quite a number of years back.

In your query letter to the editor for a non-fiction magazine, newspaper or newsletter, tell the editor that you are a 
photographer and writer. If they know you can easily take your own photos, they may be more inclined to look at your manuscript. I’ve had that happen to me on numerous occasions. You might even be surprised and get a telephone call from an editor. It has been known to happen. 

Likewise if a magazine editor gives you a writing assignment, make sure that you mention that you are also a photographer. Recently I was given an assignment, simply the writing end. I mentioned to the editor that I also took my own photographs, so she told me I could take them; 35mm color slides. One reason that I always try to take my own photographs is that I firmly believe that as a writer, when I take my own photographs, it makes me more observant, because I am going around, trying to figure out what the best shots are. This leads me to notice more of the environment that I’m writing about, and it comes out in the ensuing article. Not to mention that you don’t have to pay a photographer to take photographs for you. Sometimes the photographer may charge you more than you’ll make for the article itself, which is self-defeating.

So don’t let another person share in the checks that you receive from a magazine. Buy yourself a good 35mm camera, practice, and start to make money. Believe me, you may even get to enjoy the photography as much as you do writing.
 

About the Author

For over 18 years Steven Arts has been using his photographic skills to help sell non-fiction articles to magazines and newspapers. His photo skills have earned him several jobs at daily and weekly newspapers in the United States, as well as freelance opportunities.
 

© Copyright 2002 Steven Arts.

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