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February 25, 1998
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When I used to travel around the country attending National Press
Photographers Association Short Courses and Seminars, we often had
the opportunity to talk with photojournalism students and sometimes
we reviewed their portfolios. One of the most frequently asked questions
was, “How do I get a job as a news photographer after I graduate?”
There is no simple answer. I’ve seen PJ students who interned
for us and were hired as soon as they graduated, and I’ve heard
horror tales from other students who spent years searching for staff
positions.
About the only advice I could offer was to suggest that they stay
away from the major markets. I mean, every young man/woman wants
to shoot for the NY Times or LA Times or some other big city paper.
But, let’s get real folks. Papers like that have the luxury
of demanding a lot of previous experience from anyone they hire
for a staff job. They can’t afford to take a chance on an unknown
and untried commodity.
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Jackie Kennedy holds the flag that covered her slain husband's
coffin after he was laid to rest in Arlington national Cemetary,
11/63
Photo By Dick Kraus
© Newsday
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So, I suggested that young graduates search out jobs in the boonies.
There are far more positions available in East Mudflat, Nebraska than
there are in the coastal big cities. Of course, the assignments will be
4 H Club Fairs and sewing bees and church picnics, because that is what
small home town papers do best. You probably won't get within a hundred
miles of a national news story unless the President makes a whistle stop
at the East Mudflat railroad station. But, who knows?
All of this does not preclude the opportunity to make good photographs.
There are plenty of good human interest things going on in Middle America
that make spectacular photos. Great big national stories don’t always
add up to great big spectacular pictures. If a photographer is worth his/her
salt, he/she will make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, more often than
not, and that makes for good portfolios.
Another advantage to working for a small circulation paper is that they
are usually short staffed and will use everything that you can give them
to fill space in the paper. Just try to give them your best effort for
them to display. I can assure you, that if and when you come to a big
city paper, you will be amazed at how little of your work gets published.
Small papers use picture pages. Large papers rarely do.
And, if a young photographer applies him/herself and builds up a good
portfolio and enters the NPPA clip contest and maybe wins a couple of
awards in the Pictures of the Year contest, eventually he/she will be
sought out by photo editors looking for fresh talent. And he/she will
be wooed and seduced by the glamour and thrill of working in the big leagues.
And you will earn more money than you thought possible, and you may get
to cover some big time stories and even do some traveling. And you will
get far fewer pictures published. And you will have become a whore, like
so many of us, myself included. I know that this statement will create
controversy. But, there was a time when I enjoyed seeing my work in print.
I took pride in the display I got in picture strips and picture stories.
I like the freedom that I had to be creative. And then I became a whore.
Even though I have worked for the same paper for almost 40 years, it
has gone from a small 6 day a week local paper to the 7th largest (I believe)
circulation paper in the US, with bureaus all over the world. And with
that transition, I experienced all of the factors that I mentioned above,
and were I not a whore, I would have quit to go work for a paper in East
Mudflat where my work would be seen with more frequency and I would have
the time and inclination to be more creative.
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I passed this lovely scene on my way to another assignment. I
kept driving but my brain started yelling for me to go back. This
woman reaped these flowers for sale in a nursery.
Photo By Dick Kraus
© Newsday
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I still love my job. I get to go to some interesting places and
meet some fascinating people. I couldn't conceive of being in any
other line of work. I just wax nostalgic when I think back about
how I used to set up two or three extension flashes to photograph
some Daughters of the American Revolution tea party. The sow's ear
into the silk purse thing that I mentioned.
And even when we were a small paper, sometimes fate conspired to
give me a shot at major stories. I had only been with the paper
for a few years when John Kennedy was assassinated and later that
day I found myself in Washington where I spent the next three days
covering his funeral. And now that I work for a big paper, and I
still cover some major stories, it seems like I shoot more head
shots and real estate than ever before. I guess the more things
change, the more they stay the same.
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The photos that I am attaching for the purpose of illustrating
my statements include a black and white photo of Jackie Kennedy
made while I still worked for a small paper. It proves that even
at a small paper, you get a chance for your Andy Worhol “15
Minutes Of Fame.” And after Newsday became a major force in
the world of journalism, there is still the opportunity to do something
simple just because it is there and it appeals to you. I am referring
to the “Flower Lady” which was shot with a 600 mm lens
to make it pop out at you. I almost drove past without stopping.
The shot of the old German soldier at his comrade's grave in Normandy
was a chance in a lifetime assignment for an aging news photographer
like myself. Sometimes you think that the parade is passing you
by and you'll never get a shot at a meaty story again. And then
you get tapped to do something like this. It was a thrill.
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Hans Goekel, a former German machine gunner in WW II, kneels
at the grave of a comrade laid to rest in the german Cemetary in
Normandy, 50 years after the Allied invasion
Photo By Dick Kraus
© Newsday
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And finally, the shot of Santa and Admirer was one of those shots
that just happen and you are glad to have been there to record it.
Thanks for listening.
Dick Kraus
Staff Photographer
Newsday
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A couple of Christmases ago, we did a feature on people who travel
the country for jobs as mall Santas. This child was a Santa groupie
who showed up day after day. One day, she just went over to talk
with him here before he started work.
Photo By Dick Kraus
© Newsday
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