If there is one question I receive on a regular basis it's something like the following:

Dear Micah, I want to become a photojournalist, where do I start?

I figured that rather than trying to field everyone's emails one by one, I should write up my thoughts on the topic in a blog post. This is partly me being lazy, but I'll turn that laziness right around and call this post a "service to my community."

Before I begin I need to make a small disclaimer. I don't consider myself a professional photojournalist. I guess I used to call myself that, but I have since re-branded myself as just myself. Notice that my website just says "Micah Walter" and no longer has the "photojournalist" tag-line.

This has to do with a number of things that have happened to me over the past few years, but mostly because I am doing quite a few other things besides photojournalism.

That being said, the answer to this question really depends on what type of "photojournalist" you see yourself as becoming. Do you want to work for a wire service like Reuters or the AP? Do you want to sell your feature stories for a magazine like TIME, or work for an NGO? Do you want a staff position at a newspaper or an agency, or would you rather be a freelancer?

There is a plethora of photojournalistic opportunity out there to consider. The main little bit of advice I can share at this point is this: Be open-minded. Some people get into this only thinking of freelance work as a stepping stone to a staff position. This doesn't mean it has to work out that way for you. I have had quite a bit of fun working as a freelancer, and I think ideally freelancing suits me best. So I made a career out of it.

Get Connected

Getting into this industry is certainly NOT a step by step process. There is no real formula or track, especially considering how things have changed over the past decade. Still, if I was starting out from scratch the very first thing I would do would be to get involved in the photojournalism community. This can mean a number of things. You can subscribe to magazines, join clubs and professional groups, but the number one way to get involved (in my opinion) is online.

If photojournalism is your main focus I would start by joining the online community called Lightstalkers. This is a great resource and community built by real professional photojournalists. You will see lots of ranting and arguing, but that comes with the territory. I would probably advise that you DON'T start things off by writing a post called "How to get into photojournalism" , but actually try reading some of the posts. Figure out what people are talking about, what people are concerned about, and what projects people are working on. It's all right there for you.

There are plenty of other communities out there, but this one I have found is the most specific to photojournalism and some of the top photogs in the industry are on there every day.

Get Out There

Now that I have you scouring the Internet for information I am going to tell you to do the exact opposite. You can't call yourself a photojournalist if you don't take pictures. Figure out some really basic equipment and beg borrow or steel until you have something to work with. Hit the pavement and start working on your portfolio. These days everything is on the web.

Don't worry about making a pretty printed portfolio book. Focus on your brand as a photographer and work on your presence on the web. Get those people on LightStalkers to check out your images and be prepared for the smack-down. This is probably common sense, but you really need to practice your craft before you can sell it as a service. So get out there, find something you think is interesting and start shooting.

Great Stories Are Everywhere

When I started out I ran off to Israel and spent a year learning to shoot. It was painful at first. The idea came to me after reading some books and watching a few documentaries on photographers who had done the same thing before me. Also, I really wanted to live in Israel for a stretch.

But great stories are happening in your backyard all the time. I'm currently thinking about doing a story about the little walk up "Chimi" burger stand on my corner. There is always colorful and interesting activity going on there. How did these guys get started in the Chimi business? This could be a great story. It's really small, but it could be very intimate and revealing if done right.

You really need to shoot and report on the things that matter to you. But I'm telling you, this stuff isn't always a world away. Do something personal, something different, something surprising. This is all part of the "journalism" part of being a photojournalist.

Ride The Wave

One of the biggest things to think about I think is that this field is RADICALLY changing, and it's all happening right now. Newspaper photogs are being asked to go out with HD cameras, freelancers are being forced to sign ugly contracts, staffers are being let go by the handful--it's pretty crazy out there. You can go the traditional route and wind up in the same situation as all that have come before you or you can learn navigate this rapidly changing industry and ride the wave.

It used to be that there were a few basic paths you could go down if you wanted to become a professional photojournalist. You could get a job "stringing" for the local rag and work your way into a staff job before trying to go for something a little bigger, or you could hit the road and do a few personal projects and then begin trying to sell them to magazines. There was even a point where you could show up at the door of an agency with some pictures in hand with the hopes that the agency would give you a big advance and ask you to go off and shoot some dream assignment--I think those days are over.

Now it's all about being creative. If you want to be a photojournalist you are probably already a creative person, so this should be a perfect fit. Work on building your reputation online. This business is all about your name, so brand yourself. Think of yourself as a company. Figure out why a client should pick you over the leading brand. It probably won't happen right away, but I can't stress enough how important it is to create a name for yourself.

Don't Buy The Canon 1Ds MKIII

You can't afford to buy the biggest and best camera on the market. The Canon 1Ds MKIII is about $8000 without a lens! Start smaller. Figure out a small budget and stick to it. You probably wont sell a picture for a while when you are just getting started. You may be shooting things for next to nothing in the beginning, so get appropriate equipment. Digital SLRs these days are simply amazing. There are some really inexpensive options that are far beyond anything that was even imaginable when the previous generation was getting started in this field.

You CAN buy that cheap DSLR you saw on sale at Costco while grocery shopping with your parents. It WILL take amazing pictures. You really don't need much. More importantly, you don't need what everyone else has. If you think you are going to walk into your local wire service bureau and pitch them on the basis that you own some pro gear, think again. They don't really care. All they want is for you to go out and make them pictures they can sell. It's as simple as that. If you want to know more about what gear to buy, check out a site like Strobist.com. He has some great advice. You can keep this pretty simple to begin with.

Personally I would invest most of my money in a decent laptop. I spend a huge amount of time on my laptop and I have it set up with some really great software. From my laptop I communicate with my clients, produce my work, update my website and interact with communities. It's my number-one tool.

As for camera gear, I would start out cheap. Digital equipment gets outdated just as fast as computers these days. That said, there are some basic requirements for photojournalistic work. Faster glass is really important. A camera body that works well in low light at high ISO is a good thing. A good wide lens like a 28mm or 24mm and a nice telephoto like a 200mm should be a good place to start. A nice TTL strobe will be almost required equipment. There are plenty of kits available to choose from at places like B+H Photo. It really depends on your budget. I would think that for about $3000 you could get started, and for $5000 you could probably get yourself a pretty nice outfit. When I was working for the wires I carried the following with me just about everywhere I went.

• 15" MacBook Pro
• Two Pro DSLR Bodies ( I started with Nikon D2Hs and eventually switched to Canon )
• 17-35 f/2.8
• 70-200 f/2.8
• Pro Speedlight
• Extra Batteries and CF cards, Card Readers, Wireless 3G Card for laptop, etc...

On occasion, depending on the assignment I would bring/borrow some long glass like a 300mm or 400mm f/2.8, but I never ended up buying one of my own.

If you are looking to do more self-assigned documentary work, you might think about getting wider, smaller and faster glass. A Canon 5D MKII with a 24mm f/1.4 may be all you really need. It greatly depends on your shooting style. Sports shooters will want long, fast glass for sure, and lots of extra bodies and wireless remotes. Sports photogs seem to require the most gear these days. Take a look at the Official White House Photostream on Flickr. You can click each pic to find out what camera and lens was used. you'll get the idea pretty quickly.

Be Realistic

This is a very, very, VERY competitive field. Since the birth of digital photography, this industry, has seen some MAJOR changes. If you are reading this you can consider yourself part of this new generation of photojournalists who have never, and probably will never, shoot a professional assignment on film. If you think I'm talking about making movies then I only prove my point further. Digital imaging and the Internet has caused this profession to become more and more accessible. Just about anyone can pick up a camera and make a go at it. There are things like citizen journalism, YouTube, and Twitter that are all taking a bite out of the pie. You just need to rethink the pie.

We are in a recession. Like it or not, everyone's pie is getting smaller. Is this the best time to try and get into this field? When papers are laying off staffers left and right, magazine picture budgets are getting smaller and smaller and everyone wants everything for free, it's a tough choice. A few years ago I would recommend getting some steady paying job to pay your bills and working on for your local paper on the weekends or something, but these days I think there are other possibilities. Again, you just need to be creative. There are journalists out there who only report via Twitter. How are they making any money? Well, figure that one out and get in on the action.

Expand Your Skill-Set

It's probably not enough anymore to just be a stills photographer. The audience on the net wants Rich Media. Learn how to produce it. Get involved with recording video and audio as well as stills. Get up to speed on the software required to produce this stuff on your own. It's amazing how much the current generation of working professional photojournalists DON'T know about recording audio. If you can learn about some of these OTHER skills, just think how much farther ahead you will be compared to your competition.

There is this amazing thing on the Internet called Google.com. Go to it, type in what you want to learn about and go from there. Go to the NYTimes.com, look at their multimedia section and figure out how to produce something similar on your laptop. All the tools you need are at your fingertips. No excuses here!

Don't Forget To Write

One of the best pieces of advice I was given when I myself was asking the question that started this post was how important it is to be a GREAT writer. Many working photojournalists can barely put together a caption. How can you pitch yourself if you can't articulate what you are trying to say? Seriously, work really hard on becoming a really good writer and it will pay off. Even if you decide three months from now to ditch photojournalism altogether and do something completely different, writing is one of those basic skills that can get you pretty far in this world. I'm a pretty good example of this.

Last But Not Least -- Be Happy

One thing that is certain about this profession is that you will get rejected. If you can't handle rejection, you should probably rethink things. Being a photojournalist ( or any type of journalist for that matter ) is a very strange thing. What other profession is there where your direct competition gets to look at your work on a daily basis? When you hire a plumber to come over and fix your sink, does he finish the job by inviting all the other plumbers in the neighborhood to come by and check out his work? PJs are always in each-other's business. If you want to find out what your photog buddies are up to, you can just go online and look! So be flexible, and be prepared to do things differently. Think outside the box. You are your own business, and you can do things however you like. You don't have to follow a formula. The formulas from yesteryear don't work anymore. So whip up your own recipe for success.

Figure out what works and what makes you happy.