Cost of setting up as a photojournalist in 2024
A rough, self estimated guessing guideline to the financial cost of getting yourself set up and running today
Hello again, I’ve been mulling over my list of Substack ideas, and today chose to run with a little self calculated guide, to see what it’ll cost you to set yourself up as a working (or at least able to work) photojournalist right now, in mid 2024. The sector seems to be very slow motion this year, so be warned.
The below is very much not confirmed or set in stone, just my rough calculation, given all the hidden costs, and things you might not have thought about if you’re looking to get into this industry now or soon. I’ll give my idea of the more expensive options, and the cheaper, or even free options available to you.
Important to note that it can all be very intimidating, but try not to let it be.
Equipment - the big one
Making contacts - photo festivals, portfolio reviews, meetings with editors
Online presence - website/portfolio, email address
Producing your first original/seminal project/body of work
Optional extras
Equipment - estimated costs anywhere between €1000-€the moon
If you’re looking for a camera and lens set up that’ll not break the bank, and have the standard, flexibility, and durability required you’re likely looking at these options:
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Any kind or brand of camera with interchangeable lens option - €400-700+
A couple of lenses to get you started. They could be ‘kit lenses’ or primes. Let’s say a kit lens would come in at around €450-650+ , and a couple of primes (35mm and 50mm) at something in the region of €300-400+ each.
You could go down the new route, my prices, or the obviously cheaper second hand options, via great companies like mpb and others.
Memory cards, hard drives to store all this stuff, card readers, bags and other accessories - likely setting you back something starting from €100-300 all in.
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Making contacts - estimated costs anywhere from €200-€2000+++ depending on where you’re heading. Broken down below from local or national editor visits, to international photo festivals.
This is one of the many time consuming, and somewhat hidden costs of the industry, especially when most of us are freelancers. It’s a delicate juggling act between being somewhere where you work and can produce coverage, whilst also maintaining a working relationship with photo editors often in far away cities or countries.
You’ll be unsurprised to hear that this once again all boils down to money. If you’ve got the lucky draw, you’ll have a free place to stay with family or friends in a major Western European or North American city, where the majority of photo editors and publication offices are based - if not, it’s a lot of trying your luck when you might be somewhere vaguely nearby, and then emailing someone you’d like to meet, to arrange a meeting, hoping they’ll reply, be available, and agree.
Best case scenario, a local, regional, or national publication’s photo editor will be a cheap bus or train ride away, and won’t even need a night in a hotel in London/Paris/Hamburg/NYC/Washington D.C./other
Alternative, more hedonistic option, is doing the rounds at the photo festivals - Arles, Visa Pour l’image, Photoville, Photo London, Belfast Photo Festival, GetxoPhoto, and many others, which all range in their focus and interest in documentary photography and photojournalism. This can be awful, it can be hilariously tragicomic, they can be filled with seemingly impenetrable cliques, BUT it can sometimes be rewarding.
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So you’ve paid a lot of money, for tickets, flights and accommodation, what’s it like going to a photo festival? Firstly, if possible, I’d recommend not going alone, they’re not always the friendliest of places. It’s a conveyer belt of
hungry carbon copy photographers donning their laptops/iPads/portfolios at the ready, huddling and lurking around stairwells, cafes, and bars, force-feeding themselves to the stars of the show, the photo editors. The bewildered photo editors do their best to spare time for everybody, but they’re being chased by a pack of assignment hungry wolves at every turn, and understand that they’re likely quite knackered.
On a more positive note, photo festivals are a fabulous way to see some of the leading work in the industry, often exhibited in innovative and engaging ways and venues. You can make and reinforce some relationships with clients and editors, but I think they’d all rather just do the networking low-key. From the editors I’ve spoken to, they much prefer a quick little hello and intro, and then being left alone, to the drastic barrage of imagery being plopped onto their table, and subsequent vomiting of work.
Everyone there is there because they love the medium of photography, and these events are usually lubricated rather well with plenty of booze, so just try and mingle and talk to anybody (easier said than done, I know!), not just editors, but also the supposed enemy of the photographer, the other photographer :)
Portfolio reviews - These can be a better option than photo festivals, as they usually have pre defined meetings, with slots and a schedule. Participants are usually pre-selected, and get to request the photo editors they’d like to see the most, which sometimes happens and sometimes doesn’t. I’ve had lovely experiences and feedback at portfolio reviews, such as the NYT Portfolio review, Hamburg portfolio review, and others. The advantage to these is that they’re often hybrid since the pandemic, or totally online, allowing you to save a lot of money you could actually be spending on producing work, or buying equipment.
Online presence - estimated annual costs of around €200 for a portfolio website hosting, an email address, and a domain name at the cheapest end, with a company like Format, Photoshelter, PortfolioBox, Square space, or others. Some services offer free trial periods, or very very cheap options if you don’t want to host many images on there.
Producing your first project - ranges massively, but let’s go with €800-5000
Obviously this one hinges massively on any need to travel, stay somewhere, and how much you might need for translation, or that you’re costing yourself with research time by dedicating work days to this, rather than a potential other income stream.
Won’t delve too deeply here, as this varies so much. It could be a personal project about someone close to you who’s going through something, it could be about yourself, a more abstract emotion, or it could involve several trips abroad, and quickly stacking up costs.
Optional extras - estimated costs €200-priceless
A social / personal life - priceless, and often hard to commit to when you live and breathe the news cycle, or are depending on it for work, and any type of routine or schedule.
The never ending cycle of new accessories, better camera bags, protective equipment, insurance, prozac, a laptop, more lenses, more cameras, more more more
Sub total of this guesstimation €3500+ - infinity
Bearing in mind, this is just to get yourself ready to work, and hopefully having produced your first, in-depth body of work, and nobody has paid you a penny yet…so you better start pitching, and doing more networking, and get some eyes on that work. The prices I’ve listed are for the most basic lenses, cameras, and other equipment.
Good luck…you’ll need it.