So you want to be a photojournalist?

Making it as a photojournalist

Lena’s early work with NGOs on human rights and gender issues served as the key that unlocked crucial doors to getting a foot in the industry, beginning with a commission in Bolivia for the New York Times. “I was living in Colombia when they reached out, and this would be my main advice for those looking to break in. I didn’t stay in Berlin waiting for great stories to appear, I went out on my own to find stories abroad.”

Setting off to areas of conflict shouldn’t be undertaken lightly, however, as Lena urges anyone following in her intrepid footsteps to seek assistance. “It can get quite scary, so when I go somewhere I don’t know, I always rely on a really good fixer – a local guide who really knows the area, knows the conflict, recommends places to go and can partner me with the right people. I first used one when I was photographing a story on cocaine production in Colombia, and realised then just how important they are. They charge quite a lot, but they are your protection. They know the guys who can keep you safe. And when you’re out and about, they’ll introduce you to people you might want to photograph and will vouch for you and what you’re there to do. When I was in Congo and there was a very delicate situation, my fixer just said, ‘OK, let’s go, run to the car, and I’ll get you out of this,’ so they have a much better idea of when to go into a situation or when to leave it alone.”

Building a network is crucial according to Lena, not only to find on-the-ground fixers and people to partner up with, but also to connect with professional contacts who have power to commission stories. “A big network is really important,” she says. “Whether I go, I need to know who I can reach out to. I’m in so many groups, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter). You have to join the online photographic community – it’s very collaborative. Networking is a big part, not just from a safety point of view, but also for employment. It can take years to create a good network, going to photo festivals and reaching out to editors, or going to cities where you know they live and saying hello, but it’s worth it. If editors don’t know you, they won’t offer you a story.” Equally important as building relationships with editors is knowing how to effectively pitch a story. “When you pitch it, you need to explain why it’s a good story, so research, investigate, use your interview skills,” adds Lena. “You have to dedicate a lot of time to it, which is why it’s important to find topics that interest you.

“But if you know you really want to do this, focus on it for some time to get really good at it, and open yourself up to being critiqued. Sometimes we are so connected by our emotions to our pictures that we don’t see what’s maybe not so good about them. So don’t get frustrated if you feel as if you’re not making it yet. Stick to it and really believe in yourself.”

As keen as Lena is to champion the career, she’s eager to highlight the challenges, too. Given the diminishing opportunities and rising competition, she urges aspiring photographers to carefully consider if this is the right path for them. “My advice is to diversify, because you can’t rely on clients,” she says. “So, as well as being a photojournalist, also work as a commercial or portrait photographer, or support yourself with a stable income. And know that if you do this, there are a lot of sacrifices – you can be away from your family months at a time. I think, as a woman, this is particularly hard when you have children.”

Creating powerful images

One of the reasons Lena believes her work translates so effectively is because she always photographs life from an empathetic standpoint. “It’s about the feeling,” she explains. “You capture that through the composition, the light, the way people look, where they look, how they interact. If you get that right, you will make the viewer feel how the subject feels. To do that, you need a lot of empathy. And you can’t pretend to have empathy or be interested in somebody’s life if you’re not. You have to be yourself and open yourself up.”

When it comes to creating a powerful composition, the only thing Lena controls is her camera. “The most I can do is move myself to find better light, but the composition has to happen organically,” she says. “In photojournalism there can be no managing. You can’t intervene. All you can do is look for the good light and make sure everything is in focus. You also have to be very quick – quick at taking the photos and quick in deciding: ‘OK, we have two subjects, where should I go?’”

For most excursions Lena prefers to travel light, opting for her trusty Nikon Z6II, teamed with her favoured all-rounder, the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, or for portraits and low-light scenarios, the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S and NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S. “The less equipment I have, the more flexible I am, and the less scared my subjects feel, which is why I always photograph in silent mode when I’m indoors,” Lena explains. “It helps me not be too intimidating, too big, too loud. An audible click takes the subject out of their emotion and out of the moment.”

Lena’s a staunch manual mode user. For aperture, she usually operates between f/5.6 to f/7 for scenes where there is a lot going on and relies on autofocus, but she goes wider to f/1.8 to f/2.8 for portraits, focusing on the eyes or expressions. Unlike many photographers, Lena avoids burst mode. “I don’t use it – only single frame mode as it forces me to take my time and consider each image individually,” she says. “It’s almost like going back to the days of film where you just have one shot, and that means you really have to think about it. I try to not take too many. I’ll look at a scene and if I’m like, ‘No, that’s not the image,’ I will wait.”

Although Lena makes a few modest tweaks during post-production, she believes that getting the light right in-camera is paramount in photojournalism. “I’m careful about choosing the right lighting,” she explains. “I avoid photographing at noon when the light is harshest. My favourite times are during the blue hour, both in the morning and evening, when the light is soft. That way I only need to tone down the highlights to maintain balance, because excessive post-production can make images look more like paintings than photos. The focus should remain on the photo itself and the story it tells, not the editing. This is key to preserving the original message of the image – and that’s what photojournalism is all about.”