Education – Page 2

And Then The Prime Minister Hit Me – the new book from Brian Harris.

Veteran Fleet Street photographer and founder member of The BPPA Brian Harris has just published his long-awaited book “…and then the Prime Minister hit me”. You can follow the story of how the book came into being on Brian’s blog.
When Brian Harris decided as a boy to give up his dream of being a newspaper cartoonist and instead become a photographer, it was a decision that would take him from 1960s Essex to the heart of the British newspaper industry in London and to dozens of countries in search of the images that encapsulate the decades from the 1970s to the present day. Some 200 of these photographs are featured in …and then the Prime Minister hit me… Presidents and royalty, ministers and movie stars, ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events; Brian Harris has captured many of the most famous and compelling people of our time. His honest, often hard-hitting text tells the story behind his pictures, and in so doing, the story of his life.
Drawn from his archive of thousands of prints, negatives and contact sheets, these images document not only Brian Harris’s 45 years as a photojournalist, but also many of the defining moments of modern history. As a staff photographer on The Times, his assignments included Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’, the bloody birth of Zimbabwe, the aftermath of war in the Falklands, famine and human suffering in Ethiopia and Sudan. He joined the founding team of The Independent in 1986, with a brief to produce the kind of purposeful editorial photography with which the newspaper became synonymous. His twelve years on the Indy coincided with the start of the civil war in Yugoslavia, the Tiananmen Square massacre, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Czechoslovakia’s ‘Velvet Revolution’ and Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.
Aside from such headline-grabbing events, the daily grind of politics has given Brian Harris some of his most memorable images. Caught here on campaign trails, at party conferences and glad-handing the public are presidential candidates, British prime ministers and party leaders – including the unforgettable moment when Labour’s Neil Kinnock took an unplanned dip at Brighton beach.
The personal stories that illuminate Brian Harris’s photographs are a valuable social document of the changing face of the British newspaper industry experienced from the inside. From the heavily unionised working practices of the 1970s, through the post-Wapping fallout that gave birth to The Independent, to life as a freelancer, Brian has seen it all. …and then the Prime Minister hit me… is in part a tribute to ‘Fleet Street’s finest’, who taught the young photographer the tricks of the trade. But this book is dedicated to Brian’s father who built him a darkroom and his mother who made his first flyer for his fledgling photography business back in Romford. Without them, there would be no story to tell.
If you want to know more, please visit Impress Publishing’s website

Sir Harold Evans – interview

The book Pictures on a Page by Sir Harold Evans is widely considered the definitive text on photojournalism, layout and picture editing.
Voted the all-time greatest British newspaper editor by British journalists in 2001, Evans made his name at the Northern Echo and at the Sunday Times, which he was editing when he wrote Pictures on a Page in 1978. What is less well known among photographers is that Pictures on a Page was just one in a series of five text books he wrote for working photographers, journalists and students. “Everything we knew… we knew it because of Harry,” said Guardian editor, Alan Rusbridger, in 2013.
When Graham Harrison, a member of The BPPA, met the 87-year old at the Media Space in May he found his interest in photography was as great as ever.
As is his recognition of the dangers that photographers encounter. In his forward to Five Thousand Days, published by the BPPA in 2004, Evans wrote that press photographers “cannot move in the shadows, as can the reporter. These digital days, getting a picture back to the newspaper is not the nightmare it used to be, while the risks in taking a picture at all have multiplied”.
A feature documentary about Evans’ investigative journalism, ’Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the last Nazi War Crime’, directed by Jaqui and David Morris makers of McCullin (2012), premieres in January.
You can read Graham Harrison’s article on Photo Histories.

conflict Days Five Fleet Street Photographers Press Photography Thousand

The Darkroom Boy – 40 years on Fleet Street

A peek into life in the glory days of Press Photography from the perspective of Fleet Street legend Roger Allen. An auto-biography illustrated with fantastic photographs from around the world by the former Daily Mirror staffer, with tales to make you cry with laughter including the infamous John Major ‘mooning incident’ and stories from the war zones of The Balkans to really scary battles of wits with showbiz celebrities. NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
Find a comfy chair and crack open a bottle of Rioja.

“The Darkroom Boy is the story of a lad from a poor council estate whose working life was destined to be spent on a building site slapping glazed tiles on the walls of bathrooms and toilets. A chance meeting with his old art teacher in the early 70’s sent him on a different path… jetting round the world covering some of the biggest news stories of the late twentieth century as a newspaper photographer.

In the process, learnt a great deal about life, death, celebrity and how to behave at the awards ceremonies where he was twice crowned British Photographer of the Year.

He drank with Ollie Reed (copiously) tracked George Michael in the Hollywood hills, hunted showbiz fat cats like Michael Barrymore in America and real life lions on Woking high street. He travelled with John Major (exposing the parts that should never be mentioned let alone seen).

He also dodged bullets in war and peace, from Bosnia to Belfast and from Kosovo to Cape Town.In spite of this he still kept a sense of humour and an innate sense of right and wrong. This is the story of Roger Allen and his journey from a news agency run by two northern hacks who punted stories and pictures to the daily papers to the heights of his trade.

Through the murky days of the darkroom- dipping and dunking prints and processing film before taking the train to London to be shouted at and abused by the great and good of Fleet Street as he delivered photos to picture desks of the nations papers. Press photographers are seen as heartless coves. But The Darkroom Boy tells a different story- one of heartbreak and love, joy and laughter, rib-tickling humour and spine-tingling fear. He shows compassion not only to humans but also bears – Just ask the one Roger saved in Bosnia.”

agency anecdote assignment daily mirror Fleet Street photographer Press Press Photography staff tabloid UK

Metropolitan Police Media Guidelines

There have been a number of versions of the media guidelines from many different police forces over the last dozen years. We have previously made the version developed with The BPPA, the NUJ and the CIoJ available on our website and, following the publication of an article quoting the Met’s guidelines verbatim in their in-house magazine “The Job” we are happy to re-publish them here. Of course these are Metropolotan Police guidelines but they are the same as those agreed by ACPO (the Association of Chief Police Officers) and so they should be equally valid right across the United Kingdom. You can view and download a scanned PDF copy of the pamphlet available to Metropolitan Police Staff from our resources section.

Guidelines for MPS staff on dealing with media reporters, press photographers and television crew

The UK’s nationally recognised Press Card

This is the only UK-wide press card recognised by all broadcast and written news media and the police service. It is only carried by professional news gatherers such as reporters, photographers, TV,cameramen, sound recordists and by direct support staff such as dispatch riders, engineers and drivers. Foreign journalists based in the UK can also carry the card.

The copyright design is owned by the UK Press Card Authority Ltd. Most cards carry one
of the logos shown here but some use the logo of the holder’s publication or broadcaster.

The card is made in the same way as a photo card driving licence and has several security features. There is a UK Press Card Authority hologram next to the word PRESS. Most cards also have a graphic on the reverse showing it is Smart Card enabled. Verify the match by telephoning 0870 8376 477. And check the expiry date – no card is valid for more than two years.

News gatherers do nor have to carry the card. You may need to use a alternative means of identifying the person.

Guidelines for MPS staff on dealing with media reporters, press photographers and television crew

Contact with photographers, reporters and television crews is a regular occurrence for many officers and staff. The media influences our reputation so it’s important to maintain good working relations even in difficult circumstances.

This guide is designed to help you ensure both the police and the media can fulfil their duties without hindering each other.

Freedom to photograph/film

Members of the media have a duty to report on incidents and do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places.

Police have no power or moral responsibility to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel. lt is a matter for journalists and their editors to control what is published or broadcast, not the police. Once images are recorded we have no power to delete them or confiscate any equipment without a court order even if we think they contain damaging or useful evidence.

Creating vantage points

We should actively help the media carry out their responsibilities provided they don’t interfere with ours. When areas are cordoned off following an incident, creating a vantage point where members of the media at the scene can see police activity can help them do their job without interfering with a police operation. Providing a vantage point does not prevent media still reporting from areas accessible to the general public.

Access to incident scenes

The Senior Investigating Officer is in charge of granting members of the media access to incident scenes. In the early stages of investigation evidence gathering and forensic retrieval take priority over media access, but, where appropriate, access should be allowed as is practicable.

Identifying the media

Genuine members of the media will usually carry identification, for instance the UK Press Card, which they will present on request.

Many amateur or “citizen journalists” now carry out a legitimate news gathering role and are unlikely to have special identification. Such news gatherers have the same rights and freedoms as the professional media.

The press and the public

If someone distressed or bereaved asks the police to stop the media recording them, the request can be passed on to the media, but not enforced.

Media on private property

To accompany the police onto private property the media must first obtain permission, which must be recorded, from the owner or controller of the property.

We cannot give or deny permission to members of the media to enter private premises whether they are involved in police operations or not. This is a matter between the owner or controller of the premises and the media.

If the media are trespassing on private property the owner or controller of the premises may eject them and ask for your assistance in preventing a breach of the peace while they do so.

Stop and Search under the Terrorism Act 2000

Officers are encouraged to be vigilant against terrorism but must recognise the balance between effective policing and protecting Londoners and respecting the rights of the media to take photographs.

The power to stop and search someone under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 no longer exists.

Police officers continue to have the power to stop and search anyone who they reasonably suspect to be a terrorist under Section 43 of the Terrorism Act.

Members of the media can, like any other person, be stopped and searched under Section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000 if an officer reasonably suspects that they are a terrorist. However, where it is clear that the person being searched is a journalist, officers should exercise caution before viewing images as images acquired or created for the purposes of journalism may constitute journalistic material and should not be viewed without a court order.

Section 58a of the Terrorism Act 2000

Section 58a of the Terrorism Act 2000 covers the offence of eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of the armed forces, intelligence services or police of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

It would ordinarily be unlawful to use Section 58a to arrest people photographing police officers in the course of normal policing activities, including protests because there would not normally be grounds for suspecting that the photographs were being taken to provide assistance to a terrorist. An arrest would only be lawful if an arresting officer had a reasonable suspicion that the photographs were being taken in order to provide practical assistance to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

There is however nothing preventing officers asking questions of an individual who appears to be taking photographs of someone who is or has been a member of Her Majesty’s Forces (HMF), Intelligence Services or a constable so long as this is being done for a lawful purpose and is not being done in a way that prevents. dissuades or inhibits the individual from doing something which is not unlawful.

It is a statutory defence for a person to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for eliciting, publishing or communicating the relevant information. Legitimate journalistic activity is likely to constitute such an excuse.

The UK Press Card

All the UK’s professional reporters photographers and broadcast crews are eligible for a UK Press Card which can be used to identify genuine news gatherers.

The photograph and design integrated into the structure of the card. Every card carries the logo of the issuing organisation or the holder’s employer and a UKPCA hologram together with the holder’s name and card serial number.

Each photo card has a unique serial number, and each cardholder has a separate password. To verify the card and its holder phone the hotline quoting the serial number and password: 087O 8376477.

News gatherers do not have to carry the card so you may need to use alternative means to identify them.

The UK Press Card Authority

The UK Press Card Scheme has been in operation since the early 1990s when it was set up to provide a single, national identity card for professional news gatherers. lt is managed by the UK Press Card Authority Limited, UKPCA is supported by all main media organisations, associations and trade unions. A list of designated gatekeepers is available on www.ukpresscardauthority.co.uk or through the Press Bureau at New ScotlandYard.

The one on the left is a snapper…

On the left we have a Snapper, it’s a type of fish, on the right we have a photographer – please learn the difference.
Would you like to demean everything I have achieved in my career with one word? Great! Then just call me a snapper – you won’t be the first or the last person to do it.
With few exceptions, the term snapper is used as a description for photographers by almost everyone we work with – from journalists, to PR professionals, picture editors and other press photographers. What began as a jokey phrase used amongst photographers has been taken from us and turned into a widely accepted description of what we do.
Often when I bring this subject up the reply I get back is something along the lines of “What’s your problem? It’s just a word. I think it’s quite fun”. Well, here’s my problem…the term implies that our sole contribution at work is to own a camera and turn up on time. In nobody’s dictionary is a snap considered to be something that took any skill or input to achieve – it is without a doubt a derogatory term when used to describe a photo.
Of course, most people using the do not really believe we are just taking ‘snaps’. I’ve heard the term used by many colleagues and clients who I know to have a great respect for, and understanding of, what we do. But the term has slowly seeped into our collective consciousness and rarely gets questioned. Whether the person using them intends it or not, some words are loaded with meaning.
One defence of the word I’ve often heard is: “Well OK, obviously some of you guys are photographers, like those who do reportage and high end portraiture – but you can’t exactly call waiting outside court or a night club and taking a few snaps of someone leaving photography”. Yes you can. If you think having five seconds (that’s not an exaggeration) to get a sharp picture of someone running towards you in the dark isn’t a skill then I suggest you try it for yourself. Afterwards you’ll need to talk to quite a few people to make sure that you’ve identified the right person in your photo. But it’s just a snap so maybe don’t worry about that part too much, eh?
Some of my colleagues will no doubt think that I am getting carried away over an insignificant and almost endearing term. And they might compare me to a cabbie who would like to be know as an Executive Transportation Route Consultant (sorry cabbies – if that’s what you want, then that’s fine by me!). Indeed, the online forum where the majority of Britain’s working press photographers discuss their profession is called Snapperweb, so obviously not everyone feels the same way as me.
But I believe if press photography as a profession is going survive the transition to online then we need to learn to acknowledge and communicate to others the contribution we make to journalism – and the language we use is a powerful symbol to the wider world as to how we view ourselves.
Despite what some people will have you believe, press photography is alive and well – most of the space in our national newspapers and news website is given over to photographs and most of these photographs are taken by professional news photographers and not amateurs. This tells you all you need to know about the power of the still image and the skill of the people taking these pictures. Yet shift rates have remained the same for over a decade, the public view our profession with complete disdain and staff positions are almost unheard of. That tells me that as a profession we do not have the power or influence that is commensurate with the contribution we make – stopping using the term “snapper” to refer to ourselves is a small, easy step we can take towards rectify that situation.
So then, just to sum up – a snapper is a type of fish and not a press photographer. Spread the word!
I’d love to hear your thoughts, whatever side you take in this debate. Leave a comment below or tweet me and the association – @mikaelbuck and @TheBPPA
The views expressed here are solely my own and do not necessarily represent the views of The BPPA.
You can see Mikael’s gallery page here.

don't call me education fish Fleet Street issue name Photographers Photographs Photography Press Press Photography snapper The BPPA twitter UK

Insurance and what to look for

Let’s start off by stating the obvious – professional photographers tend to own a lot of expensive gear. Most photographers have insurance for that expensive gear and one of the most common queries that you’ll see on discussion forums frequented by those professionals is about which insurer is the best/cheapest. Insurance is proof of two of life’s most enduring truths:

The best is rarely the cheapest (unless price is your only arbiter of ‘best’)
The devil is in the detail (or the small print)

Having spent days or even weeks looking into insurance for photographic equipment I thought that it would be useful to write down a few things that you might like to consider and a few questions that you might like to ask when assessing the relative merits of competing quotes. The first thing that you need to know that the company offering to sell you insurance is most likely to be a broker and not an actual insurer (or underwriter).

Insurance broker noun A person or company registered as an adviser on matters of insurance and as an arranger of insurance cover with an insurer on behalf of a client.

There’s nothing wrong with a good broker – they know their industry, will have worked with people like you before and will generally know where to get the best deals with the right cover. The actual insurer will be an underwriter.

Underwriter noun A person or company accepting liability under (an insurance policy), thus guaranteeing payment in case loss or damage occurs.

There are about six or seven underwriters who have products and experience in the professional photography arena and each of them lays down their own specific rules and exclusions when offering policies through brokers. That is how it works: you go along to a broker who then offers you a policy underwritten by someone else. Most brokers stick to the same two or three underwriters for specific types of policy and will generally pick up very quickly what you want and be able to advise you on which policy to take out.
That’s all good if the broker has made an accurate assessment of what you want. Sometimes all they hear is “cheap” and will just get you the lowest priced policy which may or may not be a perfect fit for you and your work. Sometimes all they hear is “comprehensive” and get you a policy with all of the bells and whistles at a higher cost and the chances are that you might not need some of those bells and whistles. This brings up a whole series of things that you might want to know the answer to before you speak to a broker.

What kind of cover do you want? Theft and accidental damage?
Are you prepared to have a high excess payment?
How would you describe the kind of work that you do? Is it hard news, sports, features, PR, general editorial?
Do you have secure locks on all potential access points to your home and/or office where you will be leaving your equipment?
Where do you live? Town or country, house or flat?
What kind of vehicle do you drive? Saloon, estate, hatchback, convertible, van?
How good is your security on and in your vehicle?
Where and when do you leave your gear in your vehicle? Daylight, overnight, only when working?
Do you need to be able to leave gear in hotel rooms? If so, where in the world?
How often and where in the world do you travel with gear? Most UK insurers limit you to a total of 90 days.
If you travel, is you gear covered in the hold of an aircraft or elsewhere whilst in transit?
Does your work take you into area or scenes of civil unrest?
Do you need to insure rental or loan equipment?
Do you need to insure laptops and other IT equipment? Does that include software?
Do you need to insure an archive?
Do you need Public Liabilities Insurance? If you do, is £2million enough or would you need £5million?
What about Professional Indemnity Insurance?
How do you want to pay for your cover? Annually or monthly?
Do you want ‘new for old’ cover or will you accept a ‘wear and tear’ reduction to get the cost down?
Have you got a figure including bags, cases and accessories for the kit you want covered?

That’s a long list of separate questions and each of them will have a bearing on which underwriter a broker should steer you towards and by answering each of them honestly you will get cover that suits you. Sometimes there won’t be a perfect policy and you will have to accept a compromise but you need to remember that all underwriters are in business to maximise their income and minimise the number of claims that they have to pay out on. If you give false information on your application they will do their level best to avoid paying some or all of your claim. We have all heard scary stories about people who have had claims dismissed over seemingly innocuous details and when our gear gets damaged or stolen the last thing that we need is to find out that we weren’t covered for that eventuality.
There are plenty of things that you can do to help get the cost down and/or your cover up and you can can go through the list above and see what you can do to help. Improving home security (some Police forces offer free checks) is an obvious one as is improving the security of your vehicle. Some underwriters offer discounts if you have recognised security cages or locking compartments permanently fitted in your car whilst others give better deals/improved cover for saloon cars with separate lockable boots. Further down the list, if you don’t insure your software (easy if everything is recorded and/or under subscription) you can save money – not much, but it all adds up.
What else can you do to help? The most obvious is to keep a full and up to date list of your gear complete with serial numbers. A simple spreadsheet stored on a cloud somewhere is an easy win but registering your gear with either Canon or Nikon Professional Services is also a good idea. Fairly new to the market is Lenstag – which in their own words was “designed to get your gear on record with the least amount of effort, the strongest ownership claim and as quickly as possible.” It is a simple concept with a central registry of owners, gear and serial numbers which can be managed via their website or their smart phone apps.

camera choice equipment Evidence insurance Photographers Press UK

Mentoring young photographers

It goes without saying that the business is now unrecognisable from the one that I entered in the early 1990s. Then, the structure was relatively linear and there was a clear defining path to an editorial career. Now, every photographer has to be a brand and use social media to shout their wares and tout their abilities. It isn’t even clear what editorial or documentary photography actually is anymore.

I’ve talked before about a ‘bleed’ from the art world and as previous postings on this site seem to indicate, a good deal of photographic education now wraps itself in talk of ‘practice’ and pseudo academic language.

As an editorial photographer and one that works in a documentary tradition, I’m actually delighted that new ways of seeing are being utilised but I’ve always tried to make work that is simple and engaging. I firmly believe that if you’re photographing people in (often) difficult situations you have a duty to be clear and straightforward and that your work should be similar. Your work should be about the subject and not about you.

It’s hardly surprising then that there’s a good deal of confusion about how to progress within the business – or more crucially how to make pictures that won’t fade with current fashions but have a longevity that speaks to an audience with simplicity and crucially, I think, a beauty.

In the past, when I was stuck visually or with an issue of editing, I could ask older, wiser members of my agency for help and advice. That old agency structure has now by and large fallen (in some ways a positive step) and it often leaves people working in a vacuum.

Photography – documentary photography, photojournalism – whatever you call it, is analogous to its written cousin. It is fundamentally a craft that has elements that are worth learning. I’ve always thought that if you are trying to communicate with an audience by showing them the world (perhaps with a view to changing/challenging their opinions) your work must be clear and simple. That isn’t to say dull, but it must be engaging and understandable. There are so many images now and so many photographers producing them. If everyone’s a photographer then you have to make sure that even if your Tweeted voice isn’t the loudest, the work that you produce is the absolute best it can be.

Over the last decade I’ve had dozens and dozens of young (and some not so young) photographers writing to me to ask if they can assist me or just get feedback on their work. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but if someone sends me a half decent email I‘ve always responded and if I’m in the UK, often arranged to meet.

Phil Clarke-Hill emailed me several years ago to ask my honest opinion of his images. We met up several times and it was clear that although he had talent and a strong desire to shoot, he wasn’t as focussed as he could be and his way of shooting was too loose. Some of his frames had a picture in them desperately trying to get out.

I had him shoot some exercises, I lent him an old lens. I set him a project to work on. I made him change where he stood. I made him look up some photographers that I really admired and crucially explained why I thought their images worked and still work. Moreover, I made him aware of authors that wrote beautiful reportage. I’m convinced that there is a symbiosis within all journalism and in the best practitioners there is an erudition, a refinement, a clear, simple way of communicating a story to an audience that transcends the medium.

Phil listened and really engaged. He started to make pictures that were clearer and that said what he wanted them to say – images that could be read visually. Two years later, he’s in a very different place. He’s shooting assignments for good magazines and specialising in South America – especially Brazil. He regularly emails and sends me stuff and asks advice about the things that don’t often get discussed – travel, visas, logistics, pitching – essentially, being a professional. He’s just about to make a book and has an exhibition soon. It’s surprised me how much I’ve enjoyed the process myself – seeing someone benefit from my experiences and (many) mistakes.

Someone else that I’ve worked with over the last couple of years is the young Bangladeshi photographer Farzana Hossen. I taught a workshop in Chittagong four years ago for the Pathshala Institute for a group of local and visiting Norwegian young photojournalists.

Farzana, it was clear, was an exceptional photographer with an inherent and classical visual sense and she was full of questions – not about ‘how’ but ‘why’. The series that she was working on, about her own family, was both mature and subtle. Her next work about violence against women in Cairo was more straightforward visually but much more complicated to shoot. We spoke over email and ‘phone about the logistics and dangers of the work (during the 2013 demonstrations) and I did my best to advise on fixers and contacts for her work. Later that year when she came to London I helped edit her project on acid attack survivors that won her the Ian Parry Award.

Currently, I’m working with a photographer in New Delhi (where I’m still partly based) and another in the UK. What’s really interesting for me, is that I feel the process has invigorated my own work. I have a new book out next year and I can honestly say that some of that work was influenced as much by working with (and learning from) several younger photographers. It may be clichéd but it’s true that it’s been enormously gratifying to be able to help someone and pass on what (limited) knowledge I have.

My mentoring isn’t intended to be a competitor to a University course – many of which I’ve guest lectured at – I see it as guidance for people who are actually trying to work in an industry that is both confusing and constantly moving.

Stuart Freedman is a Freelance Photojournalist and Mentor who points out that his degree is in Politics rather than photography. His website is https://www.stuartfreedman.com/mentoring/

education mentor mentoring Photographers Press Photography teaching Training university