Brendiver's World

Your Story - Maria Munn

Maria Munn is well known in the diving industry for her compact digital underwater photography courses, and although she probably leans more towards the 'photo' part of photojournalism, I'm very pleased to include her story on this site.

There are many capable underwater photographers out there running workshops for the minority who use SLRs, but Maria's approach is to target the majority who use digital compact cameras. By doing this she has carved her own niche in the competitive world of underwater photography.

For any budding photojournalist finding your niche is essential. John Liddiard (DIVER magazine) is a UK diving specialist, John Bantin (DIVER magazine) is an equipment guru, Dr. Alex Mustard (numerous titles) is an expert in marine biology and Charles Hood (DIVE magazine) is a specialist in wreck photography.

I guess my niche is people - I tend to lean towards assignments where there are divers to interview and quote. My other niche is the ability to review and evaluate diving courses. I have a Masters in Education where I specialised in training and evaluation as well as a vocational background in learning and development (A1 and V1 assessor and quality assurance qualifications as well as a host of other units).

Maria has achieved a lot in the years she has been exploring her niche - she has been a member of the Royal Photographic Society for the past four years and they recently awarded her a 'Distinction' for her underwater photography with a Fuji compact camera.

Maria also has an outstanding track record in delivering quality workshops - the proof? Well, her students regularly get their photographs published. You can find out more about her UK based day long workshops and overseas trips at her website.

Last year I joined one of her courses on behalf of DIVER magazine (click  on the thumbnails), I was so impressed I am currently planning to join Maria in delivering photojournalism workshops - Maria will take care of the 'photo' while I cover the 'journalism.'

As soon as we have firmed up the dates and locations we'll let you know.

Keep Writing...

Brendan

Your Story - Maria Munn

I’m always asked how I broke into the world of underwater photography and journalism and the answer is really by accident.  I was on a journalism course at the time and I happened to take along a portfolio of my photographic work.  As soon as I finished the course I was asked to lead underwater photographic trips with Emperor Divers.  I targeted the idea of teaching beginners how to use digital compact cameras underwater as no-one had ever specialised in this area before and I knew that they gave great results.  I then approached editors with different angles on the same subject, always with the focus on my guests and what they could achieve and the rest as they say is history.  Huge amount of willpower, late nights at the computer and huge amounts of coffee mixed with a ‘yes’ attitude have definitely helped to make an underwater recipe for success.

                                                                               

Maria Munn, May 2008

Your Story - John Liddiard

I'm really grateful to John Liddiard for his contribution to the 'Your Story' post.

John is one of the few full time diving journalists I know who is not directly employed / contracted to a magazine (by this I mean someone who has [email protected] as their e-mail address). His work is published every month in DIVER magazine and his coverage of UK diving is unsurpassed. As John says, this was the niche he found for himself. Bizarre that the one thing editors want more of is what lies on the doorstep of most UK diving magazine contributors.

If you want to compete with John for his niche in DIVER you have no chance, he's too well established and too good at what he does. But there is still room for others to squeeze in with UK based articles - if you can come up with a new angle on an old theme or a completly new angle / diving location with good pictures you are likely to get published.

As John does this for a living, he will not write for nothing. However, if I were starting off I would still consider writing for no fee for small titles as long as it gets you published.

What I would say though is mirrored in my 'Keep writing...' sign off. You should only do this until your work doesn't 'suck' anymore and until someone is willing to pay you. Don't get ripped off - if the magazine is making a profit you are entitled to some of it (I would make an exception if I were writing for a charity). Don't be afraid of asking for a pay rise - if they won't pay you're being a doormat, dump them.

So, here it is, John's story.

Keep writing...

Brendan

Your Story – John Liddiard

Underwater photography had been a fringe interest of mine ever since I learned to dive. For years I used a succession of cheap and short lived cameras in equally cheap plastic housings to take mostly awful underwater snaps. Eventually I began to take photography more seriously and, after many visits to Ocean Optics with much pawing and pondering and testing of Steve Warren's patience, I invested in a Subal housing and a Nikon 801 SLR.

A few weeks after any club trip we would have a “pics and curry evening” where those of us with cameras would show and talk about the results of our exploits. Friends began suggesting that some of my pictures were good enough to be published, but I never really believed them or got round to it.

It all changed in 1995 when a one of these friends wrote a short piece about a club trip  and submitted it with some of my photographs to DIVER magazine. Looking at the printed result I thought “I could do that” and my new career was born. Rather than watching television in the evenings I began writing articles and sending them with photos to diving and travel magazines.

One of the pictures from John's first article

I had been expecting a high rate of rejections, but it didn’t happen that way. Editors seemed to like my work and if one editor turned an item down I could usually change a few words and get it accepted elsewhere.

UK diving magazines were suffering from a shortage of good UK material. As an enthusiast of UK diving, I was able to target a gap in the market. I began to get commissioned work. Editors would ring me up and say “We are doing an issue on X, can you put something together”. All this and a lack of free time to go diving gave me the insane killer idea. By multiplying what I was making by a working week, I could leave my previous job as a computer geek and become a diving photographer and journalist full time. At the start of 1998, that is what I did. Even more insane, it worked.

Self Portrait

My tips for those wanting to have a go:

-         Look for subjects similar to what a magazine already uses (i.e. the editor likes), but not repeating anything published recently.

-         Look for obvious gaps in a magazine's coverage, but consider why before investing too much effort.

-         Don't overdo the flowery prose and clichés.

-         Your submission should be well written and free of typos.

-         Make it fit the size of article the magazine uses.

-         Make it easy for an editor to say yes. If they receive 2 good submissions on the same subject, they will use the one that requires least work to fit it into the magazine.

-         Don't approach tour operators and dive centres pretending to represent a magazine unless the editor has agreed to you doing so. When you get found out, you will be blacklisted far and wide.

-         When you get a rejection (or an acceptance) ask for feedback, but don't start an argument. Most editors are nice people who like to encourage potential when they have time.

-         Don't get sucked into “vanity publishing”, accepting little or no fee just to see your name in print. It de-values the market for you and everyone else. (I am making a rare exception writing this for Brendan). If you want to be a professional, your income has to exceed your expenses.

 

Your Story - Dr. Alex Mustard

I'm very pleased to welcome Dr. Alex Mustard to the "My Story" section of this site. Alex is an outstanding underwater photographer, marine biologist and a fellow contributor to DIVER magazine as well as numerous other titles - you can find out more about Alex's work at his website. 

Alex is spot on with his views on the diving magazine world and how to break into it as a journalist. He mentions the need to create a niche - a reason for editors to invest in you. You'll often hear me talk about creating exclusivity and as one editor I know succinctly puts it, "the ability to provide the material I didn't know I wanted."

Initially this can seem quite daunting, how do you come up with the idea no-one else has developed yet? Well, I'd suggest you take a look at the music industry for inspiration, since the Beatles and Elvis, have there really been any major changes in popular music? Or is all 'new' music just an amalgam of an old recipe, twisted and turned into a new product?

As you experience your diving world, think about it from new angles and question it:

I wonder what people would think about.... if they saw this issue from another perspective?

That's interesting... I wonder why... happens?

An enquiring mind is an essential piece of a journalist's toolkit, and the good news is, while some are born with this skill, it is one I believe can be developed by others.

Interestingly, Alex has never thought about himself as photo-journalist, the thing is though, he is. Several years ago I was considering going on a course to learn about how to become a journalist. I researched everything that was available, from on-line learning, courses at universities, to the "You could earn thousands as a writer!" nonsense. Finally I called my editor and asked him what he recommended. He seemed quite surprised I was even considering this route, "you've covered travel features, interviews, news stories and complex issues - you are a journalist already." I guess there are some titles in life you can earn without a course or qualification. 

I'm very grateful to Dr. Alex Mustard for providing his story - how he became a noted photojournalist.

Keep writing...

Brendan

Your Story – Alex Mustard

                                                                                                

I was quite surprised when Brendan asked to me to write about getting started as a photo-journalist as I have never describe myself as one! I am an underwater photographer – I write as a necessity. Usually a financial necessity. That said, I do hold editorial positions on five underwater magazines (Dive, UK; FiNS, Singapore; Ocean Geographic, Australia; Underwater Photography, UK; Wetpixel Quarterly; USA) and contribute to many more on a regular or occasional basis. I have been a full-time underwater photographer since March 2004, before which I worked a marine biologist.

                                                                                                                        

My route into the business was by taking nice pictures. Winning international photography awards got my name known and has brought me plenty of offers of work. I have rarely pitched for work or submitted on spec – I just about have time to do everything I am offered: books, advertising and magazine work. Like Brendan honestly admits, I do not consider myself a naturally talented writer and I have to work hard to pen decent text. Before doing this professionally, I improved my writing skills by volunteering to write for Underwater Photography Magazine, I was only paid £50 a time, but this was an excellent education in the art of crafting articles. I still enjoy writing for that magazine – although I no longer get paid! That crafty Rowlands fellow. I think I must be the only magazine contributor who has negotiated his way to zero pay.

                                                                                                                                 

Marine life article on evolution in hamlet fish, in Issue 1 of The Sea Magazine (UK). April 2008.

                                                                         

My main motivation for writing for diving magazines is to provide a regular income to keeps the cash flow going between more lucrative, but sporadic advertising and book work. I enjoy it too. It is also a good route to complementary travel and it raises you profile, which leads to more work offers etc. I tend to write about underwater photography and marine life. I rarely write dive travel features and have never written a dive kit review (except for underwater camera equipment) as these interest me less. Plus others do them very well.

Nobody goes into underwater photography to make bucketfuls of money, but many will also tell you it is impossible to make a living, which is untrue. My annual income is now 2 to 3 times what I was paid working the University (which admittedly was not a bulging City pay-packet). The challenge is getting going - surviving long enough to get known and to build relationships with magazines and other clients.

Article about critter diving in DIVE Magazine (UK). April 2008

JB also raises a very important point. This is not a career for the work shy. The basic problem is that in UW photography/photo-journalism the pay per unit work is relatively low. Therefore to make it function as a career you have to do lots of units of work. It is a simple equation, but people forget you get paid for the articles and images you sell not how many trips you do or how many photos you take. Perhaps the biggest mental change I made when “going pro” was to move the point of satisfaction from taking a good photograph to selling it.

                                                                                                            

Finally, and most importantly, the key to success is profit, not income. You must be restrained with your expenditure to turn a profit. Being a pro does not mean you can buy every piece of photo kit or travel everywhere you have dreamed. I have always wanted to go to Galapagos, but although I can afford it, it is not a good way to make profit. Instead you’ll find me on a complimentary trip to the Red Sea. That’s the reality of doing it as a job, rather than trying to earn some cash from a hobby.

                                                                                                             

It is important to consider all aspects as a business. Many photographers look at diving magazines and say “my photos are as good as those, they should publish mine”. The error in this line of reasoning is that the magazine already has a contributor who can produce that work. And they know and trust that contributor to deliver appropriate quality material reliably and regularly. They are not going to take a risk on you unless you can offer something different or better, or ideally both. Like any business you must create a niche for your product – a reason for editors to invest in you and not someone else. Also like any successful business you must deliver quality goods on time. Magazine deadlines are sacrosanct. Leave an editor with blank pages to fill at the 11^th hour and you will not be working for that magazine again. Keeping a good working relationship with the customer (editor) is very important. As it would be in any line of work. All that said, editors are always on the look out for new talent. The door is always open.

                                                                                                                                    

Taking nice underwater photos provides all sorts of opportunities (and incase our friends across the world don't know who these smartly dressed individuals are, it's only the Queen and Prince Phillip! - Brendan).

                                                                                                                  

What has amazed me most in this job is how quickly you go from nobody to well known in this industry. It is a small place and I am shocked by the doors that have opened for me, just as a result of taking pretty pictures. My final piece of advice relates to this. The diving industry is not massive and the media side of it is even smaller, so treat people how you would like to be treated.

                                                                                          

Dr. Alex Mustard

Your Story - John Bantin

Any photojournalist who describes himself as a, "scurrilous hack," is very welcome to contribute to the "Your Story" section. And so, for the first time in 'print,' here's John Bantin's story.

If you don't know who John is (really? You've never heard of him?) he's the technical editor of DIVER magazine.

John is feared among diving equipment manufacturers for his sometimes scathing, and nearly always correct reviews of dive gear. He's also written some quite insightful articles on destinations and diving practices.

From John's story I believe the lesson on how to get published is quite simple:

Find interesting stuff that's going on and write about it.

Oh yes - there's one more thing. John mentions how he has never worked so hard since he got into this business. He's not joking you know. The life of a photojournalist isn't just one big set of holidays, you have a job to do and the pressure is on. Next month's magazine won't wait - you have pages in it that need filling. And if you can't, or you try and fill them with rubbish, well, you can guess the rest.

Keep Writing...

Brendan

The Full Nine Yards

Back in the late 'eighties I owned a house in Mallorca. I wanted to go diving but there was no dive centre nearby so I bought a RIB boat, compressor, tanks and so. Many friends from England would join me for diving trips. Then I hit on the idea of the diving-timeshare. I bought a second home, a second boat, compressor and four sets of kit and intended to time-share it to members of the British Sub-Aqua Club. (That idea was a failure because I soon realised that few BSAC members could be trusted to manage the operation.)

I needed publicity for this and persuaded a friend who also worked in the Media to write an article about me in Mallorca which we got published in the official organ of the BSAC - then Diver Magazine. Shortly after that I was on a work trip in Indonesia and took some time off to go diving.  During one dive my upstream regulator completely failed and I had to swim out of a wreck and make a free-ascent from more than 30m deep. I wrote about the experience and Diver magazine published it. After that, every time I went on a diving trip I managed to write an article and get it published. It seems they liked my style! Maybe it was because I was a professional in the Advertising business and I brought a professional way of working to what was then a very amateur magazine.

I told the publisher Bernard Eaton not to bother to pay me for articles but send the money to the BSAC Lifeboat Fund. I later got a letter from Derek Ellerby, the then Chairman of the BSAC, telling me that the BSAC had just bought a new inshore life-boat and I was the major benefactor! It seems I was getting rather a lot of items published.

One thing led to another. Eventually I gave up work to retire (at the age of 42). At this point Diver Magazine offered me a contract and since then I have never worked so hard in my life.

JB

(LtoR) Mike Valentine Mike Wong, John Bantin, Alex Double, Lesley & Bob Brading, Lawson Wood on Lady Jenny V in about 1988.

Your Story - Elaine Whiteford

Thanks to Elaine Whiteford for her words of encouragement to keep this site going.

Elaine has her own website devoted to underwater photography, film making and photojournalism called Sublime Scuba Photography.

Since 2005 she has been published in a variety of magazines including: The Scots Magazine, The Undersea Journal, The Scottish Wildlife Trust magazine, Chic Chat, DYK magazine (did you know this was owned by the DIVER group?), Nature Photographers Online magazine and DIVER magazine. All of this has been achieved over the past three years - or has it?

Elaine talks about the numerous rejections prior to getting her first article accepted - an all too common story. The magazines she has been published in do not appear to have any contributor guidelines, which often leads to rejection from would be contributors as they submit articles that are not suitable. Note how I say 'not suitable' - they may be very well written and the pictures may be stunning, they're just not what the editor is looking for at that time.

Most budding photojournalists don't realise that even though a magazine doesn't publish any contributor guidelines, they effectively do through their magazine. An analysis of a year's worth of any magazine will tell you precisely what the editor is looking for. Although this process may take time, it will remove the frustration of rejection and reduce the amount of time spent preparing articles that don't get published.

I guess the worth of conducting such analysis is demonstrated in my own story - my first year of submissions were accepted and published in Sport Diver, Scuba World and DIVER, as well as in a handful of non diving related titles. Since then I have only had one article returned as opposed to rejected - it was initially accepted but after two years of knocking around in the editor's 'for publication' box, it had gone past its sell by date. (See "Workshops and Seminars" in the right hand column of my site - during these I spend time on the techniques and practicalities of analysis)   

From Elaine's website it is clear that she has been pro-active in promoting her photographs at every opportunity, from exhibitions to competitions, she has managed to get her name 'out there' very effectively.

Elaine is proof that anyone (can you put two sentences together? That's enough, the rest can be worked on) can get published. I don't say this out of any disrespect for Elaine's work - it's very good, it has to be otherwise it wouldn't get published. Her story is similar to mine, I have no journalist or writing qualifications other than an 'O' -level (basic 16 year old stuff) in English Language. So, if we can do it - so can you.

I'll be featuring more successful photojournalists in the future, but in the meantime, here's Elaine's story in her own words:

How I Managed To Break Into The Photojournalism World And Get Published?

By Elaine Whiteford

Well, it was more of a stumble, really, albeit a stumble at the end of a long and weary journey. But it is important to remember that you don’t get from start to finish without going on a journey; overnight success is very rare.

My journey, like that of many others, was full of rejections. If you are serious about breaking into photojournalism, though, you have to take rejection in your stride, treat it as an occupational hazard and carry on with what you want to do – which is write and photograph. Articles get rejected for lots of reasons, even if they are well written and well photographed. They also, of course, get rejected because they are sub-standard. Let experience be your teacher and grow your experience by keeping writing and by reading the work of others.

Anyway, back to my stumble into photojournalism. Taking as read the years of blood, sweat, tears and rejection, I kept writing and persevering with submissions. My breakthrough finally came when I approached an international journal with an unsolicited dive travel piece.

Although a rejection came whizzing back, it was a rejection with a difference because it came with a question: the editor didn’t think the piece I had submitted was right at that time for the journal but, since I was in touch, did I have anything similar on Barbados since they were looking for a feature on the island?

Well, I didn’t: but I had been to Barbados and I did have photographs so I could prepare a similar article. Thus as any aspiring photojournalist would, I replied that I did have an appropriate piece and turned the article around in 24 hours. The submission was accepted and that was that – I had a cover and a further 25 images in a 2000 word article spread over multiple pages. While I may have stumbled as I broke into photojournalism, as first publications go, the Barbados piece was a pretty substantial feature.

There is no secret to getting published. Success is usually a combination of hard work, perseverance, quality writing and photography, serendipity. And the good news is, you can control all but the last of these!

Word & Copyright - Elaine Whiteford