{"id":72806,"date":"2023-02-27T08:17:54","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T00:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gallagher-photo.com\/?p=72806"},"modified":"2023-02-27T08:20:09","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T00:20:09","slug":"become-a-photographer-national-geographic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gallagher-photo.com\/become-a-photographer-national-geographic\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do I Need To Learn To Become a Photographer at National Geographic?"},"content":{"rendered":"
I received this question this week via someone in my private WeChat\/WhatsApp groups that Patreon members gain access to. It’s a question I have been asked a number of times before, so thought I would share my answers that I gave here with all of you.<\/p>\n
Taking images for National Geographic<\/strong> is a goal for many and is seen as one of the pinnacles of the profession. When I was starting out, it was a dream for me too. I adored the work of photographers like Steve McCurry, Alex Webb, Jodi Cobb and Michael Yamashita.<\/p>\n In my career to date, I have been lucky enough to collaborate with National Geographic on many different occasions. I was represented by their in-house photo-agency from 2011 to 2019 and have had a number of features online, such as, “Young Collectors, Traders Help Fuel a Boom in Ultra-Exotic Pets<\/a>” and “Pictures Reveal Hardship in the World\u2019s Fastest Sinking City<\/a>”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, here are my 5 (quick) tips to help you…<\/p>\n – First you need to develop your skills as a photographer. Being able to make technically good and visually powerful individual images is the basic first step.<\/p>\n – Then you need to go deeper. Do your images tell a story e.g. about a place, a person an issue? Can you make a photo-essay or series about the issue you’re interested in and then make 15-20 powerful individual images, that when you put them together, they tell a story?<\/p>\n