How YOU can become a National Geographic Photographer with THESE 5 Tips!

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Secret 6 (!) for you awesome people here in the comments 🙂... Your camera doesn't matter! Don't let your equipment hold you back. Impactful imagery can be taken on ANY camera. It's about the human story, the way you communicate emotion and the importance of the issues you choose to focus your lens on. That's what really matters....Download your copy of my new eBook ➡ gallagher-photo.com/learn

[@Photo-Svanfelt]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! My dream has always been to become a professional photographer. Before I started my career, I joined National Geographic's YourShot community. I did this to learn more about how stories are told from different parts of the world. After getting several photos published, I applied for a job as a professional photographer in my hometown and have been active for over five years in this job. So, the tips you give in your video are precious!

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Glad the tips were useful. Great to hear your experiences. I am glad your photography journey is going well! ✊

[@carlosmozephoto]

Hi Sean! New to the channel and a sports photographers with a passion for photojournalism. Found the channel while browsing for photojournalism, as I consider to be one of the most demanding discipline of photography. Be good in everything is hard but the way that photojournalist are require to perform is definitely something that really sparks my day!!! Loving the content! Cheers

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Hi Carlos. Thanks for the comment and for following along. Yes, photojournalism has its challenges, but so does sports photography! We can all learn from each other 🤝

[@carlosmozephoto]

Thank You Sean for the feedback, it does mean a lot. Will be following, as possible, as I will end next July my course project. "Working days and studying nights!!!" Cheers @@SeanGallagherPhotographer

[@nahashonchege2274]

Thank you for this information

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

You're welcome! 👍

[@chipcurry]

Great stuff, Sean! Much appreciated. And this is not only about photography, it could be about music, songwriting, art, painting.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Thanks, Chip. Yes, lots of overlap to the other arts 👍

[@Raykenn1]

Enjoyed your video thanks for posting 👍

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Glad you liked it!

[@ItsRiyadh1]

1. Think stories, not images. •Make stories with a begining, middle and end. •Each images is a defferent, or adds something defferent in the story. 2. Photograph what is feels like, not just what is look like. •Look out for people expressing emotions. •Be ready to capture thoes special moment. 3. Find your niche. •Define what subject, or topics you photograph. •Chose where in the world you focus on. •Pick your style of photography. 4. Tell a stories that matters. •How does your photo stay connect to the wider world? •Shot locally, but connect globally. 5. Get your work seen. •Get your work seen at photo festivals. •Build your community within the industry. •Look into internships or grant opportunities at Nat Geo. [[[[[Follow your own path.]]]]

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Good summary 🙂

[@dheerajdman]

Thanks a lot Sean. You really answered it so simply.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Thanks for watching 👍

[@VinodKumarPhoto]

These simple yet beneficial points are well explained ...thank you Sean...

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment. Glad they're useful 👍

[@SangeetaNarayanVlogs]

Awesome tips... thanks for sharing 🙂

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Glad they were useful, Sangeeta ✊

[@kevinma5152]

Thank you for went to china and record Chinese culture. This helps more people know about real china and build a bridge between different cultures. Really appreciate that

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

感谢你看过我的视频。希望摄影能帮我们了解共同的文化。🤝

[@jj963963jj]

Great ideas never heard of, thank you to present in an orderly sequence. Looking forward to seeing your future stunning works 👍 👍

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

More to come! ✊

[@BGTuyau]

Well thought-out, practically oriented and well-presented -and, as such, unlike the content of so many photo-bloviators on KZbin ...

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

I appreciate the support ✊ Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@CaseyWiggin]

This is very helpful. Thank you Sean

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Thanks, Casey. Glad it was helpful 👍

[@gutubishnoi5436]

as a student your video helped me a lot thanku.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Great! 👍

[@bimurtyaganguli6442]

When i am working in a very poverty stricken area, where people are not familiar with photography or documentation, etc and they think i am doing something very creepy, then how should i make them understand what my true motive is? How to make them understand that i am being a voice for them?

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

This is a good, and important, question. First you need to ask what your motivation is for being there. Is it for your benefit, or for the community's. If it's the former, then you shouldn't be there . If it's the latter then you need to find a way to communicate with the community what you're doing and why you're there. I often collaborate with local-NGOs or charities in the areas that I photograph. I will contact them before I arrive, explain my intentions and then meet with them when I arrive. I will often spend lots of time with people before even making any images so they can get to know me, build trust and learn what I am doing and the purpose of my photography.

[@AnastasTarpanov]

Great tips Sean!

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Glad they're useful, Anastas 👍

[@78KPK]

Great tips, thanks!

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Glad they were helpful. Thanks for watching 👍

[@klinkhamerphoto]

nice video, thank you. As a photographer the hard part is to deal with so called "photo editors" who are basically office workers and dissolutioned phototographers. Best is indeed to follow your own path in photography.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

I hear you. Getting your work noticed is hard and sometimes frustrating. It can take years. Keep your eyes open for opportunities. You never know where the next photo-project may take you. Good luck, Michael ✊

[@angelus142]

I always wonder what lens is best to capture with this style. What lens do you recommend?

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

I did a video about this. Check it out kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZuziHyKqZJnoJofeature=shared

[@NikhilKumar-hn9zk]

Great video Sean.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Thanks for watching, Nikhil! ✊️

[@lidia4656]

Thank you!

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

No problem!

[@Majid01928]

Really like your video. Thank you for sharing

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Thanks for watching!

[@florastaedtler2702]

When I was in my 20s I lived in a monastery and we allowed Steve Curry to come to shoot a yearly baseball game we played against the local volunteer firefighters in rural cape Breton Nova Scotia. He couldn’t make it and so he came weeks later and staged the whole thing using monks and nuns that weren’t in the game. I had to have several conversations with NG as they decided if they should run them, which they did. I’ve never really seen documentary photography in the same way. A very interesting experience.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Interesting story 😐 Not all photographers are the same. Thanks for watching, Flora.

[@florastaedtler2702]

Yeah strange. I think the part I couldn't understand was the editorial process. They really did try to ask questions that would allow them to use the photos and when I wouldn't bend the truth they ran them anyway. It's just an interesting part of equation of looking at an image. @@SeanGallagherPhotographer

[@bnquick74]

Thank you for sharing your experience. This happens more often than we realize. Much of the photography passed off as travel photography is actually staged. Once I learned this, it made me angry. There is a famous French photographer who has made a living out of taking portraits of Vietnamese and passing them off as "just a regular moment in a regular life of a local," when in fact, he actually pays locals to pose for him. I learned this from talking to the son of one of his most iconic subjects. He doesn't advertise his photos as candid, but he markets them as candid without using the word. Once I discovered this, I eventually learned it is actually a fairly common practice. Because a large part of the appeal of travel photographs is that they show the viewer an authentic scene from a place they will probably never have the chance to visit, I make it a point to try to have as little impact on the actions of my subjects as possible. I think my work captures the essence of life in central Vietnam in a way the work of many other photographers does not. You can see for yourself. Not one of my subjects has been asked to pose or paid to model. instagram: @benquick_vn

[@gianlucastefani4355]

Excellent tips!

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Glad they were useful to you, Gian Luca 👍

[@iiosomnia]

thankyou ❤❤❤

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

👍

[@zacharypatsula9218]

Come to Vegas your Images are Amazing.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Viva Las Vegas

[@NavyannaOth]

Thanks ❤

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Welcome!

[@khaivisuals9054]

Suscribed! Thank you for sharing

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

✊

[@avradeephazra7660]

After clicking the raw photos, are they get edited in softwares or published as original raw images?

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

My workflow is to shoot in RAW, then edit those files in Adobe Lightroom. I only adjust simple things such as brightness, contrast, saturation, with very little cropping. I then export as Jpegs. I never add or remove things from my photos, as I work in the field of photojournalism and documentary photography.

[@avradeephazra7660]

@@SeanGallagherPhotographer your reply contains the exact things I wanted to know 🙂...thank you

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Great. Good luck with your own photography 👍

[@leseuloiseau]

Hi. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, really appreciated, I wish we had access to this before... do you know if there is a specific age limit for the internships? thank you! already suscribed :3✴

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Glad the video is useful! Sorry, I don't know about any age limit. Maybe contact the program? Good luck!

[@TheCicada007]

Nice video! I have been working as a freelance documentary photographer for a while. I’d like to cover women empowerment, climate change, refugee crisis. What should be my approach to National Geography? Do I need to shoot the photographs first then approach them or pitch them prior to the project for funding? I am based in USA.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

I would recommend building up your portfolio first, so you can show what you can do. Then you can start to build connections in the industry. Look for opportunities to get your foot in the door through internships, the Nat Geo grants etc. Good luck!

[@TheCicada007]

@@SeanGallagherPhotographer I was checking the NG internship after watching your video. It is only for students enrolled in a course. What about people who aren’t a student anymore?

[@SonakshiMittal2612]

Im currently in 11th grade, what colleges or courses would you suggest for photography as my career path?

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Hi Bruno. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend studying photography at college per se if you want to pursue photojournalism for example. My photographic hero, Sebastiao Salgado (please Google him) studied as an economics major. I myself, studied Zoology at college. You can teach yourself many of the technical aspects of photography, or attend some some small photojournalism workshops to learn about photo-essays etc. Depending on your specific interest, my advice would be to choose an academic focus for your major and have photography as a minor. Shoot photos for your local newspaper, or college newspaper to gain experience too, then look out for internships in regional newsrooms, then national ones. This is just advice though. You must choose your own path and everyone's path is different into this profession. Good luck on your journey!

[@SonakshiMittal2612]

thank you so much ! this greatly helped!@@SeanGallagherPhotographer

[@L.Spencer]

That is great advice. You don't need to study photography at college to be a photographer, unless you want to be a photography professor/teacher. @@SonakshiMittal2612

[@tasnimouerghi]

hope that one day gonna be natgeo photographer 🥰

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

Good luck on your journey! ✊📸

[@shuvojitmodak1828]

Thank you sir, ❤ I want to be a part of Nat Geo family.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

📸✊

[@Areabdbs123.-]

Hello have you come to Meghalaya to experience the culture of khasi people

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

I have never been to Meghalaya. I just googled it. Looks amazing! 📸

[@L.Spencer]

Has National Geographic ever done a story on the Tijuana River sewage pollution? That's a huge story in San Diego.

[@SeanGallagherPhotographer]

I'm not sure. Maybe search the past issues online?

[@mark35806]

Ok, this is off topic but this dude brought it up …. China is building new coal fired generator plants at like one a month so there is no way they are on the road toward so-called “ carbon neutrality”!

[@danielcuevas5899]

They’re just making a bluff in order to negotiate more favorable trade deals with other nations.