Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/05/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Ted wrote: >"If you are going to look like a bum, you are going to get treated like >one!" And the image of news photographers went down hill and so did the >respect given to the profession. Ted, Working for the newsdesk as a staff news photographer often means you = have absolutely no idea what you=B4re going to do, or where you=B4re = going, during your work day. Yes, you might have to cover a fancy = formal dinner, but you might also end up covering a train crash or a = forest fire. So, how does a news photographer dress for going to the = office? Let me tell you about my work yesterday, Wednesday. Early morning I = was sent to shoot pictures for an interview with a professor at the = Royal University of Technology. As usual I was dressed in jeans, a = checkered shirt and my photo vest. Since the professor was dressed in = a similar fashion I didn=B4t feel a bit uncomfortable! Around lunch-time I was sent to a seminar for the cream of our = business community. There I took pictures of the chairmen and CEO=B4s = of our largest banks and companies. They all wore dark suits and = white shirts. Being an underpaid news photographer I still didn=B4t = feel out of place in my very casual outfit. After all I was on a job! = And, as always, I was treated with the respect any professional = working man deserves. I certainly did not feel like a bum! In the afternoon of the same day I was asked to cover a protest = rally. Thousands of house owners protested against the government=B4s = high property taxes. My old jeans were then perfect for the job since = I had to do a lot of climbing up on top of walls and getting down on = my knees to get the right angels. A tux would have been out of place! In the evening it was time for the big event. We were all expecting = violent clashes between British and German soccer "hooligans" as = Chelsea and Stuttgart were playing the final of the Cup Winners Cup. = For that occasion I put on a flak jacket under my photo vest. Chelsea = took the cup with a 1-0 win! And since the 15 000 Chelsea supporters = far outnumbered the Stuttgart fans there never was much trouble in the streets of Stockholm after the = game. With this story from a hard working news photographers day on the job = I wanted to explain why many of us might look a bit too casual during = certain events. But if you=B4ll get treated as a bum or not is all up = to your own general attitude and behavior - not how you are dressed! Of course, I would never dream about covering for instance the Nobel = Prize Ceremony in anything less than full evening dress. Fortunately = we always get one days notice for events of that weight - for the = reason of accreditations! Too make this mail even less Leica related I just have to tell you = that I didn=B4t bring any of my Leicas to the job yesterday! Sorry = about that! Eric wrote: >Yep, And one reason he got in to diplomatic events was he would dress in = a >Tux. Of coures, nowadays, photojournalists wouldn't be caught dead in a >tux, it would seem, so no wonder they don't want to let them in I really don=B4t know about the general dress code of the US, but = here in Sweden they will certainly always let the photographers in. = Because without press coverage it simply wouldn=B4t be an "event"! Claes