What it takes to be good photojournalist

This week’s B.I.T.S, Blogger in the Spotlight is none other than our friend from Singapore, Tan Geng Hui. He is an avid photographer with a wide area of photography interests and he mainly shares his journalism writing on his blog. We thought it would be cool to hear about what his passions are , and how photojournalism became his full time job. Here is Tan with “What it takes to be a good photojournalist”.

What does it take, to be good photojournalist?

Photojournalism has grown and expanded quite a lot in recent years, especially with the boom of the internet and the exponential growth of blogging, social media networking and lowered costs of entry into the art of photography.

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Changi Boardwalk, located near the Eastern tip of Singapore

Tulips for my lady friends

Tulips for a Lady

Photojournalism today is not confined to just reporters, media, travel magazines or photography magazine writers. More people nowadays are entering into photojournalism, covering and sharing things, events that are close to their hearts, passion and interests, sharing them on their blogs, facebook, twitter, flickr or forums.

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Landscaping Singapore

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Fireworks in Singapore

What does it take to be a good photojournalist?

· Passion
· Interest
· The “eye” for photography
· Heart and soul – to go all out for your passion and interest
· Do not rush into taking photographs, relax & stay composed
· Seeking to improve your photography technical skills constantly
· Exploring different fields within photography to search for that particular field that you really love in your photojournalism e.g. Street Photography, Cultural Events, Sports & Action Photography, Travel Photography

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A sunset view from a new location in Southern part of Singapore

· Make the best out of your camera setup, don’t rush into upgrading your equipment
· Don’t aim/find for the “Perfect” Photograph and miss the priceless moment
· Enjoy your photography!
· Take only pictures, leave no litter behind, just footprints and avoid damaging the environment
· Willingness to share with friends and people all around the world
· Networking and making new friends that share your same passion and interest

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Jet planes tearing up the skyline

What areas can you as a photojournalist cover?

· Local and Overseas events – Cultural , Arts, Events
· Food
· Travel
· Historical Locations
· Special Interests – Eco-tourism, Helping people

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Food – food journalism or food blogging is fast becoming the “in thing”

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Travel- At the summit of Mount Kinabalu, located in Sabah, East Malaysia

What kind of equipment?

The choice of equipment will always be subjective, a simple digital camera or your mobile phone camera to a DSLR, each can help you to capture the moment. It’s all about the moment and once the moment is missed, it might never be replicated again, therefore, having one of the different camera types listed above, that can let you capture that precious moment.

Photojournalism – Take your camera with you, go out and shoot in your daily life, don’t hesitate and wait, search, seek and shoot! Let me leave you my personal photojournalism quote ~

“Observe carefully with your eyes, shoot with your heart!”

Formula One Photographer in Action !About this week’s guestwriter:
Geng Hui started off as a keen photographer & traveller.. slowly transforming into a photojournalist over the years. He loves the field of Travel, Events & Sports Photography, and recently has found himself moving into teaching & sharing techniques and skills on photography. Geng Hui is a blogger and social media enthusiast, and you will find him poised behind his “giant tool” every opportunity he has!

Follow Tan Gen Hui on Twitter

Read his blog!

All photos contributed by Tan Geng Hui


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