Southpole Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 post removed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 If you're self-employed, it's irrelevant at best. I can find a better use for £120. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpole Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 its only £5 a month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 For what, though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpole Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Hoping the press card gets me into places i cant normally get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 NUJ membership doesn't get you a press card. Read the small print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulstw Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I joined the BAJ last year. Their lawyer chasing my copyright infringements has been worth the £100 a year alone. Press card they give you isn't an industry recognised one, you need to prove you're earning at least 50% of your income in photography to get one of of those. Honestly though, I've counted on one finger the amount of times I've had to use it. If you want to get into places, get accreditation. Apply for it in advance via Alamy News. Most of the events are wired out to agencies who then apply for togs to attend in advance. Press card won't help with that. You can't just rock up to a Labour conference waving a card and think it's ok to get in. That was my view of the industry a while ago and I could probably slap myself now. A very different beast to what I thought. Arranged access events are usually well covered by the full timers doing it all day everyday and they do it well. I recognsied that there was more to it than just being there and clicking away, and stuck with breaking news stuff. You realise that even with breaking news and trying to keep up to date with Twitter and the like that, if you can't drop every single thing and be there first, and upload first then it's not going to work. Also don't expect be pals with any of the full timers. You're a threat and quite rightly so. I have a massive respect to the guys where I'm from who attend something all morning, afternoon and night only to see a few images in the sheets. I have a full time job, and it started to feel a bit cheeky muscling in on theirs. My advice? Go full pelt and earn the stripes just doing everything going or don't get into it at all. Sounds a bit harsh but it's really tough out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Hoping the press card gets me into places i cant normally get As Spacecadet has already pointed out, an NUJ membership card isn't a press card. To qualify for a press card: The definition of eligibility is that a newsgatherer must be "wholly or significantly concerned". "professionally as a media worker who needs to identify himself or herself in public". In simple terms, s/he must earn most or all of his/her income on the front-line of the news business. http://www.presscard.uk.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpole Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Thanks for replies: Paulstw Alamy asked me to go to the naming of the P&O Cruise ship Britannia which was a real eye opener regarding full time tog all battling for the same image and £ seemed madness to me. I am glad I went it was a great day even though I never sold a image being ex navy it was great to see the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I've had four official press cards, the NYC one, an Italian (Lasciapassare) and the two that were needed in Vietnam -- a MACV and a Tai Bao Chi. Unofficial "press passes" are useless. Before ultra security became the norm, savvy togs could sweet talk their way into most situations without flashing a press card. In fact most people don't even know what a press card is and have never seen a real one. Credibility is something each of us needs to establish in the moment, time after time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Press cards have always seemed a bit gimmicky to me. I've had several but they never really helped me in any way. Mine were no doubt of the "unofficial" variety, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Only official press cards carry weight. Early on I had one from an agency I sometimes got assignments from, but that was no more useful than a MIckey Mouse Club card. The New York City press card is issued by the police, and it's the only one that the NYPD will recognize, and so the only one that will allow a photographer to cross a police line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Only official press cards carry weight. Early on I had one from an agency I sometimes got assignments from, but that was no more useful than a MIckey Mouse Club card. The New York City press card is issued by the police, and it's the only one that the NYPD will recognize, and so the only one that will allow a photographer to cross a police line. Yes, the only press cards that have had any value for me are short-term ones issued for specific events such as travel and tourism fairs. A lot of outfits offer Mickey Mouse press cards in order to get you to sign up for whatever services they are offering. They remind of the fake ID that I had made when I was 16. Not being a news photographer, I stay as far away as possible from police lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Brook Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 If you join the NUJ you don't automatically get a press card, but you can apply, and they are one of (19?) organisations able to issue one. The conditions of acceptance are hardly onerous. Providing you don’t do all your photography in the garden shed, or in the comfort of a tourist buses, have recent work with your byline, and you work on some weekdays, then you should get one. People who think it is just to get into events where they can mingle with hairy pros, obviously haven’t been in the business long. Anything other than an official card is best used for recreational purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.