This is the second part in a series about what I’ve learned in my 25 years as a photojournalist. Here is the first lesson.

12. EAT HEALTHY: Consume great photojournalism. Go to GettyImages.com and type in Bestpix and Toppix in the search query of the EDITORIAL tab. Go to APImages.com and use “aptopix." Here, you’ll find a running feed of the best photography selected by editors at the corresponding wire services.

Look for weekly, monthly and yearly “Best of “photography collections. Look for the annual NPPA contest winners. Make a social media account where the goal is to follow the best photojournalists. NO friends. No relatives. Only people making photos that you aspire to make. Curate this.

13. PREPARATION: Invest in your physical and mental health. I’m not necessarily talking about money - I’m talking about time and effort. Being a photojournalist comes with physical and mental challenges.

Doing it well involves a lot of problem solving. Assignments can be missions and luck lives at the intersection of opportunity and preparation. What if it rains? What if we lose power for a few days? Are your batteries all charged each morning when you wake?

The future looks crazy. Are you ready?

14. LIFE: Don’t be afraid to work other jobs and learn other skills. Nurture hobbies and friendships.

15. ASK QUESTIONS: Ask the assigning editor questions. In this day and age, one way that newsrooms cut corners is by eliminating photo editors and giving photo editors more responsibilities. As a result, communication with photojournalists suffers.

You’ll be working at a disadvantage if you aren’t starting with basic and important information about your assignment. You’ll also look like you don’t know what’s going on — which is embarrassing as a journalist.

That said, when you ask questions of someone who is overworked, and especially someone who isn’t a photojournalist — you stop making their job easier. And unfortunately in this era of journalism many editors are just trying to get things done.

This means you risk losing out on work for doing your job well. Choose your questions wisely.

16. RESEARCH:

Take that information and do some research on the story, topic and people you’ll come into contacxt with. Your storytelling will be exponentially better and you’ll gain respect. One of the most important aspects of photojournalism, is access.

If folks respect you and your mission, you’ll get access.

17. FIND MENTORS: You need people around you that have been there before. Most of this profession is about learning experiences and institutional knowledge. This will also help keep you grounded and provide direction. A lot of this stuff, you can’t learn from text books or on YouTube.

Traditionally, mentors are veteran colleagues that offer informal advice and help, typically at no cost to the mentee. My memberships happen organically but I also offer personalized photography lessons, if you’d like to expedite the process.

18. PORTFOLIO: Establish your own personal website with a portfolio. I recommend 20-25 photos but if you are new, less will do. Edit tightly. Have a mentor look over your portfolio. Feel free to make specialty portfolios available as well. For example, I have separate sports, weather and political portfolios.

Photojournalism conferences are some of your best opportunities to get portfolio reviews.

19. EGGS: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket — especially on social media. Be ready for a long game establishing a relationship with an audience that doesn’t rely on a single platform. You may need to be a one-person operation.

Which is why I highly recommend publishing on your own website. This is one place you have a decent degree of control.

20. STUDY HISTORY: As a photojournalist, there’s always more context to explore. I live in a state that started a civil war to preserve an institution of slavery — this has been very important in my journey as a photojournalist. Get to know your community.

21. FIRST DRAFT: An important role of the journalist is to contribute to a first draft of history. Never forget this responsibility.

22. BORING BUT VALUABLE: Learn about licensing and copyright.

Part 3 coming next week!

Lessons in Photojournalism (Part 2)