Tom’s guide

Advice on visual storytelling

As Tom Stoddart is one of the world’s most exceptional visual storytellers, we asked him for his best advice for aspiring photographers…

1 Learn on the job

“I don’t take advice or give it, but to younger photographers I would just say you need to – I might get into trouble here, but going to college is probably not the best thing to do.”

2 Think positive

“I think you need to be aware that you need to be optimistic, you need to have some steel inside you, you need to be curious.”

3 It’s a vocation

“You need to understand that to work in this business is 24/7 – it’s not a job, it’s a way of life. But you also need to be aware that this is the most amazing time to be a photojournalist or a photographer.”

4 Mind for business

“I think you have to be much better than we were to make a living at it. You really have to know not just about photography – there are a lot of bad photographers making a good living – but you need to know about business, you need to know about marketing your brand, you need a whole raft of things.”

5 Don’t give up

“You have to work hard: keep working hard and be lucky.”