New NCTJ press photography course

Back in the day (read 10 years ago) you could pretty much guarantee that getting on this course and passing would land you a job.

When I attended, I finished the course on a Friday, and started working for a large daily regional the following Monday, and everyone else on the course landed a job quickly.

I can’t say that’s the case now, but I am pretty sure that the course is a good, quick and relatively cheap way to learn how to behave like a professional newspaper photographer.

The inimitable Paul Delmar has gone, and course leader Robert Rathbone will be joined by some very experienced industry professionals.

I reckon a year spent on this, and two years working daily as a photographer, gets you pretty sharp, and able to adjust comfortably to any situation. And you’d not be in debt at the end of the three years either, in theory.

However, the times are a changin’,(cheers Bob), and as one wit on the EPUK list wrote, they should add a flippin’ burgers module to the course. Maybe they have, I haven’t asked. Personally, if they have, I’d up my game and learn how to roll sushi.

The £2,400 pre-entry course covers photojournalism, media law, photographic knowledge and practice, news and caption writing, and includes trips to high-profile events.The course is accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists and includes 400 contact teaching hours – 55 hours less than last year – and runs from September to April.