Case studies: Press photographer: Timm Sonnenschein

Timm graduated from Birmingham City University with a first class degree in photography from the School of Visual Communications and has been working as a press photographer ever since. He has his own company Timm Sonnenschein Photography

Coming out of university, I had developed a keen eye for human relations and social issues. Specialising in documentary photography, I developed good communication skills, which enable me to easily interact with many kinds of people. This helps to create natural photographs, rather than ones that appear staged.

With this skill, I started out as an apprentice for a well-established colleague who had over thirty years' experience in the business and an in-depth understanding of the press photographer's trade. Within a few months, he was giving me my own assignments to do, mainly in the social, political and charitable fields. I continued to work in these areas, becoming independent within a year or two.

From him I learned a lot about copyright, pricing, reproduction fees, developing good client communication as well as effective work turnaround in a professional manner. I also joined the National Union of Journalists, of which I am a proud member, and hold an essential press card.
 
The first aspect of my work is supplying images to the Picture Library Report Digital, of which I am a member. These are photographs of a social, political nature, covering national and international affairs. This involves protests, policing, workers rights, class differences, education, health issues and ethnic diversity.

I mainly work under my own initiative, although I am sometimes asked to photograph specific events or issues. I have learned what might sell or be a topic worth having in the archive. I keep my eyes, ears and connections open to respond quickly to what needs covering. All images sold through the library will bring in a percentage for each usage, depending on the reproduction size. Some images have a shorter shelf life from when they were taken, while other photographs can keep on selling over a long period of time.
 
The second aspect of my work involves taking photographs on commission for various clients' print and online publications. This can be for trade unions, school prospectuses, charities and a number of commercial clients. It is a different way of working, as the clients usually have a specific brief requesting a particular outcome. For these jobs, I stick with the recommended rates of pay as advised by the National Union of Journalists.
 
With all the work that I do on a daily basis, I need to be self-sufficient, resourceful, a good communicator, and draw from my many contacts and friends in the business and other areas that need covering, as getting access to some places can be a struggle.