How about start with a sincere motivation to enlighten and inform an audience and/or tell the honest story about humans caught in conflict. Second, remove your motivations for acclaim. It’s not a fucking sport, sport. The best documentary photographers are powered by sincere desire to connect human narrative with an audience, not by their own ego.

Go to wear there’s conflict, take pictures, don’t die….

War photographers include both staff and freelance individuals who specialize in documenting conflicts and humanitarian crises. They are typically commissioned by news outlets or press agencies, holding press IDs that grant them access to specific locations. On the field, meticulous preparation and prioritizing security are crucial aspects of their work. To navigate unfamiliar territories and ensure safety, they often collaborate with fixers—individuals with significant experience in the region. Esteemed professionals like Linsey Addario and Marcus Yam serve as exemplary veteran war photographers, showcasing extensive expertise in their field.

I’d like to know

Buy camera, create conflict

Conflict journalist here. Covered Ukraine, Yemen, ISR/PAL, all the bells and whistles.

First of all, war isn’t as glamourous as we sometimes think it is. Conflict journalism is dirty, terrible for the brain and will make you an alcoholic or nicotine addict fast. You’ll see things you’ll never forget, and let’s not even talk about the smell.

You still on board? Cool.

Second of all, not exactly a profession that hires very often. Most of the people I know got into it by speaking a ton of languages, talking to the right people, landing a job and then meeting more people by that. Like the rest of professional photography, too.

Third of all, you’ll have to be exceptional in all you do. Exceptionally good photographer, exceptionally good writer, exceptionally good language skills, exceptional skill at not getting yourself killed by angry islamists who have decided you are their personal enemy. You get the gist. You’ll have to know the basics of Combat Trauma Care, not just the standard first aid. Many people recommend some sort of conduct training in a war zone, I personally never went to one and yet I’m alive, despite numerous groups trying to change that fact.

If you’re still not unconvinced, get yourself a trench coat, a plate carrier and a camera that you can repair blindly. And also send me a message, so we know where to pick up your body. All the best.

The big media companies hire photographers and only a few of them. I like many of the comments here. You will need peerless skills in many areas in addition to photographic skills. Do you speak any languages? Have you any military experience? Are you working as a press stringer now?

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Have you seen the Killing Fields?

Be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A friend did this semi-successfully in the early 2010’s.

He spoke a few different languages, including helpfully Arabic and French, and would fly out to somewhere at the first sign of troubles kicking off, work and charm and convince his way to the front and then ‘embed’ with people who wanted to get their pictures out there. He sold photos to the wires and to some newspapers directly and normally managed to cover his costs but not make much ‘profit’. I think one or two amazing shots could raise most of the money for a trip.

Over time he got to know people and they would ask him to go to places and be more explicit that they were interested in photos, “Are you thinking of going to Syria” etc. He also built up relationships in country, so he would have ‘fixers” or similar - particularly if someone was happy about a big photo that had been in newspapers. A lot of this was the Arab Spring aftermath which sounded chaotic as hell, loads of militias roaming around Libya and Egypt etc. He almost got killed a couple of times in quick succession and decided to stop, it didn’t seem like there was an obvious route to a staff position or being better protected or paid.

To be honest hearing him talk about killed any sense of romance and adventure about it. It sounded incredibly grim all the time, living in squalor often with horrible people who generally didn’t care about him and hoping not to suffer an unpleasant death.

Be a local photo journalist, local as in lives in the conflict zone.

Go fight everyone you encounter, become the very best, seize the top! (While shooting, naturally).

1. Buy camera.
2. Go to conflict.
3. Profit.

First and foremost: grow some absolutely massive balls

Go to a war zone with a camera.

Be willing to go where most photographers wont.