Staying In The Game

Things were looking grim in the newspaper business even before the COVID-19 pandemic decimated ad budgets. Many staff photographers had already found themselves out of a job as the major mastheads in Australia tried to cut production costs. Others were facing different demands as more news was being published online, creating a requirement for different types of imagery such as video clips, along with a growing reliance on ‘citizen journalists’ to record new stories.

All this has created a very fluid marketplace, especially for the freelance photographer who is facing more competition, but has to find and chase jobs, often without the backing or support of a big news organisation. Melbourne-based photojournalist Darrian Traynor has had to become very versatile to make a living and he shoots news, sports, major events and documentary subjects both locally and overseas. He’s a graduate of Melbourne’s Photography Studies College (PSC) with an Advanced Diploma Of Photography, and works as a stringer with Getty Images and various Nine Media mastheads, including The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He specialises in topics surrounding people in need or those giving assistance. Darrian’s current personal project, titled ‘Occupation Displacement’, is an ongoing examination of the issues surrounding refugees, particularly those in the Middle East.

“Working as a freelancer is incredibly rewarding at times,” he states. “However, it’s extremely competitive in the editorial space. Planning your life outside of work can be challenging with a constant eye on where the next body of work will come from. Things like no annual leave or