Getting ready for the workplace: a buyer's guide for photography students

If you're a photography student, getting experience of working in the industry before graduation makes you more employable and is a vital first step to a professional career. Work placements, freelance assignments and developing personal projects are all great ways to get your name and work known by potential employers.

When Canon Ambassador and documentary and editorial photographer Nanna Navntoft was a student, she spent 18 months on placement at Danish newspaper Politiken and was amazed to see how many email pitches the editor received every day. "That taught me how important it is for students to do a strong, eye-catching pitch when trying to sell freelance photo stories," she says. "Working at Politiken was very important and I wouldn't have been the same photographer without it. I learned a lot from my editor, Thomas Borberg, as well as all the different photographers who worked on the newspaper."

As well as internships and professional placements, Nanna says that for editorial work it's good to keep developing your own personal projects and getting them seen by picture editors. "I'd advise going to as many portfolio reviews as possible, applying for any available grants and taking part in competitions."

"Equipment is one of the most important things to think about before starting work," says Yasmin. "I always strive to own a camera that achieves excellent results and therefore attracts more customers." Nanna adds that it's good to buy equipment that's as futureproof as possible. "It's nice to buy something that's looking a bit more ahead, and you know is going to be around for a while."

If you're looking for a futureproof setup, Canon's EOS R System is ideal. Not only does the camera technology give you the flexibility to shoot with excellent low-light performance and fast shutter frame rates, but switching to video is now easier than ever before. "In the modern market, video is an important consideration when investing in equipment," explains Mike.

"The days have gone when you might get hired on the strength of your stills portfolio and video is now almost as important for some clients, so students that have skillsets in both stills and video will increase their chances of making it as a professional," Mike adds. "If you're looking for placements or freelance work, it's also essential to shoot your own publicity videos and short clips for social media."

The small, light and intuitive EOS RP is the entry-level model in Canon's full-frame mirrorless range. "It's low-cost and the smallest of our EOS R System models, but its specification is similar to the Canon EOS 6D Mark II," Mike continues. "It gives you access to features such as Dual Pixel AF and the focus tracking ability, plus the full-frame sensor and full compatibility with EF and RF lenses."

The next step up in the EOS R System full-frame range is the Canon EOS R6. "The EOS R6 features a lot of the technology found in the EOS R5, but at a lower price," explains Mike. "The major difference is in the resolution – 20MP rather than 45MP. However, it makes up for that in the high ISO performance and the AF's ability to work in even lower light. Compared to the EOS RP, you also get improved video performance – shooting 4K video up to 60p – as well as animal and vehicle tracking functions." The EOS R6 would therefore be particularly useful when shooting in any low-light situation, from interior documentary work and portraiture to wildlife.

Mike says it's also worth considering the advantages of having an APS-C camera. "A sensor is perhaps the most expensive component on a digital camera, so if you're on a tight budget, you can get more features for a lower price by choosing an APS-C camera."

Canon's EOS R System APS-C EOS R7 brings many high-tech specifications at a lower price than full-frame models. "For instance," Mike continues, "it offers features such as 15fps shooting capabilities, oversampled 4K footage and an advanced AF system similar to that of the Canon EOS R3, all at a lower cost and in a smaller package.

"The format also gives you the opportunity to use shorter and less expensive lenses; instead of buying a 400mm lens you can use a 300mm or 200mm lens and you have that extra reach thanks to the crop factor."

Pairing the EOS R7 with the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM lens, for example, will give a view equivalent to a 112-320mm lens on a full-frame camera.

"When you're choosing equipment for going on a work placement or freelancing, lenses are just as important as the camera," says Yasmin. "I always recommend having one good-quality lens that can be used in a range of situations and another that is suited to your specialist area."

Nanna agrees: "If you're doing a placement on a newspaper or magazine, it's useful to have a really good all-round zoom lens," she says. "For this kind of work, I also like using fixed lenses, such as a 50mm or 85mm lens, because having to move around makes me shoot better pictures."

Canon's L-series RF lenses are worth the investment as they offer optical excellence, speed and ease of operation and will last many years, even if you update your camera body. Canon's 'trinity' of essential RF lenses, the RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM, RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM and RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM, offer fast apertures and cover a huge range of subjects.

However, Canon also offers f/4 aperture lenses that cover almost an identical focal length range and may be more suitable for a student budget: the Canon RF 14-35mm F4L IS USM, RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM and RF 70-200mm F4L IS USM. "These lenses all provide the same advanced specifications as the trio of professional zooms, but with a slightly slower aperture and a lower price," says Mike.

"Alternatively, some of the fast primes are great lenses for placements and freelancing. The Canon RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM, RF 50mm F1.8 STM and RF 85mm F2 MACRO IS STM are all classics."

If you can afford only one lens, Mike recommends the Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM. "It's a great multi-purpose lens; compact and lightweight," he says. "It offers a 5-stop optical Image Stabilizer and it's optimised with motors that are designed to give you smooth focusing, whether you're shooting stills or video."

"More importantly, it will help you hone your photography skills. For instance, you might be submitting prints for a dissertation where parts are overexposed and look relatively fine on screen, but you can clearly see the overexposed areas when printed." Printing your work will help you see these flaws and encourage you to correct them in future images.

Canon offers a range of high-quality printers to choose from, depending on the budget available. Here are three of Suhaib's recommendations.

The Canon PIXMA iP8750 is an A3 printer with a six-colour dye-based system that uses individually replaceable single ink tanks. "This model delivers high-quality prints for a reasonable price in the home environment," says Suhaib. "It's pretty much plug-and-play; you can print using any software and it will give you a good result."

"If you're looking for a printer that will allow you more control over your final images, including features such as colour management, paper profiling and soft proofing, the next step up would be the Canon PIXMA PRO-200," says Suhaib. This is also a compact dye-based A3 printer, but uses eight colours for a wider colour gamut. It has a three-inch LCD display and you can fine-tune your prints for optimum quality using Canon's Professional Print & Layout (PPL) plug-in.

"For an even wider colour gamut, the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 has 10 LUCIA PRO pigment inks, which makes it ideal for fine art prints," explains Suhaib. "It's also great for black and white printing, as it uses a high-density Matte Black ink."

If your budget is more generous, another option is the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. It prints up to A2 size and offers an advanced high-longevity, pigment-based 12-ink system, as well as the benefits of using PPL.

"The PRO-1000 is very easy to use, and the quality is really good," says Nanna. "If it's beyond your individual budget, I'd advise, say, three or four students getting together to buy one and sharing it. That way, you'd all have a really good printer to make nice prints for portfolios as well as printing and selling your own work."

The kit you choose for starting work placements or freelancing depends on the kind of work you're doing and the budget you've got available. However, the above advice will help you make an informed choice on the equipment you need to produce work that displays your talents and gets your career off to a strong start.