Settling as a civilian can be difficult for veterans and there are several reasons why that is so. Nevertheless, the most common and often immediate issue they face is that of staying active and finding a suitable job. Fortunately, there are several career avenues available for ex-servicemen/servicewomen to pursue nowadays. In this post, we are going to look at how veterans can have another stint with the military as military photographers and videographers.
Back to the Military
Contrary to popular belief, there are jobs available in the military that do not require recruits to be involved directly in active combat. If you are a veteran with experience in photography and/or videography, you may have the option to join the military again as a:
- Combat photographer and videographer.
- Aerial cameraman.
- Camera operator.
- Military photojournalist.
- Combat documentation and production specialist.
- Combat camera chief.
Necessary Training in Digital Camerawork
The military will provide you with additional training so that you are better oriented for the new job role, but it will be minimal for veterans. However, in case you are not completely familiar with digital photography, make sure that you join a veteran program that will acquaint you with the essentials. Even if you are a pro with analog photography, a veteran’s crash course in digital photography will be needed. Without the necessary proficiency in digital photography, neither veterans nor civilians will be hired by the military because analog and digital photography are vastly different from each other in production.
A Media Professional’s Setup in the Digital Age
The military will either provide you with most of the gear that you will need for the job, or they may compensate you for your expenses. Either way, a media professional must at least have a professional D-SLR camera, a basic set of lenses, a photo editing desktop, and media editing and production software to get started.
These photo editing desktops come in all price ranges, hardware configurations, and sizes. Choose one that best fits your needs, but keep in mind that photo editing desktops must have a powerful CPU. The following processors come recommended as the best possible options for professional media production.
- AMD Ryzen 9 series (5th or 6th Gen)
- Intel Core-i9 series (11th or 12th gen)
- AMD Threadripper series.
As mentioned, joining the military in your new role as a media professional will require proper training in digital photography, videography, and production. Since the need for film development in darkrooms is almost absent now, knowledge regarding the use of photo editing software is going to be crucial.
As a veteran, you may or may not want to join the service in a different role again, but that’s alright. Keep in mind that if you are proficient with a digital camera and you have a decent digital media production studio at home, you will have plenty of other options to consider besides joining the military again. A talented, veteran photographer has just as many opportunities to start a business or become a regular photojournalist as a civilian, if not more so.
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