Working for a newspaper or news/photo agency requires an ability to be diverse. A jack of all trades – and a master of them too. At the heart of this is a need to know how to make the most of the subject you are provided with, regardless of location and lighting. And perhaps out of an event unfolding around you, developing the instinct to know where to point the camera. I cannot afford to be inflexible. More often than not, I have just minutes to complete a job that I cannot re-shoot, and a schedule that is constantly changing as items are prioritised, or unplanned events occur that warrant coverage.

A protestor clashes with police in Edinburgh as the 2005 G8 Summit gets underway in Gleneagles.

My first couple of jobs were with Scottish news agencies catering for the National press. I got them through undertaking work experience at the Daily Record in Edinburgh, keeping my ear to the ground, and bestowing portfolios upon as many people as possible. It’s hard to promote this type of agency job to anyone, as spending entire days waiting outside court, chasing celebs, or spending a few more days/nights on a doorstep waiting for a snatch, is the usual fare. The public don’t look kindly upon you either. However, it is a good ‘filtering’ system, and one that is sure to test the enthusiasm. On many occasions I have been the recipient of threatening behaviour and have been pushed around a couple of times, but I was always careful not to be reactionary, and in most cases ensure that I am not even seen. It’s worth pointing out that in many instances, justifying these jobs to yourself is easy; as the subjects of the pictures are often deserving of far worse than some newspaper coverage.

Pictured is the 'Anarchists March' at the 2005 G8 protests in Edinburgh. A woman wearing a mask resembling U.S President George W Bush, runs through the black clad 'Anarchists'.

In and around these assignments is a chance to work for many different newspapers and publications, gaining an understanding in what makes a story, how best to illustrate it - and how the newspapers want you to illustrate it. Because I am constantly looking at other pictures from the likes of AP, Reuters, AFP, I see the things that they cover and this gives me a fresh enthusiasm - and envy - to move forwards. After I met my partner, who is French, I visited all the major news agencies in Paris to find out how I could best gain the experience needed to work for them. I ended up doing some work experience at AFP, but only because I was so desperate that I left the poor photographer in Marseille with no choice but to let me follow him about. I have found that assertiveness is often the only way to get anywhere, and as such if I need to understand something then I try to go directly to someone who can tell me, rather that using guesswork and the Chinese whispers involved in finding out indirectly.

The coffin of an RAF serviceman who was tragically killed when the RAF surveillance aircraft he was on exploded over Afghanistan, following a mid-air refuelling manouvre, is led away from the funeral.

During the time I spent in Marseille I managed to live with some students, rent-free and in return for the novelty of having someone to question about British cuisine! – but mainly because they were genuinely hospitable, and knew what it meant to have no money. I also waited for any response from people I had contacted about jobs, and undertook some freelance work I had found through friends. I did not own a laptop, so any news events I covered had to be wired from the nearest web café I could find, which during the 2 hour lunch-break, on the weekend, and a Monday – was impossibly difficult. Even though my images were never used, I wanted picture editors to see that I was active. I did get a response from Hachette Filipacci in Paris who posted me a contract and asked if they could use a selection of my stock pictures that I had sent them. I spent ten days tracking down model releases from literally, all over the world - its annoying how people won’t stay still - and eventually made my way back to Paris with the contract and model releases. On arrival they told me they liked the pictures but could not commit to a long-term contract, so having spent my last euros on the train ride and completely broke, I headed back to the UK and my parents’ house.