Erin Baldassari is a photojournalist for the Watertown Tab. She visited the Watertown Splash newsroom recently to give the students tips on taking better pictures.

As a photojournalist, her job can be very hard because she has to take pictures and write the story. She works on every kind story, from breaking news to sports to fashion to food. She went to Tufts and she said she started taking pictures and traveling before she starting writing stories, too.

“I love my job because I get to meet new people every day,’’ she said. “I never stop learning, and I never stop seeing new sights or experiencing new situations.”

She said the most important decisions for a photographer are “Where do I stand, and when do I press the shutter?” When she takes pictures for a story, she likes to put in little clues for the reader about what is happening to help tell the story better.

Erin has many cameras. She owns six, but only uses two of them at work.

“My favorite camera is the Nikkormat because it is incredibly sturdy, takes great photos, forces me to practice in an all-manual mode and was once owned by my grandmother,” she said. “Oh, and it has a really neat old case, which is nearly unusable now because it is so old.’’

The camera she uses the most is the Canon 5d because it’s a professional-level SLR (single-lens reflex).

And what advice do young photographers need the most?

“Keep shooting,’’ she said. “Just keep on shooting.”

–Feb. 1, 2012–