Sarah: What advice can you offer to aspiring photographers and photojournalists?

Sacha Lecca: A few things.
-Always be shooting. Shoot as often as possible and constantly be
looking at photography, it will inspire you and help develop your own
shooting style and eye.
-Know yourself, know what you like and why, and be able to judge you
own work. Show your work to others as well for feedback.
-work as a photo assistant or intern for photographers you admire.
-in getting your work in front of magazine editors: go to the
newsstand and check the mastheads of the magazines you feel your work
would be an asset to (as above: know yourself) and personally send the
photo editors emails and/or promos. This rather than an automated
email blast to a list of photo editors you can buy. I gets countless
emails/promos each day from, for example, food and baby photographers,
or from photographers whose shooting style (or talent) isn’t
appropriate to RS. That stuff goes in the trash.