My Photo Editor Mind - Getting to know you

I get asked all the time where should people submit stories to? My answer is always the same, “Who do you know? Who do you work with?” When I was at the Los Angeles Times, photographers sent me photo stories all the time. They might have been very good, but I don’t know you and it’s a matter of trust. Recently, scrolling through Facebook I came across a story that seemed rather odd and quite sensational. I checked the sources and was unfamiliar with them. Reading further about the subject, I found the article was wrong. So how does that affect you? I don’t know you, I have to trust you. I have to know you are showing me the truth. Cultivate relationships, and if you don’t know someone where you want to be published, find a way to get to know them. I was recently looking at the New York Times portfolio review and the list of reviewers was an incredible who’s who list of photography. Did you apply? Workshops, conferences, you know that old saying about networking and that you need to do it. Network.

One other thing to consider; know who you are selling to. Don’t send a story that is a year old when you know the publisher is only interested in current news. Cultivate relationships, and if you don’t know someone where you want to be published find a way to get to know them.

My Photo Editor Mind – Your website can make or break you

I’ve been editing a lot of websites lately, and the thing I’ve noticed is many photographers are not showing the best of themselves. When I worked at the Los Angeles Times, I often hired freelance photographers from all around the country. I needed to find someone quick, in a place where I didn’t know a photographer, and it was always a last minute request.  

Looking at a photographer’s website, I am forming a decision, good or bad within the first three images I view. I might get to 5 or 10 images if you’re lucky, and I’m either calling you or moving on. It’s brutal, but it was my reality. Those first few images should make me want to see the next one, want to make me want to explore your projects, so it’s your job to make me want to look.

How do you do that? The best of the best of the best should be the first photos I see and at the top of your site. Is your strength sports, or projects, or videos? Whatever it is, move that to the top spot. There are no rules on how a website should list your images, so move them to suit your strengths. A tighter edit is always best. You know the saying “less is more.” Make it so I move on to the next set of images.  

If your photos are good, I move onto the “About You” section. I want to know how long you’ve been working and for who, and that you can deliver what I need. So I don’t want to read about your hopes and dreams; I want to know how long you’ve been working, where you’ve been working, and for who. Keeping it simple is best. If you feel the need to tell me more, bring that into the second paragraph. 

One last thing, your phone number and email should be easy to locate and in multiple spots.

My Photo Editor Mind – Story Basics, Part II

Last week I talked about sequencing a picture story, so I want to build on that a bit. In order to sequence a story correctly, you need the right images. While teaching at the Missouri Photo Workshop last year, students were required to pitch story ideas. What was apparent and taught at the workshop, was that they were pitching situations, not stories. They had a situation; they needed a story. What does this mean?

Let’s say that the drought in California is preventing farmers from planting crops. That’s a situation. Likewise, flooding in Texas causes home damage, a situation, a homeless man living on the streets, a situation. So what makes a story? Let’s say the farmer has to sell his land to cover his debt; something is happening. Or with the home flooded in Texas, the family that lives there has to move out. Where will they live? The homeless man living on the street is moving into an apartment for homeless people. There is movement, or cause and effect, if you will. Something will change. So now we have our story, but let’s look again at the farmer. The land becomes a secondary character; what does that dry land look like and feel like? Does the farmer have a family? How are they reacting or dealing with selling land? Are they helping our farmer cope? Are they angry? Action, reaction. Who is the farmer? What makes the farmer tick? Who is he as a person, his essence, his being. We need to see this.

Before you begin shooting a story, you must figure out the story, the focus of the story, and then think about how you are going to show the points of this story. Good planning will help you focus on the points that are needed for your story and save you a lot of grief. Good luck. As always, I’m here to help if you need me.

My Photo Editor Mind – Photo Stories – Visual Novels

One of the biggest mistakes I see on photo stories is a lack of sequencing that makes sense. Remember, you are telling a story, and it has to have a beginning photo that sets the tone about what the story is about or who it’s about. It should also be one of your strongest photos. Then, you have to have a middle and an end. Next, take me along the journey of this story, whether it’s a person or town or an event. Make the sequencing make sense; subjects can’t be inside, then outside, then inside; you need to consider photos that are transitional. Help me understand where they are going and why. It’s always easiest to sequence like a day in the life; start in the morning, then go to night. Or start at an event and then take me through the process of how that event is dealt with. Consider the arc of the story; where is this positioned in the sequence? Good single images are great, but to make a photo story really sing, you need a solid storyline just like a great author does in a novel. If this doesn’t make sense, or you are having trouble, you can always contact me for help. 

My Photo Editor Mind - It's my honor and pleasure

I am always surprised when someone says they are honored to have me look and edit their work, when in fact it is the other way around. Having been a photographer many years ago, my heart and soul was in every picture I shot, and when I shared my images with someone, it was very personal to me. Maybe people think I’m too busy or don’t have the time, but I always feel honored. You are pouring out your heart and soul to me. You are allowing me to comment on your (in some cases) life’s work, you are allowing me to guide you. So thank you to all who have allowed me to take a peek inside your soul. I am honored you have allowed me this access.

My Photo Editor Mind - School is in Session

The best part of my job as a freelance picture editor is that I get to learn. When I decided to go from a photographer to a picture editor, I thought I would miss the travel and the opportunity to see new places and meet new people. But what I found was that my opportunities grew tenfold. With every photographer I work with and every photo I edit, I get to be a different person with a different point a view, imagining the world with a different perspective. 

My clients are constantly teaching me about people and places I had very little knowledge about. And because I have always enjoyed becoming fully immersed in a story, learning all there is to know, I get emotionally involved. Their stories – your stories – are my stories. In fact, I find myself reading novels and doing research so I can keep up and have a better understanding. Recently, in my head, I’ve been to Kashmir, Papua New Guinea, and South Africa.

Would I like to tell you about the other places I am currently learning about? Yes, but then I’d be going against my promise that I don’t talk about photographers’ stories until they are published. And I never share story ideas from one photographer to another.

Anyway, thanks for letting me share in your adventures.

My Photo Editor Mind - Shoot Me Now

One of the major advantages to working at a newspaper or any other company is tech support. At the Los Angeles Times, it was David Muronaka and Jason Neubert who were always so helpful with any sort of problem. I have to admit, maybe I was a bit lazy, didn’t try to figure out what was wrong, just asked them. I can’t do this, this won’t work, can you figure this out? So now here I am working for myself, and I have a problem. I can’t post my blog on Facebook like I do every week. Twitter is working, LinkedIn is working. What’s going on with Facebook? I reload the page, restart the computer, damn it that didn’t work; okay I guess I have to do some problem-solving. 

 I disconnect, connect, read, troubleshoot, read some more. Okay, now I've been doing this for over an hour (seems like four). Finally, I get it to post, but I reposted my blog and now I have two, but I still can’t just hit the share button. Oh god, I have to read more. I have to admit, sometimes when I try to figure some tech problem out, I can’t even understand what they are asking me to do. I admit Squarespace is pretty good; I need those visuals they provide. Now I'm losing my patience. Afraid I might take my frustration out on the cats. I’ve disconnected and reconnected the account; what does “Impersonate page” mean? WTF. Wait a minute I can’t even see that. I guess this is one of the downsides of working for myself. Damn, when I was at the Times, I should have paid more attention. 

My Photo Editor Mind - Help vs. Guidance

“It’s taken me a while to reach out for help,” were the words from photographer Malika Sqalli when she contacted me recently. “You mean guidance,” was my response. I know I’m splitting hairs here, but I think there is quite a difference, especially when it has to do with your professional and creative side. You really don’t need help. You need guidance. My view of being a picture editor isn’t to overshadow photographers, but to bring out the best they can be. To move them in a direction they might not have thought of. To guide them to new ideas. Sometimes, photographers are so passionate about their work and so close to the story they are trying to tell, they need another pair of eyes to help them see the real story and separate the wheat from the chaff. That’s where I come in. I can give you some direction, give you a nudge now and then, and help you tell the best photo story you can. The way I help is by guiding.

My Photo Editor Mind - New Year Resolution

There are some major differences between being a photo editor at a newspaper and a freelance photo editor. As a photo editor at a newspaper, I could be much more honest with photographers, telling them when their work was subpar and pushing them. I could be honest because the day before, I had told them how awesome their work was on another story, or because we had worked so long together that they knew my criticism was only meant to make them better. Now, when someone hires me, I have to ask myself if I’m holding back a little just so they will hire me again. In addition, with a newspaper, I was usually in on a photo story from the beginning, working in unison with the photographer, able to guide them and make them think of the story they were trying to tell, helping them focus. Now, many clients come to me with the photo story planned and maybe done, needing only me to edit, and even if I do flesh out a story with them, when we’re done, I hang up the phone not knowing if I will hear from them again. In the end, I’ve learned two things. One, I have to be honest. If I’m not, what’s the point, right? Two, I have to learn to let go. Oh, and one more. Three, breathe.

My Photo Editor Mind — Never stop learning

I was recently on the phone with a new client in South Africa, having a discussion about where the direction of her photography was headed on a project. All of a sudden, I started using direct words I'd  heard while I was at the Missouri Photo workshop. That’s right, even though I was teaching at the workshop, I was learning so much from my colleagues, ways to explain what a photographer needs, different points of view, new ways of viewing images. What surprised me during this conversation was the stuff I didn’t know I was learning had come back to me from my subconscious. Which brings me to another conversation I was having with a photographer who thought he had improved a certain aspect of his photography and was done with it. So I told him what I believe; you never stop learning. Even when you think you know something, there is more to learn. And if you think you know everything, that’s when you really need to learn.