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.
My Photo Editor Mind - Danish School of Journalism
I was recently at the University of Missouri judging College Photographer of the Year, and I had the opportunity to judge both stills and multimedia. One of the biggest surprises, aside from great work, was the videos that were coming out of the Danish School of Journalism. They were taking chances. I have always had an issue when someone is talking constantly (narrating) during a video; it takes away from my experience of looking at the visuals and exploring the story. And I’ve explored the idea of movement in a video, maybe sometimes too much. But in a video titled Peter, by a student of The Danish School of Journalism, there were moments of complete silence; there were moments of no movement. And it was breathtaking. It sounds simple, but I think we all try to stuff as much information as possible into the minutes we have. If you are serious about shooting video and want to see exceptionl work, it’s worth your time to take a look at this video: http://www.cpoy.org/index.php?s=WinningImages&yr=70&c=316#1.0 Check out the other winners too.
CPOY, can’t get enough of Missouri
I am truly honored and excited to be a judge at this year's CPOY. I just got back from teaching at the Missouri Photo Workshop in September and ran into Rita Reed where she asked me to be a judge. How lucky is that? I’m getting to judge both the stills and multi-media divisions this year. I judged this contest years and years ago and remember such promising talent that I can’t wait to see how students are improving their skills.
My Photo Editor Mind - Those silly post
Because I spend so much time on Facebook, twitter, etc., I see a lot of photos...a lot. And way too many bad pictures. I think if you are a professional photographer and you post a photo, you are saying you think this is good. Even if it’s meant for your family, it’s being shown to the public. When I see it, and it’s bad, I'm thinking you are not as good a photographer as I thought, hmmm. That’s what you are telling me. You never know who is looking at your post. Furthermore, when you post a bunch of photos from a particular event, some good and some bad, you are telling me you don’t know the difference between the good pix and the bad. So be mindful of posting pictures.
