My Photo Editor Mind - No Excuses Please

Either you got the shot or you didn’t. “It was too hot,” “it was too cold,” “it was far away,” “it was a long day,” “I was tired,”—all of this doesn’t matter. Sure I will lend a sympathetic ear, and some days I remember as a photographer working my butt off trying to make the perfect image and nada, nothing, it was just a bad day. What ultimately matters though is whether you got the shot or not. “I tried” won’t get the picture published, and “I worked really hard” is not going to sit well with an editor either. 

If the shoot did not go well, learn from it and move on. A client, or editor, doesn’t want to hear what went wrong, so instead of making excuses, accentuate the positive. Play up the strengths and what went right instead.

My Photo Editor Mind - Wide angle lens abuse

It’s hard to concentrate on an image when there is too much distortion, and that is what happens when a wide angle is used incorrectly. A hand can become bigger than a head, portions are disproportionally stretched, and it detracts from your subject … and your message. I appreciate that sometimes you might be in a tight space, trying to capture an area, or a group of people, but if all I see is the distortion, sorry but that’s a fail. I’m not saying don’t try, but me mindful of anything under a 35mm lens, and understand what you are doing. There are other options. Try only shooting a portion of the scene, the most interesting aspect of the scene. Be mindful of that lens distortion.

My Photo Editor Mind - Good morning

My first task in the morning is to read my emails to see if there is any urgent work I need to tackle. However, the best emails are the ones where there is success. It’s a pretty amazing feeling helping someone reach a goal or two. A great way to start any morning is hearing you got into Eddie Adams, the portfolio review went well, or they want to see more of your work, and the best is “I’m getting published.” I love starting my day this way.

My Photo Editor Mind - Watch those backgrounds please

I was recently judging a contest, going through the images, and was amazed how many people don’t seem to pay attention to the backgrounds in their images. Distracting, distracting, distracting. I think you get my point. I know, sometimes it’s a fleeting moment and you grab the shot, but if you are in a position where you are waiting for a moment, take a look around your frame, move, and then move again. You are working hard for that image, so take that extra step to make it exceptional.

My Photo Editor Mind - Get out of your car

Okay, I have a lot of pet peeves when it comes to photography, and one I have no tolerance for is shooting from inside a car. Okay, I get it, you are in the car, and a moment happens in front of your eyes. Yes, you have to take the picture. If you got out of the car, it would be too late. However, it looks like it was shot from inside your car. There’s the window or door frame, generally the composition is off, etc. I’ve yet to see this work. Okay, when I’m editing a large batch of images, of course you can send me the car photo, but I will probably delete it.  We’ll keep it a secret between the two of us. Never to be seen again.

My Photo Editor Mind - Rathkopf Photography

“Wow,” was my first thought when I saw Anna and Jordan’s project on Anna’s struggle with cancer. To turn the camera on yourself is a very interesting idea, and this was how they chose to deal with the disease. It reflected their style and how they approached a subject, so that was my mindset when they asked me to help them update their website. There is joy in Jordan and Anna’s photographer, an appreciation for their neighborhood and the people in it, a sense of community. When you view their work, you can’t help but smile. I wanted to show off their style, their personal take on the world, and how they achieved a sense of intimacy in their photography—real moments with real people. Check out their work at https://www.rathkopfphotography.com.

My Photo Editor Mind - Autofocus can hurt you

One of the major drawbacks of autofocus is that photographers sometimes rely on it to compose their images. But there’s a problem. The focus is smack dab right in the middle of the image, and the image reflects that. You end up with either a poorly framed image or an image that seems off balance with too much sky or too much ground. If you go through a variety of your images and notice this pattern, try various focus settings to help solve this problem. Don’t let this technology get in the way of your vision.

My Photo Editor Mind - Keri Oberly says…

Mary came highly recommended by multiple photographers when I was in need of a photo editor to help me edit down a photo essay to a solid 20 and 5 edit. Right away I was impressed with her honesty and thoroughness. She asked me for specific images that originally weren’t in my first selections. She is easy to talk to, listens, and is sincere in her feedback. She listened to my concerns about images that weren’t in the edit and gave me honest feedback why they didn’t fit.

She not only edited a strong, fluid story but also gave me pivotal advice on what was missing and what to look for on future shoots. Her edit helped my project get selected as part of The Fence, North America’s largest outdoor traveling exhibit.

Keri Oberly, freelance photographer/cinematographer

My Photo Editor Mind - Words Matter

You only get once chance to make a first impression, and if that first impression is poor grammar on your website, my opinion of you just sank. I’m not saying you need to write poetry, but for goodness sakes, the grammar and spelling should be correct. I’m talking about simple things like, “I worked [on] the New York Times.” Seriously?  Which leads me to captions, if you can’t write a simple sentence, I’m guessing your captions won’t be very good either. Take some time; have a friend look over your website. Your pictures can be great, but oh those words matter. Poor grammar and misspellings take away from your professionalism.

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.