I have long had an interest in photography since taking a class during my freshman year of high school. I was unable to continue taking photography classes as high school continued though, so I was looking forward to having the chance to get back behind the lens for some time in this class (even though the situation of photographing as a journalist is a bit different than what I did in my freshman year).
It was harder than I was expecting to remember how to adjust the settings and get the shots I wanted, and partially as a result of the less-than-pretty pictures I’ve turned out over the course of this semester, I decided being a professional photographer for a news publication and likewise, a photo editor would each be difficult jobs.
I thought it was interesting that, as mentioned in lecture, being a photo editor entails a lot more than just choosing the photos to use in layouts. Filling the photo editor position also means working with designers, reporters and other editors; choosing photographs that not only look good but are compelling to the reader and help tell a full story on their own in addition to whatever text or audio they are accompanying; and act as a line of defense for their reporters.
In researching more about what a photo editor does, I ran across this blog: A Photo Editor. Rob Haggart writes the blog and was the former Director of Photography for Men’s Journal and Outside Magazine. In his blog post “Becoming a Photo Editor,” Haggart discusses the preliminary steps that should be taken in order to fill the above criteria of the photo editing job well.
With a sense of humor conveyed through his snarky aside comments, Haggart has many posts in addition to “Becoming a Photo Editor” that provide a look into the world of a photo editor. He includes short posts, such as “Why digital magazines are thriving” via MediaTel:Newsline, as well as longer posts: a review of Jonathan Hollingsworth’s new photography book written by contributing writer (and fine art photographer) Jonathan Blaustein.
