For the asynchronous assignment, I attended “Visual Narrative and Your Story.” This discussion featured four prominent women in the world of photography: Sara Lean (Former Director of Photography for National Geographic Visual Media) , Lauren Steel (Photo editor at The New York Times) , Shannon Simon (Photo editor at The New York Times) , and Elizabeth Krist (photo editor at National Geographic).
The talk was split into two sections. The first was a discussion between Lauren Steel and Shannon Simon. The two discussed a myriad of topics focused around how to become the best photographer you can be. Shannon stressed the importance of research when pursing a subject to photograph. “The more detail you know, the better your photos will come out,” Shannon said. The two gave great advice to the viewers such as telling young photographers to not get discourage if they don’t hear back from people they are pitching a story to. Also, they encouraged photographers to enter contests, not just for the acc0lades, but to get your work seen by people who wouldn’t have otherwise. plus it’s a great way to review your work.
The Second part of the talk was with Elizabeth and Sara. The two each did their own presentations on the basics of photographer. Each focused on the attributes that make a great photo such as the form and structure of a photo. One thing that stuck out to me was when Sara said, “photography is not looking it is feeling.”
The talk finished with a little Q&A where the four answered the viewers questions. I actually wrote in a question that was answered which was: “What drew you all to photography and what advice would you give someone just starting out in photography.”
I really enjoyed this talk. I’m not a photographer, but It’s something I really enjoy and I think I would love doing it.