From the moment I started planning X-Pedition: Assignment Vietnam, I knew I wanted Molly Roberts as the project editor.
Molly spent three decades as a leading magazine photo editor — as Senior Photography Editor at National Geographic Magazine, Chief Photography Editor at Smithsonian Magazine and as an editor at The Washington Post Magazine. She’s juried Pictures of the Year International, the ASME National Magazine Awards and LensCulture. She has reviewed portfolios at Review Santa Fe, PhotoNOLA and the Eddie Adams Workshop. She knows how to tell a story (see our earlier conversation).
For this spring’s workshop — an eight-day documentary assignment tracing the farm-to-table arc of northern Vietnam, from rice paddy to family table in Hanoi — Molly is our anchor. Before participants arrive in Vietnam, they will have had a one-on-one portfolio review with her. During the workshop, she’ll conduct remote editing sessions, offer feedback on daily takes and, on the final day, guide the selection and sequencing of the week’s images into a published zine. It’s the closest most workshop participants will get to filing a story to a real magazine editor.
I asked Molly to talk about how she actually reads a body of work — what she looks for in the first 30 seconds, why detail shots aren’t filler and how a strong image can still be the wrong one for the story. Here’s what she told me.
What advice would you give someone who’s used to shooting travel photography — striking single images — about how to start thinking like they’re on assignment for a magazine?
I’m going to start with this question first, because this is a particular process that is key to building a successful, coherent story.
Yes, a story is made up of strong individual images, but if you haven’t thought the whole story through from beginning to end, you will likely get caught up in the process during the time you are photographing and could forget to get images that are an important part in building your narrative. These elements are also really important to putting your story on a page in a way that is compelling. That is not to say we give up on the splendid serendipity of being open to the surprises that come our way while in the process of photographing. But planning has its rewards i.e. when doing a portrait, always capture details of the person’s face or hands. When photographing a personal or work space, always also photograph details of things on a desk or a wall. Sometimes these details are more revealing of character or focus, than a face and can be used together to make a deeper portrait
Like any good story construction we should always plan to answer the 5 W’s
Who: Who are the people who provide the action part of the story? Who are the people who are impacted by the action? Who does this impact make a difference to?
What: What is this story about? What is your thesis? What does the research say are the key points?
When: When are you photographing? Is there a seasonal aspect to the story? Will it be hot/cold? Will you need special equipment to deal with weather conditions or to stay safe?
Where: Where does the story take place? What kind of perspectives and vantage points will show your readers/viewers the overview of your location? What kind of transportation will you need to get there? Do you need special equipment, drones, long lenses, ladders, cherry pickers, other boats? Planning ahead can be the key to success.
Why: Why is this story important? Why is this story worth telling? Why are you the right person to tell this story?
When I talk to my students about storytelling I always say good storytelling relies on ideas, access and tenacity. Be patient, the way to a strong story takes an investment in time, in paying attention, and in slowing down enough to see what others may miss. Slowing down allows you to be more in sync with the person you are photographing.
When you open a new set of images from a photographer, what are you looking for in the first 30 seconds — before you even start thinking about which ones are “good”?
When I first look at the images I’m probably looking for that magic combination of consistency and variety. When color and exposure are consistent that lets me know that no big technical problems were encountered. Then I look to see if there are a variety of angles and perspectives. Did the photographer use interesting framing devices? Did they move 360 degrees around the subject to check for all the possibilities in angles of light?
What’s the difference between a strong photograph and a photograph that’s doing work for the story? Can an image be excellent on its own and still be the wrong image for the edit?
Photography has often been referred to as “painting with light” but we deal with realities in photography. A stronger photograph is often stronger because it is rendered interestingly by the light and by the color that the light reveals. It is also framed in an interesting way.
In making selections for an edit I would always try to use all the strongest images, but sometimes the flow or pacing of a story on a page will call for a detail, or a wide shot. If all your best images are from a medium distance, you can see how using them in story could put a viewer to sleep by their repetition of POV. If you are in a great situation with magical light and have no reason to rush, try to use it in many iterations, close up, medium and wide shots. Don’t miss an opportunity to photograph what could be an important piece of the puzzle.
If you’re building out a magazine story, what are the categories of images you’re mentally checking off as you review a take? How would you define an establishing shot versus a scene-setter — are those the same thing to you, or different jobs?
Thinking in magazine terms I think of an opener when creating an opening spread, it is also useful sometimes to pull back and leave some space on the photograph for text ( also thought of as establishing shot, scene setter, sense of place, overview) portraits, active portraits, supporting images, details, non literal images, are also part of the way to visually construct the story. A closer is a photograph that brings the story to either a visual or an emotional conclusion.
Detail shots — hands, tools, ingredients, texture — get dismissed by some photographers as filler. How do you think about their role in the finished story?
It’s impossible for me to imagine making a great story without great details.
Joe Newman is a Washington, D.C.-based writer and photographer. His company, f8Photographic Workshops, organizes travel photography X-Peditions.
Loved working with Molly. Strong words of advice. She is the real deal.
excellent info right there