The Photographic Essay (and How to Make a Living from It)
© Joel Sartore
Being able to assemble and edit a photo essay is a crucial skill for any photographer. A well-done essay can help you capture the eye of photo editors and art directors. Joel Sartore, freelance photographer for National Geographic, has spent 20 years documenting wildlife and environmental issues all over the Western Hemisphere. In every situation, the mandate from his editors is the same: tell the story in a handful of well-shot images. In this course, he’ll share his methods for shooting and editing a solid photographic essay. He’ll also touch on the basic tools necessary to make a living doing documentary photography.
Among other topics covered will be using your camera for good (social documentary and environmental photography) and the ins and outs of documentary photography, such as: choosing your subject, research, working with people, legal issues, and shooting with your essay in mind. In addition to building a photo essay, students will be exposed to more practical matters, such as: the state of the industry, how to get your images out there, the importance of model releases, and knowing your rights/rates. The future of photojournalism will also be explored, from stills to video to the web and beyond.
A life-long Nebraskan, Joel Sartore (www.joelsartore.com) brings a sense of humor and a mid-western work ethic to all of his National Geographic Magazine assignments. After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he went to work for the Wichita Eagle, and then for National Geographic. Over 20 years of experience (18 with the National Geographic Society) have allowed him to cover everything from the remote Amazon rain forest to beer-drinking, mountain-racing firefighters in the United Kingdom. Besides being a contract photographer for National Geographic, Joel's work has appeared in Audubon, Life, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Time and numerous book projects including the Day in the Life series. He has authored Nebraska, Under a Big Red Sky (Nebraska Book Company), Face to Face with Grizzlies (National Geographic Children’s Books) and has collaborated with Douglas Chadwick on The Company We Keep: America’s Endangered Species (National Geographic). Joel and his work has been the subject of several national broadcasts including National Geographic’s Explorer, the NBC Nightly News, NPR’s Weekend Edition and CBS Sunday Morning, as well as an hour-long PBS documentary. Though traveling all over the world for work, he always looks forward to returning to Nebraska where he lives with his family.
