Spotlight on Jessica Christian

TID:

 

Another aspect I’m curious about is what have photographers learned about themselves as they embark on this field. What do you feel like you’ve learned about yourself so far?  

 

JESSICA:

 

I think I have a unique experience being a daily newspaper photographer. For the past four years, I’ve jumped from place to place with probably a total of one week where I wasn’t either interning or working at a newspaper. I’ve loved every second of it. Most people I know tend to avoid daily shooting and focus on long-term projects, but I love the fact I get to wake up every day and not know who I’m going to meet or what story I’m going to tell.

 

With daily assignments, you pretty much have fifteen minutes to make someone comfortable enough to let you into their lives and capture intimate moments, so in the beginning of my career I was always so nervous that I was going to miss something and that the pressure was super high to get the shot in the time allotted. After doing a bunch of internships and being thrown into literally every situation, good and bad, that I could imagine, I think I’ve learned most to trust my skills and my instincts and to stand back and breathe a bit more to take photos that really tell a story. I’m no longer collecting images, I’m trying my best to make them. I find a sort of freedom in that and now I’m able to approach something mundane or routine like a poorly-lit press conference and make frames that are weird or more artistic without worrying about getting the straightforward news shot. 

 

 

TID:

 

What have you learned about others?

 

JESSICA:

 

I think it’s easy for photojournalists to lose sight of why they chose this career in the first place. Sometimes the assignments or stories you’re telling aren’t the most hard-hitting global issues that change the world, but it doesn’t always have to be like that. As much as we forget, what we do does makes a difference. I’ve learned that the people who we dedicate our time to telling their stories really do appreciate having someone who wants to listen to what they have been through or what they are passionate about. I’ve had people I never expected who seriously changed my life and the way I approach my career, from a 80-year-old blueberry farmer to a small-town rapper who spent 10 years in prison. Sometimes that difference is something as small as seeing a smile grow across someone’s face when they realizes their photo will make the paper, but it’s a difference to them all the same.