The Art of Visual Storytelling in Photojournalism with Deanne Fitzmaurice
Serendipity
Sometimes the picture we find is not the one we’ve been looking for. My mindset is as important as my subject matter. I find confidence by going into situations feeling prepared, having done my research, but staying open to what unfolds. I trust what I need will be there and if not it will push me to where I really need to be. I go in with prepared confidence. Sometimes things aren’t going my way, so I try to stay patient and often things reveal themselves, sometimes through a roundabout way. It helps me take chances and be bold. I try to go into a situation with confidence that everything will go the way I want, or even better than I can imagine. In the world of photojournalism, there will be surprises. Serendipity happens. Trust your instinct.
Humanity & Curiosity
By nature I am positive and see the best in people, I see the light in people. In my work, I try to Illuminate something, to bring something into the light, actually and metaphorically. I am always looking for good light to illuminate the people I photograph as well as the issue. I look for universal themes to bring attention to something, hoping to show humanity so people will care and engage with my photography. I often take an issue or data and put a human face to it, to make it relatable. Through humanity I try to tap into the universal things that make us all human—love, family, to provoke the viewer to engage. Even though we have differences we all share these basic human characteristics.
Spark Emotion with Photojournalism
Unlike art photography, photojournalism is done for a reason, to call attention to something. It doesn’t work unless people are moved to act or feel something. My goal is to get people to feel emotion—that is the only way we can make a difference. I aim to create poignancy, empathy, compassion, to provoke emotion, evoke a feeling, to show how it feels. I have to feel something enough so I can photograph it, but not feel it so deeply that it paralyzes me. I photograph with the hope that the viewer will feel joy, sadness, anger to act, in a way that they are moved to act or are informed in a new way.
