Story ideas and self-motivated inspiration

Contents:

Contests:

Newsletter:

Members:

About Us:

Members log in here with your user name and password to access the your admin page and other special features.

|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2006-04-23

Story ideas and self-motivated inspiration
Coming up with new and different ideas is a never-ending part of a photographer's life.

By Keith Bedford

Photo by Keith Bedford

Haitians line up to vote in Pettionville, Haiti February 7, 2006. Large crowds came out for the Caribbean nation's first election since the ouster of Jean Bertrand Aristide two years ago.

Story ideas don't exactly grow on trees. As a freelance photographer working in the New York City area, developing an ability to come up with new and interesting story ideas is an important part of a successful business. Coming up with ideas also requires the self-motivated inspiration to get them done.

Boredom tends to be a good source of inspiration. Since I work in New York, where things tend to happen year after year (Yankees go to the playoffs, fall fashion week, spring fashion week, press conferences, UN General Assembly and the like), you always know that these things always need to be covered, but it is often a challenge to keep it fresh. I try to get out of town for at least a month a year to shoot something else and re-charge my internal battery. Drop the 17-35 and shoot all long for a week.

A lot of ideas come from word of mouth, so it's important to be expanding and maintaining your network of contacts, including the people you've met during assignments, and the people you've worked for previously.

Most of my friends are other photographers and editors, and I make a point to keep in touch with them. I wound up doing a story on "Operation Smile" story after talking to my former boss Marc Ascher, from the Trenton Times. He's now the photo consultant for the NGO. They do facial reconstruction on children with deformities around the world. Marc knows I have an interest in health care and suggested that I tag along on one of their missions. Keeping in touch with people means they can share good ideas with you. Simple as that.

I also try to take a more personal approach by thinking of what types of stories I would like read, or pictures I'd like to see. Who hasn't sat in their room as a teenager and played air guitar? I certainly did.

I found a recent story on the "Air Guitar Champions" from a posting on the day book on a day when there wasn't much going on. I got the old 'you can check it out if nothing else happens today'. It turned into a long night, but it was fun to cover some of the characters that take their air guitar playing pretty seriously.

The story was successful, and got a fair amount of attention. I'm now talking to them about letting me do a follow-up series of portraits. (Another good method - turning one good idea into another.)

Another idea-generating tactic is to localize a national or international story. Finding a local angle can be a little more difficult, but it is usually well worth your effort when you can.

Photo by Keith Bedford

Haitian police officers try to control a line of voters as they forece their way into a polling station in Pettionville, Haiti February 7, 2006. Large crowds came out for the Caribbean nation's first election since the ouster of Jean Bertrand Aristide.

Here's an example: In the last several months, Bird Flu, has been all over the international news. So why not try taking a look at a local slaughterhouse or in the Chinese restaurants where there's always poultry hanging in the window? If you can establish a local link to an international story, your re-sales can really pay off.

I managed to do some local coverage of the elections in Peru when it was announced that polling places would be set up for Peruvians living in the US. If you look hard enough, and pay attention to current events, you'll discover World news happening in your own backyard. I make time to read business stories, election reports, and items from the United Nations so I can try to find those local links.

I find many stories when traveling abroad, but if you don't have an assignment, money will always be an issue. To make extra money to fund my travels, I try to take corporate assignments, work days when other people don't want to, and mind my archive. By minding my archive I mean following the news to see who's making it. If I have a rare picture of an event or a person in my archive - I try to sell it.

Re-sales are what butters the bread. I decide how much I want and can afford to spend. I try not to be wasteful and think if the stories I want to work on are really better covered by a wire service or can I have a different take on it. I don't want to be motivated just be because someone else is doing it too.

In order to cover the election in Haiti or in Sri Lanka I had to get creative and rely on some friends. Thanks to the generosity of colleagues on expense account, and relief workers that have let me crash on their floors or a spare cot, I was able to cover these stories on a very limited budget. (Again, keeping in touch with people pays off.)

Obviously, you can't always rely on this, and you should never take advantage of it, or make it your normal practice. People are helping you out, that does not give you carte blanche to order room service. This is a place to lay your head and bounce ideas off of your fellow photographers. Pay for your own meals, Internet, and buy your host round of drinks or even dinner. It's still a savings compared to some of the rates hotel are charging these day. As my buddy Lucian Read says it only take three days before leftovers and houseguests go bad.

I also put my story idea abilities to work in my role as Team Producer for the Eddie Adams Workshop. It is my job to come up with the assignments for students to shoot once they arrive at Eddie's barn.

With this being my fifth year as a producer, it has become quite clear that it's hard to go around Jeffersonville and Sullivan Counties and find people that have not heard of Eddie Adams. After 19 years, almost everyone has heard of the Workshop and Eddie.

In the time I've been a producer I've gone to the racetrack, the paint ball fields, basketball courts, ATV tracks, the community college, and the high schools. If you've been involved in a sport in town during any of the last five years, I've probably called you and asked if I can have a student cover your event. That said, it makes my life a lot easier to have a relationship with the town.

Photo by Keith Bedford

Parents with children suffering from facial deformities wait to be seen by Operation Smile August 17, 2004 in Forteleza, Brazil.

I start off by calling people who I (or a student) have photographed before and see if they know anything going on for the weekend of the Workshop. I do Google searches, call the chamber of commerce, and ask friends.

I have the advantage of also working with the same team leader (Bill Frakes) and editor (Jimmy Colton) for the duration. We'll always want some of the old favorites (football, soccer, the race track, and so forth) because there is always something new or a different approach to take. I'll also try for a few new ideas (last year it was women's volley ball). Some ideas work (go-cart races) and some ideas don't (judo class). I try to add one or two new subjects every year and move one or two out for later down the road.

After I come up with a list of around 20 assignments for the weekend I discuss with Bill and Jimmy what should stay and what should go. We narrow it down to 12 of 15 leaving the others as backups in case of cancellations or weather. We are supposedly the "Sports" team, and high action is always great, we are all about the life in and around the sports.

The Workshop experience is amazing, and there are many things you can learn, including how to come up with good self-generated story and assignment ideas. There are many people you can meet, and connections you can make. If you're eligible, you should seriously consider going. (They are currently accepting registrations for Barnstorm 19 until May 15, and registration is online this year. http://www.eddieadamsworkshop.com.)

My last bit of advice is to pay it forward. Think about all the people who have given you help, advise, a tip, an extra inch, a ride, dinner, drinks, a good book, a place to crash, money for poker, equipment, a recommendation, an assignment, an editor's phone number, a workshop, or introduced you to your wife.

Help the next guy out if you can. Remember, we're all in this together.

SportsShooter.com member Keith Bedford is a New York-based freelance photojournalist who attended the Eddie Adams Workshop "Barnstorm XIV" as a student in 2001. He has been invited back as a faculty member every year since.

Related Links:

Bedford's member page