Welcome to Michael's blog. Michael Andrew, (aka Michael The Maven) is a freelance producer, photography instructor, tech innovator, and when needed, disaster aid specialist. Disclaimer: Michael is a participant in Bhphoto & Amazon affiliate programs that provides an advertising commission if you purchase through links on this website.
This is an interesting short interview with three photo editors from HUGE publications; Jeffrey Furticella, Sports Photo Editor at The New York Times, Mariah Tyler, Digital Assistant Photo Editor at Travel + Leisure, and Raydene Salinas, Photo Editor at New York Magazine's The Cut.
What's interesting is how they seem to be most interested in the photographer's personality. As they mention, a lot of people are capable of creating beautiful, consistent work. Are you easy to work with? Do you follow direction well? Are you capable of good communication? These values seemed to hold more water with the editors than "how beautiful is your portfolio?"
Jeffrey Furticella says that he often visits the Instagram accounts of photographers trying to land a job. It's more personal and "loose". It shows him their personality. That's very interesting. We can all present in a slick and very manufactured way but that's not what they're interested in. They're interested in the honest version of yourself.
So I guess the lesson is to stay honest to who you are. Know your own style. Work hard. Get out there and keep shooting and sharing.