Have a mission statement

Projects can be about anything and everything, but the reason for undertaking a specific long-term project has to be clear and you need to be able to communicate why you need to tell the story, and especially why it needs to be told now. In her presentation, Judy Walgren, Editorial Director of media start-up ViewFind said:

“All storytellers should be constantly thinking about why they are drawn to a story and/or subject, and should be aware of how their gender, orientation, their culture and their level of privilege affects the lens through which they perceive the world. For this reason, I feel it is important for photographers to be able to effectively (and concisely) ‘pitch’ their project, including why the story matters – why it has to be told. This ‘mission statement’ is a critical part of a project’s development and can provide the photographer with a solid foundation from which to create the body of work.”