Goals: Improve photography to be as compelling as the copy it accompanies and improve my own art direction provided to each photographer.
Process: I research editorial photographers that have an eye for capturing images that directly reflect the article. With members throughout California having a range of high-end photographers is key in order to receiving the high quality images we need. During content planning I share my vision for each article with photography needs and the editorial staff provides feedback. I then provide detailed art direction for each photographer, including the issue theme, article description, a specific shot list, and intended aesthetic - with sample images.
Outcome: This process has greatly improved the product’s quality. The detailed art direction allows photographers to provide the imagery needed to captivate our audience. With the successful improvement of photography I advocated for image-heavy layouts, with many full-bleed high quality images in our magazine redesign. As a result, California Freemason photography from 2011 to the present shows a great deal of improvement.
Photograph credit: Russ Hennings (above images)
Photograph credit: Peter Prato (above images)
