Photo by Lily Dozier

Rose Rawlings, 58, embraces Eloise Steinert, 67, after two of her horses were euthanized at her home in Excelsior Springs on September 18, 2022. Photo by Sophie Park

Think about structure

When taking on a new story, Gabrielle Lurie, staff photojournaist at the San Francisco Chronicle and MPW. 74 faculty, prefers to have a a deep and clear understanding of what layers exist.

“Does it have an arc? Is there a beginning, middle and end? Is there a journey that we're going on?” Lurie said.

It’s easy to find an interesting character, Lurie note, but an interesting character is not a story. To take a story idea one step further, photographers should ask as many questions as possible. This is crucial to establishing an angle and a broader shared experience with the reader.

“Once you've kind of established that there's a story, then you have to figure out why it's important,” Lurie said. This ensures other people will take an interest and might be able to relate and learn from the story.

“Every good pitch should have a character or a subject idea. You also want to have a sense of what you might be able to photograph,” said Alyssa Schukar, photojournalist, writer, and MPW. 74 co-director.

The main questions each pitch should answer are:

Why does this story matter? Why now? What can we learn from it? How does that connect to the larger picture nationally and internationally?

“You should also think about why you are the right person to work on the story. Why should they hire you, not the person who lives next door to your subjects,” Schukar said.

Keep it concise

When it comes to approaching to an editor, Lurie suggests keeping pitches short and sweet. As Randy Olson stated in his presentation Sunday, a successful pitch can be expressed in a sentence. Lurie advised pitching to an editor in person rather than through email.

MPW can be a brutal week for some participants. As a parting word of wisdom, Lurie noted that photographers should have patience and be kind to themselves. “It's a difficult process, but this is like the best way to do it because you just have a week to focus on it,” she said.

Think about layers

“The best stories are always about more than one thing,” said Schukar.

Let’s take caregiving as an example. A story about caregiving has multiple levels: it is about family, love, and relationships between multiple family members. But it also speaks about a larger cultural phenomenon — healthcare in America.

“So anytime you pitch to an editor, whether it's in the context of the Missouri Photo Workshop or at a larger publication, you want to make sure that you're telling them why this story matters in a larger context,” says Alyssa. “I go into a pitch giving the editor an understanding of those themes I'm trying to touch on, characters, [potential] photo moments. And essentially, a nut graph of how the story connects to the larger idea.”

Seek help from trusted peers

It can be useful to share your idea with trusted colleagues or fellow participants.

“They might make you think of the story differently because they all come with different perspectives,” Schukar said. “Sometimes they will ask questions that you forgot to ask.”