The Six Questions Featuring Beth Rooney

Image © Beth Rooney

I had the pleasure of meeting Chicago-based photographer Beth Rooney in our Shutter Suite during the BlogHer09 conference this summer while she was on assignment. Beth freelances regularly for The New York Times, Saveur, The Chicago Tribune, and many others. After spending some time with her images, I felt a strong connection to her documentary essays, particularly Strange Shore, a photo essay about African Refugees on Chicago's North Shore. Enjoy getting to know Beth here in our Shutter Sisters Six Interview, then hop on over to explore her blog – a (delicious) collection of thoughts, recipes and photos from her everyday life with food.

What's the story behind this photo?

I had a hard time picking an image. I debated for awhile between this image and the first image in my essay “Strange Shore.” This image won because it feels more universal.

This photo was taken in July 2008 for Saveur Magazine’s “breakfast issue.” I am drawn to this image because of the simple elegance in their body language and the soft quality of the light. The quiet moment of reflection at the beginning of the day is captured, a moment we all take before rushing out the door to face another day. Whether you pray before breakfast or simply pause briefly to reflect while drinking your coffee, that moment to collect your thoughts is precious and this image captures it.

What was it that lit your photography spark? Do you remember a
 particular camera, course, person, roll of film?

My family always took long vacations out west every summer when I was young; we would travel to Yellowstone, the Badlands, etc. And I became fascinated with the serene landscapes and color palates, but it wasn't until high school that  I took a photography class. I enjoyed the class, but didn't really feel a spark until I was a senior in high school. I was drawn to photography because it allowed me to combine, history, art, sociology and many other fields into one. I decided to attend Ohio University and was accepted into their visual communications program and my passion for photography has grown from there ever since.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I look to friends, art exhibits—photography and non-photography, magazines, newspapers, and other photographer’s websites. But if I’m really in a slump I return to 3 books: Salgado’s "Workers," Gerd Ludwig’s “Broken Empire” and Susan Meiselas’ “Carnival Strippers.”

What would you say is one of your 'signature' shooting or editing 
tricks, themes or style? What do you think makes an image recognizable
and uniquely yours?

Style is something that takes a lifetime to achieve and I’m not certain I have pinpointed a singular aesthetic yet, but I do strive for a calm beauty in my images. Maybe that will one day be reflected in all of my images.

What aspect of your photography are you constantly working on or 
trying to improve?

Everything. A day doesn’t go by without an opportunity to expand my visually story telling skills. I’m always thinking, changing and adapting. You have to or the world will shift and you won’t notice until it is too late.
 
As a freelance photographer I am constantly challenged with finding new clients, keeping old clients, shooting for profit and shooting for my personal portfolio. All this is hard to keep in balance and sometimes you don’t. Things fall to the side and after a few weeks you realize you’re no longer in balance and you reassess. Everything is changing and the best thing you can do it roll with it. Figure out what you do best and go for it without hesitation. There are always new venues for photography, sometimes, they’re just harder to find.
 
The only advice I have for aspiring photographers is to be confident enough in your work to demand proper compensation for it. Don’t get so struck by the idea of being published that you give away your work. That hurts you and it hurts the profession as a whole. If people are giving images away, your dream of becoming a professional, i.e. paid, photographer will be short lived. On a lighter note, shoot what you love, have fun with the stories you choose to shoot. And be respectful of the people who are letting you in to their lives.

Comments

[Liz//Tipping Point Photo]

Yay! Glad to learn more about another Chicago photog. I also really appreciate Beth's advice about valuing our work and setting proper compensation expectations. That's something I've struggled with for a long time. Getting better at it, but it's still something I have to be very courageous and pragmatic about.

[Julia Spencer]

Your images Beth are stunning! Thanks for doing this series (I'm a new reader) as I want to expand my horizons when it comes to photographers that inspire me. ;)

[carolyn]

wow, this image is very interesting. The woman has nothing on her plate, nor in her cup or glass, nor is any of the food on the table near her. The man has a couple good-sized pancakes, plus a plate of 4 sausages, a bowl of something (I cannot tell what it is), and a filled juice glass, all on his half of the table. The woman is hunched over, head drooped; the man sits straight with his feet planted, head bowed.
maybe she's tired from making him all that breakfast! (just kidding).

[Beth Rooney]

Thanks for the comments. Carolyn, she has always served her husband breakfast first and then she serves herself after they pray. I'm not sure why, but that's how they've always done things. She's also Diabetic so she can't eat the pancakes she makes for her husband anyway, she had the eggs (in the bowl.) The couple in the photo are pork farmers in rural Nebraska who have farmed the same land since Mr. Grant was a child. They were/are a very interesting couple and I go visit them whenever I am out that way.

[summer]

stunning image and encouraging words. Thank you.
I am constantly drawn to images like this that tell a story. This is inspiring me and making me think twice about going back to school. Also fantastic advice, just what I needed to hear tonight.
thanks again.

[Belinda Randolph-Mills]

Thanks for the great advice on confidence in compensation... I myself have a hard time with this as well!
I also appreciate your comment on style, describing what you strive to achieve in your photos as calm beauty. Striving to achieve an overall astethic in your work rather than a certain 'style' gives me hope that i will pinpoint one of my own one day :).
I am also going to look at the books that help ispire you. Everyone needs a little inspiration now and then! Thanks so much for a great interview!