Developing A Photography Female Character - Advice?

[Katrinastar]

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[TD="class: alt1"]So I'm writing a novel, and the main character is a young female photographer who works for a magazine. I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to photography.

Could you please give me some advice, ideas, or suggestions on what to keep in mind while writing about this character?

I want to show her as passionate and strong yet very good when it comes to photography.

Please let me know what I should keep in mind

Thanks
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[LizardKing]

Best thing you could do is look the characters we have here in the forum... That should be enough to write a series
No, seriously, take a look around and you'll learn a few things about photographers

 

[Josh66]

What do you need help with? Personality, technical stuff, jargon, etc...?

 

[belial]

My guess is you want Key terms to make it first: believable that your character is a pro photographer and next: that your character is a very good pro photographer that does or feels something that sets them apart in their profession.some technique or special way in which they see things.

 

[Dao]

I think you may need to define the type of magazine first. A fashion, paparazzi, news, science, nature, real estate or autos etc maybe difference. I am sure a National Geography photographer maybe quite different from ELLE photographer or Dog Fancy photographer.

 

[morganza]

My guess is you want Key terms to make it first: believable that your character is a pro photographer and next: that your character is a very good pro photographer that does or feels something that sets them apart in their profession.some technique or special way in which they see things.

It would be a good way to go indeed, but I suggest you to look around here and do some homework, it'll help you a lot.

 

[ClickAddict]

Best bet would be to contact a local photographer (prefereably female) and ask to shadow them for a day or two. BE VERY CLEAR you are not basing your character on her. (Unless you want to start paying her royalties) But that you want to get a better appreciation for what a typical day's work entails. Stuff like charging batteries after a shoot, the way they carry larger equipment to photoshoots and such seem mundane and only take a line or two here and there in the novel, but it's those minor details which add realism to the character. Personality wise you set that yourself and you already seem to have an idea of what you are looking for.

 

[ClickAddict]

Oh and my "prefereably female" was mostly in case of certain industries, there may be pros / cons depending on the photogs gender. (Been discussed here before for instance how some ladies prefer lady photogs for boudoir shots, and in the past, sports photography was a male dominated area (not sure today) so getting a female photographer to follow might get you some of her comments on how it differs. And as others said, it depends on what kind of photographer you are writting about. I'd want to shadow a similar one.

 

[Katrinastar]

Well she's a photographer working for a magazine for celebrities/politicians, more like People magazine. And she just started this job.

Yes, I'm looking for personality, jargon, anything that would make this character feel believable and authentic. I don't want to create a "poser-photographer"

Thanks for the insights, y'all.

 

[snowbear116 47]

I agree with the others - look around here at some of the posts and contact clubs.

You do NOT want to base her on this:

 

[Josh66]

I don't really know how to give you what you want without having a situation in mind...

Throw out some questions/situations and I'm sure you'll get real responses from real photographers...

 

[usayit]

I want to show her as passionate and strong yet very good when it comes to photography.

One real life person you can research for inspiration is "Gerda Taro".

* She was the key person to "invent" the "Robert Capa" persona for the Mr. Friedmann to help promote the "Indiana Jones" like image of a war photographer.
* "Gerda Taro" itself is a persona she invented as a photographic companion to Robert Capa to the war fronts. Her real name is Gerta Pohorylle. Robert Capa is regarded as a legendary figure in war photography.... she was taught by him.
* She, as Gerda Taro, became a well respected and successful photographer on her own right.... strong enough and talented enough to work out from underneath Robert Capa's shadow.
* Taro and Capa were romantically involved and rumored to be engaged. Their paths crossed many times but she was killed in action before they can marry (love story aspect). Many say, Robert never recovered from that event....
* She was regarded as one of the first female war photographers and she died in combat zone. I can only imagine just how gutsy of a woman the media and the world portrayed her... after all we are talking 1930's when society insisted on portraying women as "frail" and "fragile" creatures that needed to be cared for.
* To top it... she was attractively cute blonde and I bet many men were intimidated by her gutsy attitude.

Their lives and personalities (especially Robert's) read like a movie script.... When people romanticize the whole "being a journalist/photographer" a lot of what they have in mind is accredited to her work as Robert's career manager.

 

[snowbear116 47]

I think for jargon and terms, any of the tutorial sites would be fine. here are a couple:
Digital Photography Tutorials
Strobist
Kelby TV - Online Shows for Creative Professionals.

This one may be of some help: Photo Attorney

 

[Overread17 5]

Jargon is one thing, but if you learn textbook jargon you'll have a "textbook" character - which would likely be one more suited for the classroom than the journalistic position. I would talk to photographers, in person, go to a few camera clubs and get a better feel for the world outside of the text book.
Heck I'd encourage you to get a camera and do some photography yourself - even a little learning and experience will teach you a lot and gives you a little more insight into things as well as giving you a more real world grounding in the subject.

usayit raises the important idea of researching existing photographers - either high or lower profile, who have lived the kind of rough life you want.

I would also say that a lot of the answers we might give might be determined by the type of character you're after - is she in it for the photography - the lifestyle - the celebraties - the money etc... A little detail on the background can help a lot in the kind of details which might help to round the character out.