The Visual Student

Tim Hussin is the 2008 College Photographer of the Year.  Hussin, who graduated from the University of Florida in 2008, has interned for MediaStorm, the Rocky Mountain News, Deseret News, Monroe Evening News and The Gainesville Sun.  Hussin is currently interning at National Geographic.

This time last year, I was furiously searching through my past year’s work in hundreds of folders and files to find those little gems that lay hidden among the mess of my quest to find a photographic vision that would help people connect to the stories I told. In the process, I’ve found that for a portfolio to really stand out, it should not only have great content, storytelling and smart image making, but it should have a personal vision that brings all the disparate pieces closer together. People don’t like looking at boring, repetitive photos. So, in order for people to connect to a story, I feel that in addition to content it’s important to make images that are sophisticated and interesting to look at. To have a personal vision that carries throughout a portfolio is something that many judges look for and can elevate a portfolio drastically.

A Wildfire’s Approach - Residents watch as firefighters make a fire line to stop a wildfire on Green Mountain on Monday, August 4, 2008.  The fire, said to be started by lightning, approached many neighborhoods in the area causing mandatory evacuations but did not cause any property damage.  (Tim Hussin)

When editing my portfolio last year for CPOY I initially made several work prints, found a large space and laid them out on the floor or a table so I could see each photo’s role in the overall body of work. I found it important to see how each photo relates to every other photo and how a story and vision is carried out from image to image. During this process I found it crucial to reach out to friends, professors and professionals that I trust to help. The tricky part of this, however, is that in the end I had about 10 different edits of my portfolio. At this point I took a bit from what everyone said and integrated these various ideas into how I wanted my own work to be represented. All of the opinions informed the final edit and forced me to think through each and every part of the edit to form a stronger personal opinion about my portfolio.

The final product of a portfolio is the amalgamation of hundreds of small decisions, from image choice to image order to toning to the details in the captions. Each decision is as important as the last, since they all contribute to the overall vision that the judges will have of a body of work. There are several approaches one could take for this process. Being a terrible editor of my own work, having outside opinions was crucial to being able to step back from my personal relationships to the photos and think about how others perceive my work.

Anarchy at the DNC - Caught in the Chaos - Police arrest Cecil Bethea, 80, from a circle of anarchist protesters after he got swept up in a march against the Democratic National Convention while trying to go to catch a bus. Bethea got stuck in one of the circles of police officers and was detained along with many of the protesters.  (Tim Hussin)

After receiving further feedback on my portfolio post contest, I would’ve done things a bit different today. Even though I was happy with the portfolio at the time, I would’ve thrown out some images that were a bit expected. I think in some places I tried to fill gaps in story with a commonplace image or two that didn’t further the vision of the portfolio but acted solely as an informational document of what happened. Although they were decent photos, these images just offered a place for judges to become confused about consistency in a unique vision. For example, you should avoid putting a mediocre sports or news photo in a portfolio just because you think you need to fill that gap. Although a portfolio for this contest should be diverse in subject matter, you don’t need to feel like you have to fill the old standard of two sports photos, two news photos, two features, etc. I think pigeonholing a photographer’s vision into such categories can make your overall vision suffer and the professionals I’ve talked to seem to agree. A weak photo is a weak photo. It will drag the stronger work down and compromise a portfolio.

I always enter contests without any expectations. This way, when the judges yell “out” to all of my images, my soul is not crushed. I had no expectations of winning gold in portfolio last year. I knew in the past the work that has won has been phenomenal, so I knew that the competition was steep. I had become integrated into the photo community and became friends with several student photographers who had amazing bodies of work, so I honestly didn’t know if my work would hold up. Expectation leads to disappointment, so if you don’t expect something big, huge and exciting, well…

There is an art to entering contests, which I don’t claim to have down at all. Some people are really knowledgeable of how to cater their work to each and every contest. What I’ve found is that it’s important to become familiar with the contest before you enter so you can have a better idea of what has placed in the past and why. It’s like a publication. Before applying for an internship, you should be very familiar with the work they publish, the goals they strive for and the visions they uphold. For CPOY, they’ve made several of the past years available. So, spend some time searching through the archives to understand something about the overall vision of the contest.

In the end, I think people should remember that contests are very subjective. The same portfolio can place differently in all contests depending on the judges. So, I would urge students not to verify their worth solely on contests. While it is helpful in getting your work noticed and can present you with new opportunities, if your work is good it will be noticed regardless, with or without the plaque to justify it.

Starting Over - Hold Onto Your Family - Russ Brown looks out the window of his new bedroom with his mom Susan Brown at his new apartment six days after the fire. “Life is so unpredictable,” he said. “Who knows what’s going to happen. So hold onto your family.”  (Tim Hussin)

-Tim Hussin’s CPOY Gold Portfolio

-64th College Photographer of the Year Call for Entries

-Hussin’s Personal Website