(Above: Anthony’s favorite picture; a young girl’s reaction to the fetal pig she is assigned to dissect. Soufflé says the emotion in the image is raw and self explanatory, something that you are lucky to capture. That’s why he considers it his favorite.)
Anthony Soufflé is a talented and enthusiastic young photojournalist who has worked for various news publications all over the country. In an enlightening 30 minute interview I held with him he let me pick his brain about why he loves what he does, what really matters to employers in the world of photojournalism, what in his opinion makes the best kind of photograph, and much more.
Anthony earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern Illinois, where he is currently working on his graduate degree. After completing five internships at various publications all over the country including his most recent internship with the Colorado Springs Gazette, he is headed to Augden, Utah to work as a staff photographer for the Standard Examiner. Anthony strongly recommends internships to photography students. He states, “Internships are going to let them know that you can hack it in the real world, you're not going to flake out on deadlines, you can cover spot news; that they’re not going to have to baby sit you.”
Many people’s definition of journalism is limited to people who write for a living; perhaps news reporters rushing around trying to write the next big exposé of the week, or a handsome, well groomed man with a microphone at the scene of a crime. What many people do not realize is that journalism comes in many forms; one of which uses a camera as its tool for telling stories in a way that is unique among others. Anthony explains, “I consider myself a journalist because the thing I enjoy most is telling stories. I enjoy getting to meet new people every day, getting to know them and getting to share in their experiences. I really think that's my favorite thing about this. I get to hang out and do things that no one else would ever really get to do except the people I'm photographing”.
Anthony likes the spontaneity of his job; and when he has no specific assignments for the day, he loves the thrill of finding the perfect opportunity for a photograph. On this he says, “I keep a change of khakis, dress shoes and a shirt and tie in the trunk of my car, because i have no idea if they're going to send me to the zoo to photograph a baby elephant that was born or if I’m going to a funeral. On [the days without an assignment], I can go out and find an interesting picture for the day. That can be a mom and her kid in the park or I’ll go to the wolf sanctuary that they have here in town and ask them if they have anything new going on”. This is one appeal of photojournalism to those souls who would rather staple their hand to a desk than work inside most of their days.
Being a student for most means constantly thinking about your future careers and the way that employers will perceive you. For all the photography students out there trying to compete, Anthony says that if you’ve got talent, it will come naturally. He says, “I have a lot of friends that worked really hard to try to get that style and to try to get that unique look to their pictures when they were photojournalism students. I think that's just a waste of time. Your style is going to develop”. With the many worries plaguing students in recent times is whether or not they are on the path that’s best for them, perhaps this is advice that can be applied to students inevery field of study; just be yourself.
