“Emotion is the essence for me—not just the feelings sparked by the action within the frame, but also the mood and passion evoked through the light and the composition.”
One of the most respected names in the photography industry, Elizabeth Krist, has over two decades of experience as a Senior Photo Editor of 国家地理 magazine, where she commissioned and published some of the most compelling visual stories of our time.
A board member of Women Photograph and the W. Eugene Smith Fund, Krist is an advisor to the Eddie Adams Workshop and a contributing editor for Virginia Quarterly Review. She has served as a judge for grants and competitions, including the RFK Journalism Awards, Lenscratch, Leica, Review Santa Fe, CatchLight, The Center for Fine Art Photography, POYi, Best of Photojournalism, the W. Eugene Smith Grant, FotoEvidence, and the Infinity Awards. She also teaches at ICP and reviewed portfolios for FotoFest, the Eddie Adams Workshop, and the New York Portfolio Review.
Earlier in her career, Krist curated the Women of Vision exhibition and book, as well as four Photoville installations between 2020 and 2024. She also co-curated CatchLight’s 2023 Visual Storytelling Summit and helped program National Geographic’s Photography Seminar for over a decade.
As a freelancer, she has contributed to The New Yorker and Magnum Photos and worked with commercial clients such as Apple and Leica. More recently, she has collaborated with CatchLight, Magnum Foundation, and the Joop Swart Masterclass for World Press Photo.
Reflecting on your time at National Geographic, what was the most memorable or impactful story you worked on, and why does it stand out to you?
EK: Three interconnected stories come to mind, all involving North Korea. The first was photographed by 迈克尔·山下 on the DMZ. To prepare, four of us visited North Korea just weeks after they announced they had nuclear weapons. The experience was surreal—surrendering our phones at the border, the lack of a visible consumer economy, and the impassive demeanor of our hosts, likely from fear. But what I remember most vividly is watching our writer, Tom O’Neill, and So-Young Lee, the editor of 国家地理 in South Korea, fall in love before our eyes. They’re still married today.
The later stories focused on North Korean defectors, photographed by Chien-Chi Chang, for which protecting escapees’ identities was paramount, and David Guttenfelder’s deep exploration of the isolated country, while establishing an AP bureau in Pyongyang.
Can you share the names of three photographers who have inspired you throughout your career, and what is it about their work that resonates with you?
EK: I saw 多萝西娅·兰格’s iconic Migrant Mother as a teenager, so always associated her with her FSA work of the 1930s. It wasn’t till later that I learned of her coverage of the Japanese Americans incarcerated in internment camps during WWII. I find the vulnerability of the children and the elderly especially moving. In her captions, she often included the words of people she photographed, helping us relate to what people were going through. And I’m impressed that as a woman she navigated the systems of the time, so her work could appear in 生活 and MOMA.
EK: Like most admirers, I first knew 戈登·帕克斯 for his social justice work and for the way he helped shape the perception of Black America in his portraits of cultural and political leaders. Activism via mass media. But I was surprised when I saw, only last year, the extent of his fashion work, and how playful it was. I appreciate how he kept experimenting and evolving–visually interpreting Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man, for example—and his creative explorations in music, poetry, and painting. And of course, he’s also known for his cinematic successes like The Learning Tree 和 Shaft.
EK: Lynn Johnson’s first 国家地理 story appeared in February 1989, and she’s been on assignment with the magazine ever since, publishing 38 stories over 36 years on topics from traumatic brain injury and weapons of mass destruction to gender science, marijuana, autism, and a groundbreaking face transplant. She often builds decades-long relationships with her protagonists, seeing them as her teachers.
Lynn is a trusted witness, with a rare gift for translating complex ideas—like the nature of good and evil or the boundaries of death—into powerful photographic narratives. While grounded in science and data, her work always finds the human core, deepening our understanding.
You’re acting as a judge for our Visual Story Award, which is a single-image competition. Conveying a story in a single image is obviously a challenge. What advice would you give to photographers who want to submit their work?
EK: Emotion is the essence for me—not just the feelings sparked by the action within the frame, but also the mood and passion evoked through the light and the composition. Is the light warm or cold, do the diagonals or movement convey a sense of urgency? Do the colors contrast vividly, or do they blend hazily? Can you use these tools, these choices, to compel me to look? Is there enough impact or complexity that I want to come back and look again?
As a board member of Women Photograph and the creator of Women of Vision, what do you believe are the biggest barriers to greater diversity and inclusion in the field of visual storytelling, and how can they be addressed?
EK: It’s surprising that while many top photojournalism programs graduate a majority of women, publications overwhelmingly hire men. Do editors rely on familiar names out of laziness or risk aversion? This seems unlikely when so many female editors advocate for equity. Are editors concerned women aren’t physically tough enough? That doesn’t hold up, considering women like Lynsey Addario and Samar Abu Elouf excel in grueling conditions. I worry the current political climate in the U.S. might validate a return to a macho bro culture.
I do think that the efforts of organizations like Women Photograph, IWMF, Diversify Photo, and Authority Collective have made a difference by providing mentorship, grants, data tracking, resource sharing and photographer listings for editors.
What advice would you give to aspiring photographers who are trying to make their mark in today’s competitive landscape?
EK: Learn the technical side so your camera feels like an extension of yourself, but also read, watch, and engage with the world. Grow into someone who knows what they want to say. Editors love photographers with irresistible ideas who can deliver powerful visual stories. Look at celebrated work, but also explore bold, adventurous photography. Don’t be boring! Think of creative ways to reach audiences—live events, pop-ups, zines, or video spinoffs. Learn business skills to stay afloat, and commit to applying for grants.
Most importantly, nurture relationships. I hope you will always care about your colleagues, the people and animals you photograph, and treat everyone with respect and generosity. Keep growing, and put your passion and energy into this for the long haul. And don’t forget to ask yourself: Why am I doing this?
Where do you see the future of visual storytelling heading, especially with the rise of new technologies like AI and the impact of social media?
EK: I wish I knew! I admire artists like Phil Toledano, who use generative AI to create provocative, visionary work. But I worry that fewer photographers will be able to sustain meaningful careers as outlets replace creators with AI shortcuts, exploiting human work as raw material. Industries like advertising and filmmaking already feel the impact.
Fred Ritchin warns that photography is in danger of losing any claim to truth, as AI amplifies the spread of both information and misinformation. There will always be a new wave of technology on the horizon. I hope photographers embrace these new tools while staying transparent and true to their values. Consumers need to educate themselves on their sources of information and the providers of their visual diet. The editors who work closely with photographers are a crucial factor–we rely on them to know who to trust to record the evidence of what we ultimately believe.
所有图片版权均归其各自所有者所有
Elizabeth Krist was judge of our Visual Story Award in February 2024. You can view the results 这里。.