I actually didn’t start out seeking a career in photography. I started out as a scientist, and my primary interest was always to find ways to help protect nature. I have always had a deep love for the natural world and the knowledge of indigenous people, but my passion has always been accompanied by a tremendous concern for what’s happening to our planet, and especially to our oceans. From a very young age, I wanted to do something to help. I went to university and became a Marine Biologist and became part of the scientific community but I soon realized that my knowledge as a scientist was not the right tool for me to help protect the ocean. Photography was something I stumbled upon by accident. I borrowed a camera and soon discovered that I had some talent for it. I was drawn to the power of imagery as a way to show the world what is happening to our environment and I saw an important need, a gap in communication, that storytelling could address, and I decided to go back to school. I went to the Corcoran College for the Arts and have been using my camera as my passport to the world ever since.

I began as a volunteer photographer with Conservation International but soon transitioned into the Communications Department, where I eventually became the Senior VP of Visual Communications. This is where I began exploring the power of imagery and where I first realized that our failure to protect the environment stems from a failure to communicate at scale. As a community we have not yet made the appropriate investments in communications at the same level as we have the science. My entire career has been focused on increasing the amount of communication around conservation issues through storytelling.

That’s not an easy question to answer. There are lots of factors at play, all connected to individual circumstances – skills, networks, abilities, and opportunity. That said, I believe that education is key. Get a strong foundation of knowledge and theory on the subjects you are passionate about and then work incredibly hard and practice. Study the work of other photographers and look for opportunities to learn in the field. Become a photography assistant to a professional photographer so that you can learn field techniques; from writing proposals to organizing gear, to managing the logistics of a shoot. Being a photographer is not easy; most of us work as freelancers, which allows great freedom but comes with no guarantees of income or benefits. This is a profession that demands some hustling and some assertiveness, and it isn’t as glamorous as people think. The competition is steep as there are so many talented photographers out there, and it’s challenging to make a real living from it. So, if you are serious about making a profession as a photographer, set some goals for yourself. Become a good writer, learn business practices, be an effective communicator with potential clients, be serious about your work as a volunteer, and do everything you possibly can to get closer to those goals. Most importantly, know that it won’t happen overnight.

I get many requests for internship and assistant work, and I wish I could accommodate them all. The work I do as a photographer is typically on assignment for magazines like National Geographic or for conservation organizations, like SeaLegacy. This means I usually work with a small team of trained assistants. It is my policy only to hire people who have experience in international travel (in particular to remote locations), who speak at least one additional language, who are trained as divers and have rescue skills, and that have camera skills for BTS, social media and editing. We have a limited intern program through my non-profit organization, SeaLegacy, (www.sealegacy.org), with only one to two spots available each year. If you would like us to keep your resume on file, please forward it via email to info@CristinaMittermeier.com with an introduction.