A Photojournalist’s Field Guide: In the trenches with combat photographer Stacy Pearsall

A Thoughtful Approach

Once you’ve identified a good story subject, I don’t suggest walking into their environment with guns blazing. Rather, I suggest taking a slower, methodical approach. As I did with Cenobia, break the ice by having a cup of tea and generating some small talk. Keep your camera nearby so they grow accustomed to seeing it with you, and occasionally snap a picture so they assimilate to the sound. If time allows, make a couple of visits and casually shift your conversation-to-shooting ratio until you’re spending more time behind the camera and less time talking. Sometimes talkative subjects need to be made aware that you’re ready to shoot, and holding conversation can make working tough. The dialogue can be as simple as “I don’t ...