Those kinds of pictures are not easy to come by. They take a lot of commitment from the photographer and from the editors that edit those photographs.
What advice would you give to an aspiring photographer?
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Bendavid-Val: For any aspiring photographer, any age, I would recommend photographing what you care about, what you love, and keep at it. Look at other people's pictures and think about what you want to do in your own photography. Stay true to your own vision, and photograph continually.
Johns: First thing I'd say is, make lots of pictures. Take lots and lots of pictures, and then look at those pictures critically. And as you look at them critically, and by having trusted friends, colleagues who will look at your pictures and be honest with you about your pictures … you really open yourself up.
The best photographs are truly from the heart. So when you're criticized for those, it's tough. But it's also a necessary part of growth.
I would [also] say a photographer needs to build a terrific library of magazines they love, of books they love.
Ground yourself in the history of the great masters of photography.
Over time you will develop your own vision, and hopefully you will make a contribution to those great bodies of work that have been the foundation of strong photography.
What are some top tips you can share about being a photographer for National Geographic?
Johns: Patience. Patience with your subject and patience with yourself. One of the ways you get patience is through commitment. That you've committed to this subject and telling the truth, that you've committed to improving every day.
One that's tied right in there is persistence. That you never give up, you never give up on yourself, even on the bad days. You never give up on a great picture because there are problems or impediments. You just stick with it and are committed to constantly improving. You're always hungry. You're not quite satisfied.
Why has National Geographic decided to dedicate a book to portraits?
Johns: Portraits connect so well with our readers. People can look at that photograph and think, Well, gosh, I have a feeling now what it must be like to be that person or to live that life. Portraits are one of the most powerful devices we have for connecting with our readers.
How are portraits different from other types of photographs?
Johns: Any good photograph—it could be landscape, wildlife photograph, a science photograph—is about connections. There's a strong connection and [desire] to communicate about a landscape, or an animal. Maybe it's an endangered species, and you realize that its days are numbered if we don't do something. So there'd be this strong connection with trying to show what the animal looks like, but not just what it looks like.
I want to see pictures that don't just show me what something looks like, but they show me what it feels to be like that animal or like that person. Show me what you see. Show me what you feel. And always tell the truth. Those are the three mantras we use when we send photographers out.
All that is ratcheted up, all of that is exacerbated to a degree by a portrait because a portrait is so personal. The eyes are really the windows into that being, and there's something about the eyes and the eye contact. There's this vulnerability when someone really opens up to a photographer to allow a portrait.
Some photographers are very good at putting people at ease, and that's largely because of sincerity. You're not out there to make a great picture, per se. You're out there to connect with a person and get to know that person. And, if a great picture comes out of it, that's terrific.
I submit that the best pictures are always made with that in mind. Not where the photographer says, Here is a person, here is an object for me to make a great picture with. No, that's backwards. It's, Here's someone that I'm so intrigued with, that I want to share what I found out about this person, how I feel about this person, what this person looks like … I want to share that with millions of people.
If you approach it that way—and your best photographers do that naturally—then you'll connect with the subject and you'll connect with the readers and make memorable portraits.
Editor's Note: In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits (U.S. $30) is now available in the National Geographic online store and U.S. bookstores.
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