1. What is a reality or perk to being a Humanitarian photographer?
The reality to Humanitarian photography is that it’s 85% traveling (planes, cars, trains, buses, tuk tuks), 10% editing, and 5% shooting on the field. The best moments are spending time with the people you’re photographing. The brief time you get to spend with your subjects are incredible. I know I’ll never forget their faces, stories, and little bond we create along the journey.
Story is a sense-making device. There’s a problem that needs to be addressed, I document the problem to bring awareness to it, then it’s up to my audience to take part of solving the problem. Visual storytelling is impacting your audience with the story of a character that has a problem, we provide a solution to the problem, but there’s an interactive call to action that can make or break the character’s problem. I look for heroes that are on the verge of something great. They just need a little bit of support to make them successful. I’m also a strong believer in giving to sustainable models that don’t just put a band-aid on the issue, but eventually solve the problem. Those are the type of campaigns I love being a part of.
I recently went on a back to back assignment to Indonesia and China. It was such a shock on my body to go from 105 degrees ferinheight in Indonesia then the next day I’m trekking in blizzard weather at 7 degrees ferinheight in the mountains of China. I wore sandals on the plane and I thought my toes were going to fall off when we landed in China. My husband and I looked at each other and couldn’t stop laughing at the sheer freezing weather.
Another funny story, was when I was driving in the middle of no where Tanzania. We had our windows down to feel the cool breeze. We stopped the truck to wait for our turn to go through a toll when all the sudden a massive male baboon jumps into our vehicle. We all immediately abandon the vehicle and start running. Next thing you see is this large baboon running off with his mouth stuffed full of our food for the day.
I love to look at Pinterest, National Geographic, Exposure photo narratives, and other great humanitarian photographers for inspiration.
The most fulfilling part of my job is helping people around the world. God put me on this incredible path and I followed without hesitation. I never wanted to travel or do mission work. I just wanted to be a normal person living a normal life, but God had other plans for me. Every step of the journey has been surprising, emotional, physically exhausting, beautiful, and meaningful.
One thing that I have found over and over in Mia Baker’s work, other than the startlingly clear images that draw you in to look deeper, is the humility with which Mia takes photos. The response you see in the photos shows how much Mia has been able to interact on an honest human level, and come as a friend.
Thanks @Miabaker