Amanda Mustard: On finding your own voice in photography
In this episode, we talk with photojournalist and filmmaker Amanda Mustard about navigating the photojournalism industry, finding her own voice in photography, and realising that you don’t need to leave home to tell interesting visual stories. She explains how her transition from Egypt to Thailand has coincided with a transition in the type of work she is pursuing, and how she is doing more storytelling at home.
What you’ll find inside:
“It kinda makes me sad to look back and think of how much time I spent photographing what I thought I was supposed to. And then slowly over time I realised that, you know, I don’t think that’s exactly where I can contribute anything new” (3:12)
“I guess the way I feel is that if I’m going to continue to be a part of this industry, I need to keep working towards and contributing to efforts to make it a place that I feel welcome, and that others feel welcome, because otherwise I lose hope too easily. (10:25)
“We have a lot of power when we’re holding a camera, especially in communities that we don’t belong to, and we will all benefit by taking some time and just being a little bit more thoughtful about those power dynamics (11:18)
“But I think that there is this pressure to, like, really dedicate yourself and make being a photographer and identity and put it all on the line, and I really disagree with that. … It’s just setting you up for burnout in a lot of ways and it doesn’t set you up to be able to do your best work.” (18:08)
“I can travel all over the world and look for stories that really mean something and really dig into the nuance of it, but this, you know, inside me is where I have the most strength.” (22:52)
What does photo ethics mean to Amanda?
“Photography ethics is so important to me because I feel like it is this unwritten contract between the person with the camera and ultimately a lot of the power, and the people that we’re taking photos of. And if they’re going to give me something, then the ethics ensures that that transaction is respectful and dignified and will ensure that harm does not come to them as a result of the photography.” (31:05)
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