Tips From a Pulitzer Prize Winning Photojournalist

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Deanne Fitzmaurice is a multi-award wining photographer, including Microsoft’s Icons of Imaging and the big kahuna, Pulitzer Prize.  She is an amazing mixture of talent, curiosity, sensitivity, yet raw courage, rolled into a disarming package—all of which have allowed her to reach deep into the lives of her subjects.

Her work is impressive and spans many genres from sports, to politics, human (very) interest, to candids on the street, she seems to handle these images equally well.

I had the pleasure of interviewing her and finding out about her approach to her subjects, which is open, direct and honest, leading her to be very much in touch with them. And did I mention she is gutsy? To illustrate: She told me about getting a shot of Barry Bonds, who in reply glared at her. Instead of backing off she hiked across the field and confronted him and asked if he were upset with her? He popped out of his scowl and got in touch with her, with the net result of their becoming fast friends on and off the field.

She passed along some very pragmatic advice about always checking your equipment, your cards, batteries, always being aware of exactly where you stand so you’re ready for that next shot.

And what about her host of celebrity shots? Same story, she gets right in there and charmingly breaks down the barriers. Like her five minutes with Matt Damon who seemed to be annoyingly putting up with this chore, until she, being from Boston, came out with “how ’bout the ‘Sox?” and she had him.

My favorite part was her description of what makes a very powerful image: Layering. No, not as in layers in PhotoShop, but in the images themselves as she shoots them. I’ve studied a lot of photography and talked with many, many photographers, but I’ve never heard this concept so well articulated. Watch the video for this; it’s worth the price of admission alone.

I’ve gotta say, the toughest part about our interview was deciding what to leave out, there was so much of interest. Let me know how you like it.