CRITICAL PHOTOJOURNALISM

Sarahbeth Maney also known as SB, is a Diamonstein-Spielvogel visual fellow at ProPublica, focused on documenting in-depth investigative stories. She was previously a staff photojournalist at the Detroit Free Press and covered national politics as a 2021-22 photography fellow for The New York Times’ Washington bureau. Originally from the California Bay Area, her personal work focuses on housing insecurity, disability, and social issues that disproportionately affect Black and brown communities. As a journalist, her goal is to further representation within the industry and portray each story as honestly as it exists. Most notably, Maney covered the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and captured what was called "the most iconic image" of the hearings. She shared her experience after the photograph sparked worldwide conversations about the importance of representation of Black women and women of color within the ​​field of photojournalism. Her work has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International and TIME's Top 10 Photos of the Year. In 2022, she was the first photojournalist to be selected as the National Association of Black Journalists' Emerging Journalist of the Year. A series of her images from the Black Lives Matter movement was acquired by the Library of Congress in D.C. and more of her work can be found in National Geographic, TIME, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Teen Vogue, Oprah Daily, Vanity Fair, CNN, The Guardian, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Forbes, among others. 

The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

A few characteristics I think that someone needs as a photojournalist to do the job well is care: a strong level of caring for the people that they're documenting as well as respect and empathy. And I think that when you're an empathetic human, then care and respect should follow that just naturally. Those three characteristics should be the pillars of how we approach people who are trusting us to tell their stories. And then some capabilities I think that people should have are definitely curiosity and eagerness to understand. The desire to understand is the foundation of what I try to do every day when I'm working. 

I also acknowledge that it's not my place to draw my own conclusions, but to really listen with an open mind. To drop any preconceived notions I have and just be there to understand. Then share that information with other people so that they can also learn with me. And, of course, these preconceived notions always exist. Everyone has them because we all have different experiences and upbringings. But it's our responsibility to put that away, and solely be there to observe and share the truth, even if we don't agree with it.

For me — and I think for everyone — truthfulness should be the most important ethic: telling the truth in the work that we do. I practice this in the moments when I question myself or when I'm writing a story, and if I am uncertain about anything or I'm questioning something, I just don't include it. I think it's better to share less information than to share more information that is potentially inaccurate. Being careful with that is essential, as well as avoiding stereotypes. Which goes back to implicit bias and all the preconceived notions that we collect throughout our years as humans. We have to try to let go of those stereotypes that we have ingrained in us. 

Specifically, when I think of a project or story I worked on where I had to do this, it was the story about pregnancy during the pandemic when I photographed Sophia Tupuola. The story was very much about the generational trauma she's had to endure as a Pacific Islander woman and first generation American and her struggles with housing insecurity. For most of her life she had dealt with homelessness but it wasn't the traditional idea of homelessness that most people think of when they hear that word. For Sophia, it was her couch surfing and living with friends or relatives, and at some points spending a few nights in a shelter, but not her being homeless on the street. I had to think about how I could show her life without exploiting her lived experience and make sure I was properly portraying her truth. Because what that looked like for her may look so different for other people and vice versa. Especially with the lack of thoughtful coverage that we see done around issues of housing insecurity and trauma in Black and brown communities, there’s an additional level of care and intentionality required. We also don't see much coverage highlighting the Pacific Islander community, so it was really important for me to actively learn about her culture and her community, because it was completely new to me. I didn't grow up with friends or classmates who were Pacific Islander. I had to acknowledge that I didn’t know much about this demographic. My approach was to research and learn, but also, more importantly, to listen to what Sophia was telling me because she knows her story better than anyone. I knew I could learn so much more from her than I could from Google.

To mitigate implicit biases, we have to listen more and assume less, but also sit down with ourselves and recognize what our implicit biases are. I remember when I was in college and thinking, “oh, I don't have any biases.” I was thinking, you know, I’m a woman of color. I’m Black and Mexican, and I am familiar with different groups of people. But then, in one of my classes we took an implicit bias test and that was a wake up call for me. I took it a few times and was surprised at what I learned about myself. So, I think it’s necessary for people to do that (kind of work on themselves). Also, know that you're not a bad person because of your implicit biases or your upbringing. You just have to accept the need to change for the sake of the people and communities whose stories you tell.