By Katie Knapp, ACN board member
I took my first photography class 20 years ago on the first floor of Bevier Hall at the University of Illinois. The late Bob Siebrecht taught me about the exposure triangle, how to use all the dark room equipment, and that every good editorial image needs a ‘cat’ in it. (Ask me more about the cat next time you see me or any other U of I ag com alum who was on campus a few decades ago).
An image I made that semester of my dad and brother on our family’s farm has hung on my office wall ever since. Fast forward 19 years, I was named ACN’s 2024 Photographer of the Year for a collection of images published in The Furrow magazine.
So, what happened in between, you ask?
The simple answer is thousands and thousands of shutter clicks. I have watched others and shot and read and shot and reviewed my archive and shot and leveled up my equipment and shot and asked for critiques and shot even more. You get my point…
There is no shortcut for this. The ability to see how a particular moment’s light will transform a frame, how to engage with farmers who’d rather not be photographed, or how to instinctively adjust settings to capture the correct exposure for the story being told—these skills become muscle memory only through repetition.
However, there are a few specific things I did in the past two decades that improved my photography significantly.
Daily Discipline
While earning my master’s degree in London, instead of a travel blog, I committed to a photo-a-day project. This practice forces you to find unique perspectives of ordinary views. You quickly learn the best camera for the job is the one in your hand, and it helps you hone the craft of single-frame storytelling.
Seek Feedback
Writers know they’re only as good as their editors. The same is true for photographers. Having others review your work—not just admire it, but truly critique it—is a fast path to improvement. Find people who will tell you honestly what works and what doesn’t about your images, then take those insights back to the field and shoot again. You can leverage your ACN membership here, like I have, by asking other photographers for feedback and entering your work in the contest.
Find your Style
Just like when you write about a topic you enjoy, you write better; when you make images of things that matter to you, you make better images. Find what you really care about in agriculture and focus your lens there. Look back far enough in my archive and you’ll find a bit of everything, even a couple of weddings. But I much prefer creating colorful, authentic, storytelling images of agricultural life. Thankfully, there’s a market need for this combination, which allows me to keep doing what I love!
Winning ACN’s Photographer of the Year wasn’t about a handful of perfect shots but about consistently showing up with confidence in my own perspective and skillset, finding stories I believe need to be shared, and committing to documenting them honestly.
Samples of Katie’s photography:
Editor’s Note: Katie Knapp is the 2024 ACN Photographer of the Year. Her work regularly appears in The Furrow magazine and other agricultural publications.
Photo credit: Agricultural Writers South Africa