Tiffany Blanchette, 33

Photo Editor, The Daily Journal (Small Newspaper Group, Kankakee, IL)

Education: Bachelor of Science in Journalism/photojournalism, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

Never stop learning. This applies to training on new technology, observing fellow journalists, reading about what’s happening in the industry and keeping up with the current events of the world. It applies to immersing yourself in your community or project and finding the best ways to connect, practice empathy and tell the story. It also applies to learning from your own performance and mistakes.

While all the above have helped me in some way, I’ve learned the most from the following actions. The first is reflecting on a situation, whether it was spot news or a portrait, and asking myself how I could have improved my approach or preparation as well as my images. The next is looking at work created by other photographers to gather inspiration and ideas and even asking them questions. And the last is soaking up every opportunity to learn from the amazing, long-time journalists I’ve had the chance to share a newsroom with. I feel we can all become better journalists by sharing our knowledge and committing to lifelong learning.

How have you overcome obstacles in your career?

Whenever I reach an obstacle of some kind, I find myself tapping into what landed me in photojournalism in the first place — my love for this profession. Reminding myself why I do what I do can be very motivating when things get difficult because I believe in journalism’s purpose and impact so much. It’s our job to shine the light as best we can, no matter what.

Using that lens helps look at an obstacle as a chance or challenge to find another solution or an alternate approach. You never know if it might lead you down a better path you didn’t know.