The following interview is part of a series of Q&As with photo editors, directors and other creatives in publishing who are responsible for finding and hiring photographers. In these conversations, we dive into what they do, how they do it and what you need to know to get on their radar.

Previously, we spoke with Leonor Mamanna, a senior editor at Bloomberg Businessweek, and we also sat down with Jennifer Laski, the photo and video director at The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard. In our third installment, we’re speaking with Lyne Lucien, a photo editor at New York magazine and a senior photo editor at The Daily Beast.

Tell us about what you do at New York and The Daily Beast. 

I am a photo editor at New York magazine and work on both print and digital platforms of The Strategist vertical. I am a senior photo editor at The Daily Beast where I work on the news desk and pull images and create graphics.

How do you find photographers?

I mostly find photographers on Instagram or Pinterest and digital platforms. I love the See in Black project, which is a coalition of extremely talented Black photographers. I also love Diversify Photo, which is a database of diverse photographers from all over the world. I also look through published projects from all over the world to find the right photographers.

[Read: Why Pinterest Could Be the Best Promotional Tool for Wedding Photographers]

Has their been a photographer who has particularly stood out to you?

Kriss Munsya has caught my attention lately.  I love his use of nostalgia scenery in tandem with a retro color palette. I like that he plays with the idea of masking identity. In his work, he never shows faces; he cloaks them behind items or curtains or with the positioning of the body. When there’s a lack of focus on the subject, he essentially reassigns the purpose of the body as part of the scene. The body becomes an object maneuvering as part of the scenes he creates. [Check out a selection of his work in the gallery above.]

What has been one of your favorite shoots in the last few months?

My favorite shoot from the past month was Dario Calmese’s cover of Viola Davis for Vanity Fair. Normally, we aren’t invited into a photographer’s creative process or inspiration for a particular shoot. But it was amazing to see Calmese’s inspiration for the cover because it had a powerful message especially considering the racial inequalities that we are protesting currently. His inspiration was of a Black slave posing with a back full of scars, underlining the extreme abuse and burden he had to carry on his back to survive. In Calmese’s shoot with Viola Davis, he positions her in the same pose to show the parallels between racial inhumanity in the past and now. Her pose is a reminder of this burden and inhumanity that still persists in the United States today. Her scars may not be visible, but the abuse is inherent in the infrastructure of this country.

How have you been working with photographers over the last few months?

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to work with photographers on the same scale as we have before. We’ve assigned photographers on a more documentary basis. Photographers who capture the zeitgeist of this time by shooting the city, hospitals, and scenarios that show the humanity of this time have been a focus of ours. When it comes to more studio portrait shoots, we’ve been hiring photographers to shoot remotely. We send the subjects the shoot apparatus and the photographers are able to direct the model as they would in person. I am definitely interested in finding more creative solutions as we move forward.

[Read: Photo Shoots in the Pandemic from a Prop Stylist and Set Designer’s Perspective]

What’s the best way for photographers to reach out to you?

I would prefer that photographers DM me over Instagram or message me on LinkedIn.

What are some contact methods for photographers to avoid?

I think over-reaching out can hurt you. We only have a handful of projects a month, and your style may not be right for a current issue, but it may be perfect down the line. We try our best to keep a variety of styles in mind. So, it is best to reach out every few months instead of once a week.

What key elements do you look for in a photographer and their work before they get hired?

I look for a unique perspective. I don’t want to see what you think you should be shooting. I want to know your voice from your personal style. I think more photographers should show their personal work versus just showing their commissioned work. Oftentimes, we hire people from looking at that section of their portfolio because it shows us what they are capable of and how they can direct their style to a project.

What kinds of shoots are you going to be looking for in the future?

We are looking for creative solutions on how to shoot socially distanced and still have a beautiful shoot. We are looking for photographers with creative solutions around the COVID-19 shooting restrictions.

What’s something few people in the industry know about you?

I studied German and mostly Latin-American revolution montage films in college. I guess I’m drawn to philosophy and why people create. It helps me understand the creation.