• What is your current position and who is your employer?  

I have been a staff photographer with the Orange County Register for about 25 years. I am full time now, but worked part time for about 10 years while raising three children.

• When did you become a PPAGLA member? 

  More than 5 years ago.
  
  How long have you been a photojournalist and how did you get started?
  I have been a photojournalist for 33 years. I knew I wanted to be a reporter since my early days in high school. When I got to college I took my first photojournalism class. Looking at pictures by professionals was ethereal. When I started noticing light and patterns my heart would skip a beat. And seeing the human spirit frozen in time was intriguing and magical. I knew this was my calling. I didn’t want to be a writer anymore. I needed to be where the action was, making pictures. It wasn’t easy though. I got a D in my first photography class and I put my camera in a closet for a semester. It was painful. But eventually I was determined to make it work because I couldn’t imagine not being a visual reporter. When I would show my mediocre portfolio to professionals, I refused to accept that I may have to do something else.
  

• Please share some career highlights: 

Highlights have included photographing my daughter’s birth (I first set eyes on her through my viewfinder), having some of my pictures from a story about a teen mom installed in the permanent collection at the Clinton Presidential Library, photographing people in Rwanda years after the genocide, photographing five presidents, the pope, celebrities, athletes — including my favorites, Kobe and Jordan — and perhaps most important, everyday people who teach me about life. 

What advice do you have for students and those hoping to become photojournalists? 

Decide if this is the job you were born to do. If not, spare yourself the grief and do something that provides job security, better pay and normal hours. If it is your calling, keep up the hard work and don’t get discouraged. Find someone whose work you respect to be your mentor. Even if you work for a newspaper, camaraderie and the exchange of ideas don’t occur like it used to, because we don’t congregate anymore. If you freelance it's hard to grow without input, so you’ll have to make an effort to reach out. There are so many talented photographers within PPAGLA. And most, if not all, are nice people.

• What is something you know now that you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?
  I’ve spent so much time trying to make stories work when I should have cut my loses. If someone is still not willing to let you in after you’ve invested time trying to gain trust, move on. You can never force a story, and if you don’t have access you don’t have a story. The pictures will be superficial. And there are so many other stories to tell.

• What is your favorite part of being a PPAGLA member? 

  Being in the company of stunningly great photojournalists. I am always amazed by the work I see from my colleagues around the state. And even after all the industry downsizing, talent has prevailed.

  
  Click the links to connect with Mindy:

  Email is mschauer@ocregister.com

  Twitter: @themindyschauer

  Instagram: mindy.schauer