How do you think Instagram has affected the field of photography?
"I use Instagram (@elizabethdherman), and love it as a way to keep tabs on friends who have scattered every which way, but I have mixed feeling about its effect on photography as a whole. I think that rather than attributing this shift in, or democratization of photography to any one thing in particular – whether that be the iPhone, or Instagram, or cheap point-and shoot-cameras – I think it’s more that the culture of speaking through images that has been gaining momentum over the past decade. 10% of all photographs ever taken were taken last year. That stat blows my mind. I think that Instagram is an incredibly effective way of facilitating that conversation – of providing people with an easy way to talk to each other in images.

The most successful Instagrammers, I think, are ones who do tell stories through their feeds, and as I’ve come to use it more, I’ve tried to focus on narratives – on doing small series, mini reportages within Instagram, rather than just singles.

I think the thing that’s not kept up with this increasingly visual way of communicating is image literacy, educating people how to read photographs and understand visual storytelling. Given the degree to which we all depend on images as a way to receive information about the world, there is surprisingly little critical analysis of the photos that are being passed to us through various news sources – from how they’re being made in the first place to how they’re selected and put forward by editors. I’d love to see a stronger push to get that sort of education into schools, and I think that people would be more receptive to it now." What has been your favorite project so far and why? "A Woman’s War has really monopolized my time for the past two years, in a wonderful way. It’s been a phenomenal project to work on. Photographically, it’s been fascinating work to convey these women’s stories through images, whether that be through portraits of the women themselves, or images from within their lives and countries. Personally, it’s allowed me become a part of this global network of stellar women, and gotten me to engage with the issue of gender rights on a much larger scale than I ever imagined doing before I began working on it."

What can we look forward to from you in terms of future projects?
"A Woman’s War is going to be shown for the first time in the US next month, in Brooklyn at United Photo Industries in DUMBO, with an opening reception on November 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. I’m hoping to continue to expand this work to a few more countries, including the United States, Palestine, South Africa, Nicaragua – unfortunately, there are far too many places that this project could go. But I’m looking to start new projects as well, and am trying to develop an idea that would meld economic analysis and reportage. We’ll see if it sticks!"

What is one thing you remind yourself every day?
"That it’s good to have no idea what you’re doing. To keep on trying, and go with each opportunity and see what emerges out of it. To ask more questions than you get answers. And to reach out to others for help, support, and criticism. Without that, I know I’d never grow."

Photo: Courtesy of Elizabeth Herman