Today we’d like to introduce you to Isaac Hale. He would like to share his story with us below:
Isaac currently works as a senior part-time marketing photographer for Utah Valley University (Monday-Wednesday) and fills in the rest of his schedule with freelance assignments.
Previously, Isaac worked as a photojournalist at the Daily Herald in Provo, Utah, for four and a half years. He was a staff photographer from 2016-2017, a chief photographer from 2017-2018, and collaborated with reporters, designers, editors, and freelance photographers as well as managed all of the newspaper’s visual demands as the photo editor and chief photographer from 2018-2020.
Isaac’s work has earned numerous local, regional, national and international honors. His work has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International (POYi), The National Press Photographer’s Association’s Best of Photojournalism (NPPA’s BOP), the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, the Associated Press, College Photographer of the Year, and the Ohio News Photographers Association. While at the Daily Herald, Isaac was awarded best photographer in Utah three times by the Utah News Photographer’s Association (2017, 2018, 2020) and once by the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (2020).
Isaac’s work has appeared in publications such as ESPN, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Arizona Republic, in addition to several state and regional newspapers throughout the United States. In addition to editorial clients, Isaac also works with commercial clients and companies to create images to fit their marketing, advertising, and website needs both on location and in the studio.
Born and raised in Piqua, Ohio, he graduated with a degree in Visual Communication in 2016 from Ohio University’s photojournalism program. When not behind a camera, Isaac can be found mountain and road biking, skiing, cheering earnestly for his home state Cleveland Cavaliers (and also now the Utah Jazz, too), or exercising his life-long passion of singing in choir and theatre ensembles.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have been quite fortunate to have had many wonderful resources going through college at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication, the four newspaper internships I’ve held, and in the journalism community and beyond in Utah through working at the Daily Herald. However, even with all of the resources in the world, good experience/education, and a keen eye for photography, making a living from photography in any capacity can be a pretty seat-of-your-pants way to live.
Upon graduating from Ohio University with three newspaper internships under my belt (with a fourth on the way at the Minneapolis Star Tribune), what I wanted to be was a newspaper photographer. When I got the call that I would be joining the Daily Herald’s at the time, young-and-hungry photo staff, I felt that dream start coming ever more quickly into focus.
Six days after starting work for the Herald, the newspaper was bought out by another company. Which, in the journalism world almost always means one thing: Layoffs. The last paper the new company had bought out had six photographers before the buyout, and only one remaining after the dust had settled from the acquisition. It seemed almost certain that at least one, if not all, of us would lose our jobs. Miraculously, through the efforts of a strong and caring editor-in-chief, the entire photo staff was spared from layoffs.
However, several of the other 30ish newsroom employees were not so lucky, and nearly every year or so, another round of layoffs would come. Eventually, the photo staff shrunk to two, and then just me. I stood as the Daily Herald’s photo editor and chief photographer for about a year and a half, working with a newsroom staff of about a dozen hard-working journalists of various beats.
December 31st, 2021, was my last day at the newspaper. Once I left, my position wasn’t replaced and the nine remaining journalists were totally on their own to make or source their own visuals for their stories. At one point in 2021, the newspaper had only three journalists left – Two sports writers, one news reporter.
I tell the story of my experience at the Daily Herald because the kind of cutbacks I experienced there are sadly far from uncommon; In fact, they are practically the norm in most newsrooms across America. I loved, (and still very much love!) working for newspapers, but I, unfortunately, couldn’t see a bright future for myself in the industry – Jobs are disappearing like crazy, and what decent jobs are left often have thousands of applicants for each position.
So, I decided the go full-time freelance and greatly diversify the kind of work I do – Trying to branch off to more commercially-oriented work. In doing so, I’ve found an even deeper love for the medium of photography and reinvigorated myself to continue to try and make a living in this competitive visual world.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
These days, I create images for more marketing/advertising usage and frequently work in the studio and with on-location lighting. However, I still continue to work in the journalism world, covering various news/feature assignments as well as a healthy helping of sporting events for various newspapers and organizations.
I think what sets me apart from others is my newspaper background. Working at newspapers taught me how to wear many “hats” of many different disciplines simultaneously and also be pretty proficient at many different things.
Having to do a food photo shoot with lights, quickly responding to a fatal crash, covering an event like a fair or convention, and photographing sports could conceivably all happen in one day, and photographers are expected to bring back front-page quality images from every assignment, regardless of what it is.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Genuinely, I would say the photographers I’ve had the pleasure of working with/around are the greatest resources in my professional life. I’ve learned so much from those I’ve worked alongside (some passively from their own work, and others actively showing me things). When I have a question of how to do something, I find the best answers come from fellow photogs.
Otherwise, I find myself browsing various articles on websites like Fstoppers while I eat lunch at my job at UVU, and I also have a small collection of photo books from my favorite photographers to give me inspiration when my own is running dry.
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@isaachalephoto.com
- Website: https://www.isaachalephoto.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isaachalephoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isaachalephoto
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/isaachalephoto
- Youtube: https://vimeo.com/isaachale
