My Dream Job

My dream job would be working full-time as a field editor or feature photographer for Southern Living. I love small towns, interior design, antiques, gardening and cooking. Southern Living combines all of these things. I can't remember a time when my mom and grandma didn't have several editions of SL on their coffee table. SL's target audience is broad - middle age/elderly women, of course, but I have many friends that enjoy it as well.

The first article I would run would be this article on vintage style. It's from the SL website, and the couple whose home is being shown is from Athens...how cool is that? Feature articles like this would be things I would be responsible for as a feature photographer. I would travel to the location alongside a writer and put together a story to submit to the editor who makes the executive decision on whether or not to run it in the magazine.

A few years ago National Geographic included "ZIPUSA" in each edition. Basically, they would randomly choose a zipcode within the United States, send a writer and photographer, and do a two to three page story profiling the town. I would love to bring this concept to Southern Living, but narrow down the area, of course, to only the southern portion of the United States. They do highlight southern towns regularly, but I'd love to make it a monthly feature that people look forward to and flip to first.

Another aspect I would like to include in the magazine would be a monthly blogger's column. It doesn't have to be the same blogger each month, just an interesting, opinionated column outline great food, travel, and cultural stories from the South. There's not really a specific link I could include here....

I would consider running this article, also, pertaining to kid-friendly foods. As boring as it sounds to some, I wouldn't mind photographing food for the magazine on occasion. I think this article would appeal to both middle-age and elderly women and help them cook food that their kids/grandkids will enjoy. I would definitely add a 'southern twist' to it before putting it in SL, though.

Finally, I would run this article from the SL website, especially this time of year. It concerns the best plants for the fall season. I would run this because I think it would appeal to the male readers, also.