Chris Hudson

Chris Hudson is the art director for National Geographic Traveller. Here he explains what the magazine is looking for

AP: What are the qualities you expect from your photographers? CH:

They must be able to spot and capture a moment, while at the same time being able to frame and capture a location to make it look the most desirable a place as possible. They must be able to tell a story through their pictures.

AP: How do photographers build a relationship with NGT? CH:

There are different ways. From winning our annual photography competition, right through to being more aggressive with emailing and pitching. Above all, they mostly have gone off to shoot work that they can bring back and pitch. The least successful tend to be those who want to photograph, but don’t have work to explain how they are a good fit.

AP: How do you decide which locations to include in the magazine? CH:

Locations and stories are decided by our editor and features editor anything around a year in advance of publication date, and is often swayed by what our writers and photographers pitch. However, the world is an everchanging place and so quite often our features list changes too, often at the very last minute.

AP: What are you looking for in submitted images? CH:

Technical excellence should be a given, but saying that, some photographers are not as technically great but get themselves involved in a destination – getting up close and personal with locals, capturing real life moments, which kind of makes up for the less-polished standard. We pride ourselves on focusing on the people in a place – faces and names really help tell a story, and so we always encourage our photographers to really immerse themselves in the culture.