Photographer Andrew Craft: A Q&A with the man behind the lens at The Fayetteville Observer

Hello, I’m Andrew Craft, the sole photojournalist at the Fayetteville Observer. You’ve probably seen my name under a number of photographs over the years. I landed at the paper in 2005 and have been photographing everything you could possibly think of in those years.

When I’m out and about doing my photo thing, I occasionally get approached by people and asked a question or two about my career or photography. Here are a few of the less weird questions.

How did you get into photography?

Way back in 1992, just as I was barely about to graduate high school, and I mean barely, my mom bought me a Canon Rebel 35mm film camera and I started taking photos of my fellow skateboarders in Southern California. It was at that time that I realized I needed to start thinking about what the hell I wanted to do with my life.  I decided to sign up for classes at Riverside Community College, which included a few photography classes.

After taking several photo classes and getting married, followed by a couple of moves and then a divorce, I came to realize I preferred a documentary style of photography — photographing the world as it is. So, a friend suggested going into photojournalism with the end goal being to get a newspaper job, since it was a steady paycheck. 

I ended up going to San Francisco State University, where I received a degree in journalism with an emphasis in photojournalism and a minor in anthropology. After graduation, I did a couple of photography internships in Illinois and Ohio, followed by a newspaper job in Pennsylvania, before landing here in Fayetteville.

What is your most memorable assignment?

Never an easy question to answer, I’ve got to experience a lot of amazing things through this job. But if I had to pick one it would probably be my first trip to Iraq in 2007. It was the start of the surge in Iraq so a lot was going on. It was also my first overseas assignment, which every photojournalist dreams of. I don’t think I made my best photos during that trip, but it created some of my strongest memories from an assignment. And nobody forgets their first.

I’ve been lucky enough to have had many more overseas assignments for The Fayetteville Observer and other publications.

What photograph that you've taken is your favorite?

This one is a little easier to answer. I would say it’s an image I took in 2006 of a soldier leaving for a deployment to Iraq. In the photo, his wife, who is also a soldier, is holding his hand from a bus window as their daughter cries and hides her face against her mother. It is a very beautiful and honest moment. 

A couple of years later, the city gave a framed copy of this photo to First Lady Michelle Obama during her visit to the city since one of her major issues was military families. I didn’t think she would actually hang the photo, but I was pleasantly surprised that it hung in her White House office for the entire time her husband was president.

Do you get paid to take photos?

Strangely, I get this question the most. I guess there are a lot more photographers out there taking images for free. 

I’m a full-time staff photographer at the paper, so I do get paid. There is no chance I would be doing this for free. I love photography, but I want it to be my career, not my hobby.

If you see me out — I’m usually wearing a San Francisco Giants hat — feel free to chat me up. You can also reach me at acraft@fayobserver.com. To see more of my work you can go to acraftphoto.com or Instagram, @acraftphoto or @aacraft.

Later.

Photographer Andrew Craft can be reached at acraft@fayobserver.com.