JEZEBEL: What originally got you interested in photography?

BARBARA GRIFFIN: I was taking a painting class in college, not loving the blank canvas, and my dad said, “I think you’d really love photography.” He let me use his camera, and from the first class I was hooked. I loved the mystery of it. I loved having an idea, then walking into a dark room and seeing what came up. With digital a little of that mystery is gone, but I still love collaborating with people on an idea and seeing that idea become a reality.

JEZ: What did you learn from working at magazines like Time and Premiere early in your career?

BG: Right out of college I worked in Piedmont Hospital’s admissions office. Oddly enough, that is where I learned to work with people, and not always in the best of situations. I was a picture cataloguer for the Time Inc. Picture Collection where I catalogued images for Time magazine. It was my first exposure to reportage, and it made me much more aware. I was there when the space shuttle [Discovery] disaster happened, and everyone went into action to pull every picture out of the library. I remember them wheeling a TV into the office so we could see it, and the response to it blew me away. I’ve seen that happen here at CNN time and time again, and it’s amazing how people rally around a story.

JEZ: Talk us through the process of designing a photo shoot.

BG: It’s my job to understand each of the brands and what their needs are. Sending someone to shoot in a conflict situation, like going to Afghanistan with Anderson Cooper, requires a different approach than our celebrity shoots. At TNT, we’re already thinking what we’re going to do for next year, brainstorming ideas that will be refined as we move further into the season. We’re looking at different ways to tell a story, whether it’s the story of “The Closer” or one of CNN’s “Heroes,” which is a project I’m working on now.

JEZ: What are the biggest challenges of working with famous people?

BG: I think you have to work with somebody on a peer level. I don’t go in there as a fan, I go in there as a collaborator who has done my research and understands the character.

JEZ: What about the war zone photography?

BG: We’re trying to tell the story of what’s happening there, but also the stories of our people in the field. These guys are not just sitting at a desk, they’re putting themselves in dangerous situations. This guy that just went to Afghanistan for us is an extraordinary photojournalist named Tim Hetherington, who won the World Press Photo Award last year. I’m looking for someone intensely passionate and a great visual storyteller. I think photography is a provocative way to tell a story because the still image gives you a pause. People stop for a minute and really take it in. I think it’s just as compelling as video.

JEZ: What tips would you have for budding photographers?

BG: There are a lot of photographers out there and things are changing, but if you’re passionate about it you have to learn multimedia and how to tell stories on different platforms. At the end of the day it’s all storytelling, whether you’re writing it, photographing it or filming it. Refine your skills, and be very thoughtful about how you approach a story. Know what your objectives are so that you don’t miss that moment you want to capture. There’s nothing worse than the one that got away.

JEZ: How do you deal with the intense emotions of stories like the famine in Africa and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina?

BG: Honestly, with the CNN’s “Heroes” stories I’ve cried in every one. It’s incredibly humbling to see these people do what they do because they believe in giving back and making a difference. When we take these pictures out to the world, hopefully they will enlighten, inform and inspire people to want to do something, too!