Traci Westcott

About Me

The beauty of diversity in our world is something that allows me endless opportunities to learn from individuals and places, different from my upbringing. The power of photography to influence and inform public opinion is something I find extremely fascinating, especially in a world where we encounter hundreds of images on a daily basis. I want to bring the viewer into the lives of the people I photograph and allow them to have access to different emotions and places, creating a richer understanding of our world.

The first time my camera gave me exclusive access to part of someone’s life is something that I remember vividly, truly recognizing the uniqueness of this field and falling in love with the ever-changing opportunities to learn and tell stories.

In addition to my photographic and journalistic education at RIT, I have volunteered at the Kalish Picture Editing Workshop which has enhanced my understanding of the importance of collaboration in a modern newsroom and across storytelling platforms and the continued need for strong ethics in visual communication. I was a student at the 2018 Eddie Adams Workshop, where not only was I inspired and re-affirmed of the power of journalism and visual communication, but also created a lifelong family of amazing editors and photographers in the business.

After graduation, I worked at the Dubois County Herald in Jasper, Indiana. Working for a family-owned, community-based newspaper has shown me how the foundation of trust built over 120 years has allowed this paper to be visually successful as so many other newsrooms lose their visual journalists. Nationally recognized in photo contests, The Herald focused on local news, personally telling in-depth stories of the community.

Currently, I am a photojournalist at The Rochester Post Bulletin in Rochester, Minnesota, producing stills, videos, graphics, and digital layouts.