Elizabeth Renstrom recently left The New Yorker to focus on freelance work.

We caught up to learn more about her impressive career, tips for photographers on collaborating with publications and brands, and her exciting outlook on the future of commercial and editorial image-making.

Renstrom also shares helpful and honest tips for photographers looking to get their work seen, commissioned and published. We've illustrated this conversation with some of Renstrom's favorite New Yorker stories over the past few years.

The Luupe: From TIME to VICE to New Yorker, you've played a remarkable and influential role shaping visual culture and the careers of some of today's top photographers. What have been some of your biggest learnings?

Elizabeth Renstrom: I feel endlessly lucky that I’ve been able to work at a majority of places that prioritize artist’s unique voices. I learned so much, but a few tips/things I’ve considered across all publications:

The Luupe: That’s so helpful! What do you see really working for photographers over the past few years? What are you most excited about in the photo editing world?

Renstrom: I see people being way more intentional with commissioning in general since I started working in magazines departments in 2012. There is a deeper understanding of how a photographer’s perspective and artistic practice fits into the shoots they are chosen for vs. just pulling from the same roster of people who have a certain level of experience.

The Luupe: And what are 3 common mistakes photographers should avoid?

Renstrom: Honestly I haven’t encountered a ton of ‘NO NO’s over the years, but I would say these are some things that could always be improved:

The Luupe: What was your favorite shoot to produce in 2021/22 (or during your entire time at NY'er!)?

Renstrom: This is impossible!

Renstrom: The fiction section at The New Yorker was an absolute joy to commission photography around. I think it really allows photographers to experiment and play to the strengths of their own work, while being in direct conversation with another artist’s words.

It’s such a special section because it’s so broad in the ways it can be interpreted pending on the tone of the story. I’ve commissioned conceptual still life, portraiture, landscape, you name it, for this section. Some highlights over the years:

The Luupe: Love! After comissioning so many compelling stories, what compelled you to go freelance and why now?

Renstrom: I think like many people, the pandemic shifted my perspective on work and the type of work I’d like to focus on. I had the urge to dedicate more time to my shooting practice for a while, but this finally felt like the right moment to take the leap and give myself a bigger chance. I knew to do that I would need a more flexible schedule.

The Luupe: Your recent photoshoot for the New Yorker with Wet Leg is so good. Can you talk a bit about the process + concept behind it?

Renstrom: That means a lot! It was so fun to put it together in one of my favorite cities. Portland is a haven for vintage clothing and tchotchkes in general. Whenever I’m there visiting, I always make sure to pick up items I know I can incorporate into my images.

Knowing that the shoot would be there while I was in town and they were on tour, I thought it would be fun to take advantage of the vintage and do something 60’s/70’s inspired.

In a lot of interviews the girls mentioned how their hometown of the Isle of Wight is a bit of a time capsule, so a throwback vibe felt right. I thought about the process of making their album together, and of them dreaming up/concepting the album on their bedroom floor. A lot of my work focuses on corners of domestic spaces, so I thought it would be a fun tie in to some of the themes I often shoot.

I knew the rug would act as the primary backdrop, and I needed it to feel unique and shaggy ;) There’s this incredible mid century furniture store called Vintage Pink, and one of the sellers always has an awesome collection of Rya rugs. He let me rent one from the store, and I just kind of built the photograph from there.

Clothing was all sourced and styled by the incredible Anna Knight. She has worked in vintage in Portland for years, and I knew she would be able to pull very time-specific pieces. Good crew, fun vintage, Voilà! It’s always fun collaborating with friends to make something cool.

The Luupe: Like your Wet Leg shoot, we've been massive fans of your own photography and are excited to see you now working with brands. Your "NSFW" (new standards for work) collab with Paul DeSilva for Vimeo is a great example. Do you take a different approach to commercial work vs editorial work?

Renstrom: Honestly, I don’t approach the two that differently at all! The only thing that shifts with commercial jobs is the amount of resources at my disposal to execute my ideas, as well as the amount of people weighing in. Oftentimes for editorial shoots, I am doing all the elements myself ( propping, set, etc.)

Renstrom: When I shoot commercially I get to hire and work with different collaborators to bring a photo to life, which is so fun. I still try to bring the same weirdness/obsessiveness to my work in ads, as I would in my own work. It just has to fit within the world I’m trying to create for the client.

I have felt very grateful that the past few commercial clients I’ve worked with had me on their mood board, then hired me for the job. That doesn’t always happen. Sometimes people don’t know the artists they are pulling for mood boards, and then they go with someone completely different to execute.

The Luupe: So much of your own photography is inspired by your childhood in the 90s, references to JNCOS, HotTopic, etc.... does this play into your work and vision as an editor/producer?

Renstrom: I try to separate my sensibility/themes in my own work while collaborating on commissions with other artists. I think the only way it bleeds in is basically my decision and preference on giving artists free reign to execute an assignment as they would their personal work. I love when people can get weird on a commission and have it fit within the realm of the work they're making in their own long term projects.

I have a soft spot for artists that discuss pop culture trends in a dynamic/conceptual way, and it’s exciting when that work can be utilized in an editorial. For example, everything Chris Maggio is doing right now!

The Luupe: What are you going to miss most about working at The New Yorker?

Renstrom: So many things! The people make The New Yorker a special place. Being able to collaborate and work with talented writers to bring their stories to life is what I’m going to miss the most. Working alongside writers whose work inspires my own imagery was something that always felt surreal.

Whether that was Rachel Syme’s writing on scent and pop culture, Kelefa Sanneh and Amanda Petrusich’s music criticism, or Jia Tolention’s musings on Britney Spears, it was always humbling to be in conversation with their words.

I also loved being a part of a team of photo editors, and in general, visual nerds to bounce ideas off of. The photo department is full of such wonderful talent, and just sharing projects in Photobooth meetings, or side chatting about who could work on x commission in x city, that will be greatly missed.

Renstrom: I think everyone comes to this type of work in their own timeline/way, but I can tell you some of what helped me: