Lensbaby Unplugged Member of the Week
Interview with Amy Smith
Amy Smith with Lensbaby
Q: What is your favorite shoot you've ever done?
A: It is so hard to pick a favorite. I LOVE nature and all the amazingly places and things out there to photograph...the magic of golden hour, the atmosphere...all comes into play and the possibilities to create stunning imagery are endless. I also have a passion for baking and food photography. The control over so many factors is a nice thing to have in that arena, but that contol doesn't necessarily limit you in the possibilities to create new, interesting and exciting work that accentuates the subject in a way that only Lensbaby can do...So I would say that I can't really pick a favorite!
Q: What inspires you to reach for your camera?
Q: What are your favorite Lensbaby Lenses to use in your session?
A: My very favorite Lensbaby lenses to use right now (and that is always up for debate and subject to change at any moment), is the Edge optics. I love the slice of focus and the way it can miniaturize a scene, much like that of a tilt shift lens. - But like I said, you could ask me tomorrow and I would likely tell you a new favorite!
Amy Smith with Lensbaby
Q: How did you hear about Lensbaby, and what encouraged you to purchase a LB lens?
A: I learned about lensbaby years ago through a photography group I am a part of: Click Community. The creative freedom and loosening of the idea of perfection (whatever that may mean) was so inviting and exciting to take part in. I am beyond grateful to have become aware of Lensbaby at the time and have since embraced fully the brand and the goal of shooting extraordinarily.
Q:What was your journey to becoming a photographer like?
A: Here is a dropbox link to my "story" of becoming a photographer.
Q: What is your favorite subject to photograph and how would you describe your photography style?
A: As I mentioned earlier, my favorite subject to photograph varies...I love to shoot landscapes, nature, flowers, and wildlife as well as food and products. Some of those things are "as is", meaning you mostly get what you get on a given day during a shoot. You have the conditions and circumstances that occur naturally and you do what you can and create from there, making magic with perspective, point of view, lens choice and other technical aspects of making an image such as shutter speed and aperture. The food and product photography are such that you have more control over how and what you are shooting. You still have the technical variables to consider which enable you to vary the images, depending on your goals with the subject matter and/or your client or audience, but the chance encounters and weather conditions obviously are not factors. I really enjoy making images of any of these subjects all the time - my goal, or style, I guess you could say, would be to share what I see in the scene, hopeful that the viewer sees that and appreciates it too. An emotional connection or feeling to my images no matter the subject matter or genre depicted.
Amy Smith with Lensbaby
Q: What do you love the most about photography?
A: I love that it allows me a creative outlet different from others that I am involved in. I shoot digitally, so I can shoot and shoot to my heart's content and keep what I want to keep (film photography is a whole different thing that I haven't dipped my toe into just yet). I can photograph so many different subjects with different equipment and get completely different outcomes each time. ie: various lenses, multiple exposures, camera settings, etc. Another thing I love and am thankful for in the world of photography is that I have been prompted and required to continue to learn and engage my brain to keep up with technology, as well as the how and why of all the things in the photography world as they continually change and evolve.
Q: What helps you when you're struggling with a creative block?
A: When I have a time when creativity and/or motivation is a struggle to come by, I find taking a "cold turkey" break is really helpful. I fill my time with other things and release the daily pressure I put on myself (unnecessarily) to produce and 'get my work out there'. After a short time, I begin to miss it and want to pick up my camera again. I may see something outside - a beautiful golden hour, or a stunning bloom - and want to capture it. Other things I have found to be helpful is to seek out and study the work of photographers and artists whose work strikes me as inspiring in some way - color, use of light, expression... - and it gets me thinking of ways I could employ those tactics in my own work.
Amy Smith with Lensbaby
Q: Would you consider yourself an adventurous photographer, or do you tend to stay in your comfort zone?
A: I feel that I am becoming more of an adventurous photographer every day (thanks a lot to Lensbaby). While I do enjoy the crisp, completely in-focus, perfect aperture choice image, I'm finding it liberating to create something that evokes more of a feeling from me as the artist and potentially for the viewer.
Q: What else would you like to see from Lensbaby in the future?
A: Perhaps some wider angle lenses in some of the effects. Also, a device to hold the omni wands in some way for phone photography could be really cool.
Amy Smith with Lensbaby
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