JEREMY SNELL (USA)
Young photographer with huge and really amazing photostream on flickr.
He shared this great portrait with us:
1Q/ Can you please tell us something about this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?
This portrait was taking in Chinatown, Honolulu. My friend Brian and I were walking around playing with his new 5D markII and taking portraits of random people on the street. This particular lady was sitting on a stool by the road and starting commenting on our picture-making. She told me to take a photo of her, so I did. =)
2Q/ What photography gear you used here and why? What is usually in your photo bag?
I used my friend's 5D markII with a 50mm 1.4 lens for this shot. This is typically my favorite setup for portraits. This was also in natural light. My photo bag consists of a Canon T2i body, 50mm 1.4 lens, 85mm 1.8 lens, 28mm 1.8 lens, and several Speedlights.
3Q/ What do you love most about shooting portraits?
Portraits are by-far my favorite thing to shoot. There's something attractive, distinct, and emotional about capturing someone through the lens. You're able to capture a single moment in their life but also see a glimpse of their history, persona, and being.
4Q/ Do you consider yourself mostly as a “portrait” photographer?
Yes. Photography would be significantly less important to me without portraits. Capturing people is very different from any other type of photography. To me, it's the most interesting.
5Q/ Do you work with available light or do you use additional lightning often?
Both. Depending on the circumstance, I will shoot available light or bring out some of my light kit. I'm not really a very consistent photographer. I love both natural and artificial lighting. It really depends on the type of photo i'm trying to create.
6Q/ What/Who are your photography muses and influences?
I tend to think that everything around me, and every art piece I see influences my photography. My favorite influencers are not necessary exclusive to photography either, directors, writers, and music also influence the style of how I shoot. I'm a big Annie Leibovitz, Jeremy Cowart, Pamela Littky, Wes Anderson, C.S. Lewis fan. The list could go on forever though. Many photographers on Flickr are also a big influence.
7Q/ Any tip for taking better portraits?
Hmmmm. People ask me for tips on photography all the time. My number one advice is to just keep shooting. Find photographers and photographs that you love. Try to emulate their work. Experiment and find what you love. Remember that art is very subjective, so don't let people tell you what you're doing is wrong.
Thank you, Jeremy!
"Remember that art is very subjective, so don't let people tell you what you're doing is wrong." -- well said, Jeremy
ReplyDeleteGreat shot, we love this portrait and have just bookmarked Jeremy's stream.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing :O)
DSP