If you haven’t heard of Allison Farrand yet, don’t worry, you will. Farrand has been making a name for herself in the world of photography for a few years now with a clean and unencumbered style of photography that has the ability to pull you in and make you smile.
Allison Farrand is a self-taught and dedicated photographer with an emphasis on documentary work. Today, she’s a Senior Photo Editor for the Michigan Daily and Photographer/Online Editor for Merit Goodness. Though she started out in portraiture, she’s since evolved from being hired to do senior photos to capturing her own travels around the world, all while managing to keep up with work and school.
Photo by Farrand, taken in Ghana
For Farrand, a good photo “has to jump off the page, which sounds cheesy, but I mean to say movement makes a good picture and composition. Composition is key to how you show movement a lot of the time. I like bright, white photos. Before I can fully close a picture, I make sure it’s bright enough. I want people to see what I’m taking a picture of. I definitely go more blue in my personal photos unless it’s a senior photo, which are warmer and brighter.”
This immense attention to detail landed her photo in the New York Times, an accomplishment most established photographers never receive the honor of doing. Last year when the Black Student Union led a 12-hour “speak out” in the diag at U of M to discuss race relations on campus, Farrand was there to cover it. “The way they were looking at me… they knew, they knew that what they were doing was making history”. The experience stayed with her, building a deeper desire to capture photos that were important historical moments with the ability to teach people about the world.
Photo by Farrand of the Black Student Union, University of Michigan
Farrand is a 20 year old from Saline, Michigan majoring in Cultural Anthropology and minoring in both French and Medical Anthropology. She’s always loved studying people and grew up reading National Geographic, working for which she says would be the job of a life-time.
Farrand started to become more serious about photography in the sophomore year of her high school film class. It was there she was pushed to start producing higher quality pieces and started getting focused. Initially, Farrand photographed her friends and the people she felt more comfortable with, emulating a portraiture style similar to Annie Lebowitz. Now, the photographer she finds most intriguing is Richard Avedon. Avedon shot for Dior in the fifties and sixties.
“I have two of his photo-books at home,” says Farrand. “Essentially what I loved about him and what was different about him was how he captured motion in his photos in a unique way. It’s why his photos have held up through time.”
Photos on left and right by Richard Avedon
Though Farrand has photographed countless people including NBA player Nik Stauskas and former Michigan Basketball Captain Jon Horford, Farrand says the process of getting a good photo from anyone is similar.
“Pulling a good photo out of someone requires you to go slowly, let them get comfortable, and know that the best photos will probably be closer to the end, just keep taking photos,” says Farrand.
Photo by Farrand of Nik Stauskas for Merit Goodness
When asked what the secret to her success in documentary photography is, she replies with a small laugh, “Take so many bad pictures, because you’ll learn so much from them. I definitely did.”