This week, I had the privilege to sit down with Skip, a Creative Writing major here at FSU who’s pursuing her passions and gaining a lot of attention through her photography. Following her intuition, she has been able to enhance her craft and find joy in her hobby. Skip’s love of photography started in middle school with her yearbook class. “We had to go around the school and take pictures of everyone, and I really enjoyed it. I had a good time with the camera, and I thought it was a lot of fun. From that, I really started to develop a passion for it,” she says.
Wondering where she gets her inspiration from, Skip says that what inspires you to take anything can spark her into action. “I see a lot of cool things that I try to re-create. I’d like to move away from portraits and do more artsy things that are cool to see. Seeing art and trying to re-create it with friends or re-creating cool celebrity pictures is more of what I’m focusing on now. I like having people in weird positions and just trying to be creative as best I can,” she discloses. Skip emphasizes that it’s really all about working with what you’ve got and finding inspiration everywhere you go.
Skip finds that working with different angles and lighting is helping her learn how to take better pictures. “It really started by learning the different functions of my camera. Once I figured it out and memorized it all, I was able to make more use of it. Now I really like to play around with different angles and lighting to emphasize what you’re trying to capture. I’m not too worried about the little details like saturation and stuff, that can really stress you out.”
In describing her style, Skip mentions that one of her favorite things about taking photos is the shots that feel more natural and relaxed. “I like to re-create weird things, but I really like the off-guard photos. Those random moments when people look cool when they fix their hair or sighing from being in a position too long or fooling around. I just like when someone is being themselves; the things you’d miss if you’re not paying attention.”
In expressing her love of photography, Skip gushes over her ability to explore her creative imagination and getting to bring her ideas to life. “The best part is having an idea in my head and being able to see it in person after editing it and how close I can get to re-creating something. I like surprising myself and seeing how much I can do. You don’t think you can do it but then you surprise yourself by how well you actually do do it! Also, it’s really cool to see people respond well to my photography, like wow I can actually do something!”
Over the past few years in developing her craft, Skip has taken away a few lessons. One thing she wishes she would have known when she started photography is that “models don’t really matter. Before, I only really wanted to take pictures of pretty and popular people, but now it doesn’t matter. It can be anything, even the dirt in someone’s shoe, as long as you have a vision for it and you know what you want it to look like, you’ll find that the satisfaction is in making something from ‘nothing.’ You’ll be happy with the work you did, not the person.”
Lastly, Skip gives some advice for those who are looking to start photography: “You should want to do it for yourself, don’t do it for fame.” Skip emphasizes that there is so much to enjoy in creating concepts in your mind to bring something to life. Photography should be something you enjoy and not create just for materialistic gain. “I’m doing this because I like it, not because I’m trying to gain anything other than my joy. I used to do it for other things, but now that I’m just doing what I want and photographing what I like, it’s so much more fun and enjoyable.”
Check out some of her work!
All images courtesy of Skip.