James Ardito is a sophomore majoring in economics at Siena, but has a passion for photography. He is from Long Island, loves his dog Eli (named after Eli Manning), plays golf and takes pictures in his free time. I always find it interesting when students have talents that differ from their majors. Being passionate in things other than your major shows that people can do multiple things they love and not have to choose between them.
Via James Ardito
Her Campus Siena: Tell me a little about yourself and why you enjoy photography.
James Ardito: One of my cousins is currently a professor at the University of Albany, who is a photographer, got me into it and guided me with it. My sister also minored in art at Fordham University, so a lot of art has been in my family. Having a thought process of what to create based on where I’ve lived on Long Island by the sea, how there are lots of landscapes to take pictures of and a lot of ideas to be had is mainly how I got into it and why I continue to do it.
HCS: What types of pictures do you usually take and why?
JA: The main types of pictures that I take are landscapes and while that may just seem like taking pictures of where you are or what your environment is around you, a lot of it is about the dimensions that you have to deal with and the angles you’re taking it from. Sometimes it’s not easy to take pictures of landscapes because there might not be any depth to them.
Via James Ardito
HCS: What originated your interest in photography?
JA: What originally got me into photography was people I saw on Instagram because I follow a bunch of pages that involve professional photographers (sports, landscapes, portrait photography, etc) and being able to think about replicating the process of the photos were the things that got me interested in becoming a better photographer.
HCS: How do you find time to take pictures while at college? Do you travel off campus a lot to take them?
JA: I don’t really have much time to take pictures during college but during the summer is when I take the most pictures. The weather is great and there are lots of places to go take photos. I try to get off campus and go to Vermont because it’s not far away. I try to find things around campus or wherever I may be since it’s easy to find colors or parts of a photo that I can piece together to make a great photo.
Via James Ardito
HCS: Is there a way that you edit the pictures you take? Do you have an aesthetic that you go for when you edit?
JA: I do use a photo editing software, but I try not to destroy my pictures with heavy editing so they don’t look like they’re fake. I use Adobe Lightroom, not Photoshop because I feel there are too many unnecessary tools. The main thing I try to go for when I’m editing pictures or taking them, in general, is the saturation of the colors to make sure the photo replicates the scenery of where I was in the specific time I took it.
HCS: I know econ and photography don’t exactly go hand in hand, but have you ever considered photography as a career?
JA: I have considered photography as a career path since it’s a lot easier to take pictures when you have the resources and money to do so. People are normally funded by companies like Canon or Getty Images. I did consider landscape photography for a while and wanted to travel around the world to take pictures, but also considered sports photography. I just don’t see that photography would be the career path I could see myself in forever.
Via James Ardito
HCS: What is your favorite and least favorite part about photography?
JA: My least favorite thing is the cost of photography because everything costs a disgustingly high amount of money. Taking better pictures and improving from my mistakes is the best thing about photography. You can always do better and that’s probably the best thing about it.
HCS: Where is your favorite place to take pictures and why?
JA: My favorite place to take pictures is at the Fire Island Lighthouse which is about 20 minutes from my house. A lot of Long Island photographers who are well known take pictures there, so it’s amazing to take photos in the same area they do.
Via James Ardito
James has his own photography page on Instagram and regularly posts the pictures he takes and edits. Go check it out!