Who Am I And How Did I Get Started In Photography.
February 28, 2018Well Hello There!
Welcome to my world.
My name is Brianna, I am 25 years old and live in Birmingham, West Midlands. I specialise in creativity, to me it is everything in a world so constrained and stifled.
I have been interested in art since before i even knew what exactly it was. Some of my initial master pieces, created when i was only a wee one were mainly in paint, crayon, pen, clay, Plastercine, my food or occasionally mud. I had no preference of canvas, why limit yourself to a sheet of A4, when you have the walls, the carpet, new furnishings or inside of the car? The possibilities were endless!
As the years went by, and i started school, art very quickly became my favourite subject, and it always brought me such freedom and happiness. Around the age of 14, i developed a real interest in photography. Using my parents holiday camera, a little 8MP point and shoot, i would take photographs of everything, a lot of ‘selfies’ (for MySpace of course!) and my dog was often the star of many a ‘shoot! If i am honest she still is!
From then on, i set my heart on a Canon EOS 400D, and when the boy i was with at the time broke up with me, leaving me devastated as any heartbroken 14 year old girl ever is, my amazing Dad forced me out of my slumber and out to the shops. In an effort to make me see the light he brought me the camera. I can honestly say that this was the moment i fell in love with photography. The second i was home i had it out of the box and was taking photographs of everything in my family home, completely forgetting about my broken heart, and the stupid boy that caused it. It was amazing, my dad had given me one of the most influential gifts i have ever received in my life, of course i didnt know this at the time. Around this same time i started to learn to use various photo editing softwares, i mainly used them to turn my ‘selfies into something not too dissimilar to one of the zombies from the walking dead. Why did i do this i hear you say? I can’t quite remember, but i do remember thinking they looked really cool, i cringe.
Suddenly, school was over, i was forced into what seemed like ‘the real world’. I decided initially to attend a sixth form college, then two days before i was supposed to start, decided i wanted to go to a ‘real’ college, that was less like school (which i really disliked). I chose to study a National Diploma in Art & Design, it was so exciting! A fresh start and the chance to meet like minded people. It was at college that my love for photography was able to flourish, it became my favourite lesson, and in my last year i decided to specialise and use my camera for my final major project.
The photographs i took back then were of a fine art nature, i was very inspired by the likes of Francesca Woodman, Francis Bacon and the Surrealists. I had a lot of ups and downs during college, at the time is honestly seemed like more downs, but now i definitely look back and smile at all of the good times. Against all odds I successfully graduated with a Distinction, Merit, Merit, and secured a place on a BA Fine Art course at Birmingham City University. I also got a new camera! A Canon EOS 60D, I was elated!
I had everything planned, i had new sketchbooks, notepads, pens, pencils, and again, i was looking forward to a fresh start, and meeting more like minded people.
I had it planned: make the most of my time, get a 1st, get noticed by Charles Satchi, who is just in love with my photographs, and then i would be a star, like the ones i saw during lectures, that was it, i was going to make it. At the time i was 18, and thought by the time i was 25 (which i turned 4 days ago) i would be a millionaire, sadly i am not (at least not yet, I’m still hopeful though, hehe). But then none of that happened, i didn’t even graduate. During my last year, the day before dissertation hand-in to be precise, i decided i wanted to defer and take a course in Photography. My head of year agreed, and arranged for me to transfer the following September, to the third year BA Photography course. Brilliant. A new start.
Again, i had plans! I had planned to get this final year out of the way, do better than i had done in the previous year, and ace life. The story didn’t turn out how i had planned, yet again. Again i hate to say it but, the old clichè, ‘i had a lot going on at home’, but i honestly did. Half way through the year i felt completely overwhelmed with everything and stopped attending my lectures. I felt trapped, and the structure of university mixed with everything else going on was just too much. I dropped out and got full time job. At the time is was the right thing for me, i am not in any way advocating dropping out of university, but for me it was the right choice.
Then a short while after leaving university, i put my camera down one day and didn’t pick it up for about 6 months, i still don’t understand why. But then one day whilst feeling sad, i remembered how photography used to make me feel, how i would loose myself in the moment and then what seemed like five minutes later, the sun had set! I picked it back up and started to shoot again. I got the position of resident photographer for a popular event in Birmingham. I started contacting people regarding arranging shoots and i started to make time for photography. I let it take over and set myself goals. I still set myself goals and am a strong supporter of the bullet journal: if you don’t know what this is, make sure to check it out!
For the past two years i have been taking photographs consistently, and during this time rediscovered my passion and love for recording the moment.
This brings us to now, oh and well done if you have gotten to this point, i honestly hadn’t planned for this post to be half as long! Ooops.
I now specialise in portraiture, event and fashion photography. Supporting budding models, as well as agency represented models, who wish to update their portfolios and photographing various events.
I love the freedom that photography brings, my fine art background will always inspire the way i see through my camera lens, but i think every client also brings their own creativity to the session, and i love the act of ‘making’ a photograph with the sitter.
When i am taking photographs, i often lose myself and any sense of time (i am so thankful my phone has a timer). I simply love creating beautiful and powerful images. I often like to show clients their photographs during the shoot, it makes me so happy to see their faces light up, i also find it usually helps them relax and be more confident knowing they look their best and are in safe hands.
This is another aspect of photography that i deeply enjoy, working with and getting to meet new and interesting people. Everyone is always so different and i think it is really important to treat others as such. I enjoy getting to know everyone, and always try to bring out their personality during our session, after all i hope my photographs have meaning to my clients for years to come. I always strive to empower my subject, if you don’t think you can look great in a photograph, then you possibly haven’t shot with a professional photographer.
I guess photography was something i found organically, i started with mud, and wanted more clarity, more perfection, more precision, and then i found the perfect tool to give me the outlet i craved so badly, the camera. This tool enabled me to instantly freeze any moments i chose, and choose exactly what perspective the viewer had. Its important to me that every photograph says something, and has meaning, i believe this stems from my fine art background.
Put simply, i adore the act of making and then later shaping beautiful and powerful images of people, and always strive to capture the best version of my subject each and every time i pick up my camera. To me uniqueness is beautiful and i am always exploring and experimenting within my work, aiming to capture interesting and inspiring photographs.
If you would like to know anything else about me, or my dog, just leave a comment. One of us will get back to you as quickly as we can.