Eirin Lebouteiller
EIRIN LEBOUTEILLER: “I'm actually proud of myself, finally. It took me too many years to be myself, to do something I love.”
by Eric-René Penoy
Who are you? Describe yourself in a few words.: I'm the girl who takes photos all the time and who laughs a lot.
Where do you come from? Give us details: I come from a small Spanish island surrounded by other small islands in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. It's called Gran Canaria. It was born from volcanoes, emerging from the seas somewhere near the Sahara Desert. It is a magical place, with a strong nature. But it is also small. When I was 20 years old, I felt like I already knew everyone I could meet there. I also thought the islands didn't have any more secrets to me. I went on an adventure to the furthermost country possible in Europe, looking for the opposite from home.
What are you the proudest of?: I'm actually proud of myself, finally. It took me too many years to be myself, to do something I love. And it takes courage to leave everything behind and start something new without knowing where we're headed. So, yes, I can proudly say I am proud of myself. Because I'm finally the person I've always wanted to be. I'm a love photographer.
What kind of jobs did you have before your career took off?: I studied to be a translator, and I was a nanny during my studies that took me to Finland, and then to France. As I was good at school, I spent 7 years in university. Somehow, I ended up working as a Spanish teacher in a secondary school for 6 years. Nothing went like planned. But again, my plans weren't based on my dreams, so of course, it couldn't work. After a while, I didn't have any free time to be creative or to do creative things. It was all about work. When all the plans blew up, my career as a photographer finally took off.
Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work?: I don't think so, I'm pretty sure about it. For me, creativity is what happens when we listen to our hearts and soul. The more we pay attention to them, the more creative we get.
"I always knew that I wanted to do something creative, something meaningful.”
What is your personal life that has influenced you to choose your career?: Somehow, I'm usually amazed by small things in life, or by things that people aren't often amazed of. I find beauty in people, in things, in places... and photography is the best way to show it to the world. Through a photograph, I can show people how I see the world, how I see places, how I see other people... and all the beauty.
Then I found love, and I got married. And I felt it like the most beautiful thing in the world. then I decided I wanted to photograph love.
What made you decide to follow a creative career choice (though possibly risky) rather than something more stable?: I had a stable job, and I was losing myself. Like a flower without water, I was fading into a career where creativity was the opposite of what was expected of me. One day I realized I had touched the bottom of it, I was going through a depression. I couldn't use the wings of creativity anymore, I couldn't see the beauty around me. So, basically, I broke free, I took risks, then started to be myself again.
Have you always wanted to do what you are doing?: I always knew that I wanted to do something creative, something meaningful. I just didn't know that would be a wedding and love photography. So, technically, yes.
What do you intend to achieve through your work?: I really want people to feel through my work. Either to feel what they felt like at the moment the picture was taken, or a love they didn't know was there. Love, nostalgia, happiness, melancholy, tenderness, peace... I want people to feel alive through my work.
Think back to your childhood. What did you hope to become as an adult?: I definitely wanted to be an artist. A singer, a painter, a writer... a photographer. Unlucky luck for me, I was good at school, and teachers and my parents encouraged me towards a good and stable career, because "being an artist is not a job", as they said. I gave up my stable job, for which I had studied for so many years, after having a conversation with my younger self, who asked me "are you happy with the person that we've become?", and the answer was "No".
ABOUT THE ARTIST
DOB :
LOCATION: ITALY
OCCUPATION: WEDDING AND SPORT PHOTOGRAPHER
Copyright : N/A
CONVERSATIONS AND CLASSES TO INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.
WHERE TO FIND THE ARTIST?
INSTAGRAM:/eirinphoto/
WEBSITE:https://eirinphotography.com/
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Matteo Innocenti
MATTEO INNOCENTI: “Ego is always portraited as a very bad thing and one of the enemies of success but, if you are able to keep it under control, it's one of the most powerful things that could drive you.”
by Eric-René Penoy
Any plans for the future you would like to talk about ?: Why not? I am trying to make my side project (boxing photography) a good part of my business since so far it's just 10-15% but it's growing very fast since I've started traveling and I am now able to reach people worldwide. I love this kind of events since I need to be always ready to shoot reportage, portrait, and sports photography (even if I am not a sports photographer at all), it happens so fast and you need to be always ready to send pictures in a few minutes (even working in raw as I do), it's crazy but fun and I made a lot of good friends in the process.
Where do you come from? Give us details: I am a proud florentine guy, I've always lived in Tuscany and I think I am really lucky for that. Of course, I like to travel (who doesn't?) but it's always nice to come back home to such a beautiful area.
What move you in this adventure?: I have to be honest. My Ego.
Ego is always portraited as a very bad thing and one of the enemies of success but, if you are able to keep it under control, it's one of the most powerful things that could drive you.
It pushes me to do better and better, it won't allow me to relax, it's a constant force driving me to my goals.
Is it important to have the support of your loved ones, family, friends?: it is essential. I have 2 daughters so I rely on my family so much when I am working, also my wife and friends are very supportive and it gives me the freedom to do my job in the best way possible.
What are you the proudest of?: So far of being one of the 30 Rising Star of wedding photography 2019, like you my dear! Also having my works featured on the most important sports magazine in Italy (sports week) and on Men's Health was a very nice thing for me.
"For me, it's not about heart and soul, I think it's more about getting "naked" in front of the world”
Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work?: For me, it's not about heart and soul, I think it's more about getting "naked" in front of the world, being true to yourself, and the go-ahead for your own way.
What is creativity to you? Do you consider yourself to be creative? Why or why not?: It's showing the real you being able to communicate. I do not consider myself creative, I think I can do a great job but I won't ever be a creative artist. I just do not have that spark of genius!
If you had to start over, would you choose a different path in your career?: I would start sooner, a lot sooner. in my 20's.
If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend your day?: On a track driving a formula 1 car.
Who is the most creative person that you have ever known?: Silvia Galora.
How do you deal with creativity blocks?: I do other things and another kind of photography, it helps.
Who or what has been your greatest inspiration in life? Explain my mum and dad, a lot of effort to make life the better life possible.
What is your typical day like?: Kids, studio, kids, lunch, studio, kids.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
DOB :
LOCATION: ITALY
OCCUPATION: WEDDING AND SPORT PHOTOGRAPHER
Copyright : N/A
CONVERSATIONS AND CLASSES TO INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.
WHERE TO FIND THE ARTIST?
INSTAGRAM:/matteo_innocenti_photography/
WEBSITE:https://www.mipstudiowedding.com/
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Pamela Brown
PAMELA BROWN: “The power to show others the way I see the world is amazing to me and makes it the most amazing adventure of all.”
by Eric-René Penoy
What move you in this adventure?: The power to show others the way I see the world is amazing to me and makes it the most amazing adventure of all.
Who are you? Describe yourself in a few words.: I am a regular person that one day had a dream to become a photographer, to capture the world in the way I see the world
Any plans for the future you would like to talk about ?: I just moved to a new country and it has not been easy, my plans are that people can get to know me and let me be their photographer
Where do you come from? Give us details: I am from Costa Rica, but I have lived in 5 countries and even in my country I lived in several places, I considered myself a nomadic heart!
Is it important to have the support of your loved ones, family, friends?: Yes, my family is amazing! They are always supporting me and helping me, if I tell them that I want to create square apples and sell them on Mars they will say: GO AHEAD! you can do it! My mom always taught me that I could do whatever I wanted and I grew up thinking that.
Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work?: Yes, it is not easy being a creative person, you think in a different way, see things that some people do not see, is seeing the world with different eyes, loving what you do, in each photo you put your heart and soul, you are not only selling photographs you are giving them a little bit of you, of your mind, of your love, of your spirit.
What is your personal life has influenced you to choose your career?: I was going to be an architect but at that time I moved to Nicaragua for a volunteer program of 2 years, I took my analogic camera with me, I got a lot of films. Meeting new people, getting to know the way they live, getting to see their day a day life. More than photographing was a connection between me and the people. When I returned to my country after those 2 years I knew that what I wanted to be was a Photographer and I searched for universities where I could learn more about it, not only to be able to do a shooting but to get to know more about the history and how to count a story. It has not been easy but I have been following my heart as much as I can.
If you could interview a creative person (past or present), who would that person be? Please explain your choice: This is a hard question but as I can only choose one, that one will be Henri Cartier-Bresson, he is a legend, the power of his photography, for me he is perfection, creator of the Decisive Moment, what an amazing work, he did not need tens or hundreds of photos to have the good one, no, he just needed that right moment.
Today I hear all the time: ohh, I took lots of photos to get this one that was perfect for me, but what about if we wait until that perfect moment!
As I said before, for me he is perfection
He just enjoyed photographing, he did not have to give a fuck about web pages, Instagram likes, I am truly jealous about that! Just enjoying the present and waiting for the decisive moment.
What in your personal life has influenced you to choose your career?: I was sure that I was going to study architecture as I love buildings and structures, when I was 19 I decided to volunteer for 2 years in Nicaragua. I moved there, I got to know other volunteers. I had to visit the poorest places you can imagine. I had a little film camera and I brought it everywhere I went, I took a lot of photos, they were not even good, and most of them are selfies but when I was finishing my volunteer I remember that I was in someone's house, very poor and I was sitting looking at the mountains and I told to myself that I wanted to do that for living, to be a photographer, I did not even know if that was something people study but I came back to Costa Rica I searched for photography schools and I found one that was not expensive and I started with it.
If you had the chance to live during a different artistic movement other than now, which one would you choose?: I would like to be a photojournalist in 1930, get to know Dorothea Lange, Margaret Bourke-White, capturing the world our way.
What is the best advice that you have been given?: Follow your dreams and remember that you can do everything you want you only have to believe that you can accomplish it!
Do you believe in destiny?: Yes I do, but I believe in a good destiny, not sure if that has any sense! LOL
I believe that destiny is gonna take you to where you belong and with the correct people, as when I was going to become an Architect and then I decided to volunteer and then I change my career to Photography, also, when I was working in a call center and they ask me if I was interested in learning French they will pay my classes so I did, then I had the opportunity to live in France because I was selected as part of a program to teach Spanish in France, I met great friends there and I have been able to shoot some weddings in Europe thanks to that. And now, about 10 months ago I came to Ohio and I not only got to know an amazing place but I got to know my husband!
Everything has a connection, it is a path that takes you to the right people, it is not easy because it takes you to be always out of your comfort zone.
What inspires you on a daily basis?: I find inspiration in EVERYTHING, a phrase from a book, a film, a class, a conversation with someone, to see the passion in people when they believe in what they do. Religious people and how they like what they believe, the athletes that train for hours to
to achieve competition, the people that struggle with disease and still have a smile on their faces.
Really, when I say everything I really mean it, some people say that I live in my own bubble and it is true, I am weird and I love my weirdness.
Do you ever create hidden meanings or messages in your work? Explain.: Yes, I like my photos to be solitary, I tried to never include people that is not part of the scene that I want to create. A lot of photographers like to include people in the background of the scene, people who are there, I do not like that, I always wait for them to leave or I choose another spot without people, I like to create that air of loneliness in my photos, kind of melancholic, nostalgic as if in the world there are only the people I'm photographing.
What made you decide to follow a creative career choice (though possibly risky) rather than something more stable?: HAPPINESS! That is my goal, not money, not fame, I want to be happy, waking up every morning and saying to myself, damn! I love what I do! It is so amazing my job, getting paid for being creative and at the same time getting to be thanked for my job! that is amazing.
How do you know when a piece or project is finished and needs no additional work?: When I like them and I would not change a single thing! I am my worst critic, I am very demanding with myself and with my work! I have been like that since little! Very perfectionist!
When was the first time that you remember realizing that you are a creative person: When I was about 12 and I took my parent's camera because my little brother was going to be in a parade with the school for an independence day and I photograph everything! In the end, they did not have more films for anything else! oops!
Does your work convey a specific emotion or message?: I like Evoque loneliness and nostalgia.
Did you feel like this journey would end? What is your approach to life?: We have to enjoy every single moment, stop being so much on our phones, have longer conversations, watch the people in the eyes.
Life is so amazing, do not worry that much about social media, feel the sun, hear the birds, enjoy every tree, every moment, stop going to places just to take photos and let others know about it, go to places because you want to, stop worrying about what others think about you, worry about what you think about you.
Have a dog, and spoil them as much as you can! life is better with a dog! They are the most loyal, and wonderful creatures in the world!
Have you always wanted to do what you are doing?: Almost, I always liked photography but what I wanted to be was an Architect until I moved
How do you deal with creativity blocks?: I study, I am actually in a virtual academy in Spain "Academia People" and every day I try to study something, or I hear one of the talks from the special guests. Also when reading a book I try to imagine everything like a film and it helps me to think, to imagine the scene, the light, the costumes, everything.
Do you believe art should deliver a message?: Yes! That is a way of expression, it is a way to speak to others to let them know that you understand them, that you are with them.
How do you fight the comparison and discouragements?: All the time, I always compare my work to others, I always think that others are more successful than me, that they have more followers on Instagram, that they earn more money. It is always difficult not to compare to someone but the magic is being yourself, being good for yourself, and being happy with the job you are doing, I keep studying, I try to be better for myself, and sometimes I tried to do not check so much the social media. I remember once that a designer from Mexico (Maria Sariñana) posted a photo from a workshop I participate and I said to myself what an amazing photo, then some minutes after she tagged me in the photo, It was my photooooo! So you have to see yourself with other people's eyes! That is the clue!
Who would you like to read from (Can you put me in touch with this person?)?: From Petar Jurica
What would be your question to this person?: How do you do to see the world in such an amazing way?
If you could ask yourself a question, what would it be?: How do you see the world?
And your answer would be ?: As a magical place, full of magical moments, you only need to pay attention to them.
What is the best advice that you have been given?: To never give up! Life has not been easy. My parents were really poor and my dad was an alcoholic and we are 5 kids, people thought that we did not have a future but my mom thought us to do not give up and to believe in ourselves and all we studied and work hard, and now we all have our careers.
"If I am in an outdoor session I always wait until nobody is in the background. I like to create the sensation of being alone in this world.”
What inspires you?: Books, music, good films, paintings, sometimes I see a painting and I imagine it as photography.
Do you ever create hidden meanings or messages in your work? Explain: Probably I do, I always like the photos to look like if they were alone in the world, I like to create this feeling of loneliness. If I am in an outdoor session I always wait until nobody is in the background. I like to create the sensation of being alone in this world.
If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend your day?: I will run a lot and then I will gather the people I love and my dog to eat with them and talk until I die.
Who is the most creative person that you have ever known?: Leonardo Da Vinci, was a genius! I had the chance to go to his castle Clos Lucé and was like been in heaven, all his creations, his paintings, his phrases. I am sure that if there was photography at his time he would be amazing as a photographer too.
Have you always wanted to do what you are doing?: Yes, when I was studying photography a wedding photographer came to give us a talk and I immediately knew that I wanted to do that. It is a happy moment, it is like stilling happiness for your soul.
How would you like to be regarded or remembered?: I always wanted to go to Africa to help others, I want to be remembered as someone that helped others. Sometimes I feel pretty useless and I think there are so many people that need our help. When I was little I loved Geography and I had a book where I noted the information of the population and the medicines they might need, the food, and supplies but I still have not done anything about it, so I hope someday to have the opportunity to be there and to be remembered as someone that served others and that helped others.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
DOB :
LOCATION: COSTA RICA
OCCUPATION: WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
Copyright : Mariana Cervantina.
CONVERSATIONS AND CLASSES TO INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.
WHERE TO FIND THE ARTIST?
INSTAGRAM: /nomadicheartphotography/
WEBSITE: https://www.nomadicheartphotography.net/
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Olivier de Rycke
OLIVIER DE RYCKE: “A passion that transforms into a real job, what else can you better dream of ?”
by Eric-René Penoy
Where do you come from? Give us details: I am French, born in Paris but actually, for more than 10 years I live in Latvia where I have my family, meaning wife and children.
What kind of jobs did you have before your career took off?: I have a financial and accounting university degree. I worked as an accountant till the day I was proposed to manage a computer shop in Paris which I did for 10 years. Then once again upon a proposal, I was offered the opportunity to become professional in the hobby I developed alongside my computer shop... photography.
Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work?: Not really. But putting your heart and soul into your work sure helps to make it stand out from the others.
What is your personal life has influenced you to choose your career?: Actually, nothing much. I never thought being younger that I would work as a creative person. In fact, I was dreaming to become a golden boy. I am far from this dream, but I really prefer what I became. A passion that transforms into a real job, what else can you better dream of?
If you had to start over, would you choose a different path in your career?: If it was to start all over again, I would do exactly what I did meaning following my heart and making a fast choice without hesitation when opportunities have arisen, would it lead me to photography like it did or anywhere else.
What is the best advice that you have been given?: Small is beautiful.
"Photography is really a great means to live the moment; every moment intensively.”
Do you believe in destiny?: No. You build your own future by what you are doing today. This is what I believe in.
Do you think that you would be able to teach what you do?: Of course, I have already done it. Not to say I would be a formal teacher following a well-defined plan but nevertheless, I have a lot to say about my work and the lifestyle it involves.
What inspires you?: Reality, the present. I grab what I see and transform it through the prism of my eyes.
Do you ever create hidden meanings or messages in your work? Explain.: Not really but when you have a close look there is often humor in my pictures. I like situations where a lot is going on inside the picture and the interest is very often in the details.
What made you decide to follow a creative career choice (though possibly risky) rather than something more stable?: I did not think about it. I just jumped into it. Photography is really a great means to live the moment; every moment intensively.
If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend your day?: What a haunting question. Many things wouldn't make any sense being done knowing the deadline. What brings me the most joy upon everything even my work is my wife and kids. I would then spend the time close to them.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
DOB :
LOCATION: FRANCE
OCCUPATION: WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
Copyright : Vladimir Svetlov.
CONVERSATIONS AND CLASSES TO INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.
WHERE TO FIND THE ARTIST?
INSTAGRAM:/dragonflywed/
WEBSITE:http://www.dragonflyweddingphotography.com/
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Roberto Panciatici
ROBERTO PANCIATICI: “Creativity means a lot of different things, but more important one thing overall: honesty.”
by Eric-René Penoy
Any plans for the future you would like to talk about ?: I'm superstitious, so I don't like to talk too much about my future project before realizing them! I know it could sound stupid, but I'm a hard dreamer, which means face a lot of failures to achieve some success. I can say I will start (to be honest I did it already, but just for personal projects) to work with videos as well, and I can't wait.
Where do you come from? Give us details: I'm from Siena, a small town in the Tuscan Countryside.
Is it important to have the support of your loved ones, family, friends?: It is, but it's too easy to reply yes to this question. The first support to yourself must be from yourself. When you change, and we must change, the people around you, especially the people closest to you, usually are the first obstacle to face. Imagine you want to change your great company job because you're not happy anymore, it's just an example, your parents could reflect on you their fears even if they truly love you. Sometimes people around us say "are you sure?" when you just need to hear "jump! Now!". It's ok, it helps us to be more focused on our own steps, but we must be with ourselves before with the others. This doesn't mean the other people are not important, because they are.
What are you the proudest of?: I'm proud to have changed everything I used to do/be to give me at least a chance to find what I want and to work to become the man I want to be.
"Sometimes people around us say "are you sure?" when you just need to hear "jump! Now!"
Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work?: Creativity means a lot of different things, but more important one thing overall: honesty. You cannot create without being honest with yourself. This is the only way to give space to your vision.
What is creativity to you? Do you consider yourself to be creative? Why or why not?: Creativity is the purest form of being yourself. I'm not creative, I just have feelings, like everyone else, so I follow the flow and that's all I do.
Who or what has been your greatest inspiration in life? Explain.: Picasso, not his artwork but his biography. I recommend to anyone have a look at the choices he made.
Do you have skills that you wish to develop or talents you wish to perfect?: I have many skills I would love to develop, the first one is to play piano :)
Is there a particular place where you feel most creative?: In the silence, when I'm by myself and no one talks to me, like if I was invisible.
Who is the most creative person that you have ever known?: In this business? Definitively Fer Juaristi, even if he says he's not a creative person.
Do you believe that each person has the capacity to be creative? Why?: Yes, because everyone is alive, and every life is gifted with the skill to share itself.
Who would you like to read from? Can you also help me to get in touch with this person?: Dani Rodriguez (Bring me somewhere nice)
What would be your question to this person?: How old are you? (It's a joke between us).
ABOUT THE ARTIST
DOB :
LOCATION: TUSCANY
OCCUPATION: WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
CONVERSATIONS AND CLASSES TO INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.
WHERE TO FIND THE ARTIST?
INSTAGRAM:/justrob.it/
WEBSITE:https://www.robertopanciatici.com/
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Beatrice Moricci
BEATRICE MORICCI : “Creativity is the possibility to match together with things that have never been matched before to create something new. It takes risks, audacity, imagination.”
by Eric-René Penoy
What move you in this adventure?: I found a balance between working with photography (that I discovered to be my means of communication in 2010) and be independent, free, doing a job that let me manage my daily time and passion for traveling. In my life, I need passion and independence to be happy and most of the time they are not concepts that match together.
What kind of jobs did you have before your career took off?: I worked for a bit with my family in their wool factory, then one year in an import-export office in Florence, then I studied Design at the university and I used to work in an office of interior design for Prada then turn into handcraft design. I used to design and handmade object with reuse objects and sell them in the exhibition all around Italy Then I discovered photography :)
What is your personal life has influenced you to choose your career?: My parents and grandparents are entrepreneurs and have created and have had their own business for years. I think it is a state of mind for me, work and life have always been one only thing in my family. I grow up in a small village in the countryside but I was very open and curious about the world despite my parent’s view, this is why I grow up introvert and dreaming of a parallel world. Photography is a great means to obtain from the reality of your own world.
What is creativity to you? Do you consider yourself to be creative? Why or why not?: Creativity is the possibility to match together with things that have never been matched before to create something new. It takes risks, audacity, imagination. I think everyone can be creative. I consider myself to be creative depending on my emotional moments in life.
Do you believe in destiny?: I believe in destiny but I also believe that we can try to bring life where we want otherwise destiny is used as an excuse and I love to dream and try to bring my dreams out of the night. Destiny is what happens during you are walking on the path you choose to walk into.
"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?”
Do you think that you would be able to teach what you do?: I am trying to, I've been asked to teach in some workshop. It is not easy because it requires a lot of self-analysis, a deep sense of honesty, hard work, empathy, and good communication. I think teaching photography is more difficult than taking photographs because I deeply believe that "Photography is an immediate action, drawing an act of meditation” H.C.B
What do you intend to achieve through your work?: I don't really love the world as it is. Through photography, I would love to design mine, as Alice in Wonderland says at the beginning of the romance "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?”
What is your typical day like?: I wake up some hour in the morning, depending on what I did at night, I let the light enter my apartment, I have my tea and biscuits, I reconnect with the world, on my computer and start working on a thing or another one. I lose myself a lot during the day, I don't have good self-discipline. Sometimes I go downstairs and have a walk in the second-hand market, or go buying some fruit and vegetables, or just walk then come back home, a call with friends, work, eat, read. Two days a week I go to a yoga class. Sometimes I stop working and go out for an aperitif with a friend or family. Luckily, I don't have the very same routine each day but I suffer a lot sitting in front of a computer, maybe this is why I change my daily routine a lot.
Who would you like to read from? Can you also help me to get in touch with this person?: Giuseppe Marano - yes
What would be your question to this person?: Which are his obsessions in photography.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
DOB :
LOCATION: TUSCANY
OCCUPATION: WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
Copyright : Lisa Jane.
CONVERSATIONS AND CLASSES TO INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.
WHERE TO FIND THE ARTIST?
INSTAGRAM:/beatricemoricciphotographer/
WEBSITE:https://www.beatricemoricci.com/
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Lisa Devlin
LISA DEVLIN : “I want to show that love matters, even if it's just on that one day. I want to believe that there is beauty in the world, that people can put their differences aside - that we can come together to celebrate not hate..”
by Eric-René Penoy
Any plans for the future you would like to talk about ?: I feel like I'm ALWAYS planning ahead. Before I finish an event with Photography Farm, I'm already working on the next one. Europe is busy with photography education and I'm always slotting in amongst some great conferences and workshops. Right now I'm working on a new version of our Spring event. It will be called Thrive and is a two-day workshop taught by 6 mentors who are all strong in different areas. Our emphasis will be on shooting weddings and developing businesses. Farm is always about nurturing and growing and the Spring is the perfect time to put on an experience that is designed to inspire folk for the year ahead.
Where do you come from? Give us details: I come from Northern Ireland. I grew up through a time commonly referred to as The Troubles. This makes it sound like a mildly irritating annoyance. In fact, it was a civil war, it was a relentless, omnipresent force that we all dealt with on a daily basis. Bombs, bomb scares, shootings, riots, rubber bullets, barricades, no-go areas, the military, and the paramilitary... this was all utterly mundane and normal to us. Which is incredibly sad. Perhaps more than most I felt the effect of living in a sectarian society. My father was a Roman Catholic and my mother has been raised a protestant. The separation of the two religions was supposedly the thing that all the fighting was about and so I grew up not really belonging anywhere.
My parents' marriage did not survive and I'm sure that if I really analyzed it there must be a connection to the fact that I've spent my career photographing weddings. I want to show that love matters, even if it's just on that one day. I want to believe that there is beauty in the world, that people can put their differences aside - that we can come together to celebrate not hate.
What are you the proudest of?: Photography Farm. It started in 2010 with small classes in my home and now it hosts events with 200 + attendees. When I started, workshops were not as popular as they are now but I was being emailed questions from other photographers every day and I figured there was a need to gather people together for learning and community. 2020 will be our 10th year and over the years, we have had a great time and also had a part in the careers of many successful wedding photographers. I'm pretty proud to see people take what they learn at Farm forward into their own businesses and then to pass that on through their own workshops or other photography events.
What kind of jobs did you have before your career took off?: I've not really had any other proper jobs. I went straight into working in the music photography industry and the early part of my career was spent traveling the world working for record companies and magazines. I 'fell' into weddings when my agent got married and asked me to shoot it. At that point wedding, photography wasn't at all cool like it is now. It was all very traditional and staged. I told my agent that I would only shoot it if I could do it like a magazine story, a behind-the-scenes. I was incredibly surprised to find that I utterly loved photographing her day. I think I'd been working with pop stars for so long, people who were treated as special every day of their lives that to work with someone who was treated as special for just that one day felt very magical to me.
If you could interview a creative person (past or present), who would that person be? Please explain your choice.: Andy Warhol - Can you just imagine if he was alive today and on Instagram? He would be the most followed human on the planet. Outputting art utilizing the latest technologies and all the while mixing with celebrities and having THE best parties. He'd be so great to gossip with and so inspiring to chat to. His Factory in the 21st Century would be the world's most creative hub for Art, Photography, Cinema, and Social Media.
Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work?: YES! I 100% agree, if you are not prepared to do this, then think of another job. You have to be open-hearted and soul-searching to be a good wedding photographer for a decent amount of time. You could fake it for a few years but eventually, it would just feel like a job and it's not hard work, despite what it might look like on Instagram. All of us out shooting weddings just want to take that one photo that completely and utterly defines the word - love; that 100% shows exactly what that feels like and you can't do that if you keep your own emotions out of the equation.
“The creative process is not linear, it travels in peaks and troughs.”
What is the best advice that you have been given?: As a female photographer, I actually get given a lot of advice on how to do my job at weddings. I don't think the men get this so much (correct me if I'm wrong!) but at pretty much every wedding, someone will offer me advice on how to use my camera, how to shoot, or what to shoot. "That will never come out, you are shooting into the light", "Your flash isn't on", "You should take a photo from over here, it looks great on my phone".
I'm approaching my 20th year as a wedding photographer, I can't think of too many careers where you'd be given so much unsolicited advice on a regular basis, it makes me laugh so much! I guess it's because many people feel like they know about photography and I always just smile and say thank you.
The best advice that I've actually ever been given as a photographer was from Martin Parr when he was teaching a workshop at Photography Farm. He said, "take pictures of yourself every day". As a society, we tend to take photos of our special days, weddings yes but also days at the zoo, holiday days, graduation days, birthdays, and yet you'd probably remember those days even without the photos. It's us every day where memories can get lost. Take photos inside your home, take photos on ordinary days, in your car, with your family, with your people, at your kitchen table. That's where photography creates a legacy.
Looking at what you have created in the past, would you change anything today?: No. It's all a journey and you should see progression in your work. Nobody starts out brilliant. One of my favorite ways to see this is to pick a photographer that you admire - go to their Facebook page - open up the photo gallery - go to the last picture that they posted in their timeline gallery and you will see left and right arrows - hit the left arrow. Give it a try right now! It will take you right back to their beginning. I've been through many creative phases and experimented with techniques. Fashions come and go but the heart of what I do has remained the same. I've always been about the stories.
How do you deal with creativity blocks?: We ALL get these and I've been in the game for a helluva long time. Of course, there are points where creativity can feel more stagnant than at other times. If I feel like I'm heading for a creative funk, I have a few techniques that will always dig me out.
OPEN A BOOK. I adore photography books and have so many that one coffee table wouldn't cope. I like music and fashion photography ones. Music photographers are great for inspiration on arranging groups of people and fashion for working with couples or brides.
WATCH A FILM. This will never not inspire me. Seeing how a cinematographer brings a story to life, how scenes are constructed, and how narrative is used will always make me want to shoot.
SHOOT FOR FUN. Grab your camera and go out to shoot just for the heck of it. Sometimes if I've been shooting nothing but paid work for a while I can feel like I'm not as creative as I could be. So I will shoot without a paying client and just for me. This soon frees up some creative space in your brain.
INSTAGRAM COLLECTIONS. Yes, sometimes I just need a break from looking at other photographers' work but actually, Instagram is packed full of inspiration. I save images to Collections to refer to when I need an inspiration shot. They are usually not wedding images but instead, they could be editorial, documentary, art, portrait, or just a mood that appeals to me. By having them readily available in collections, I don't have to scroll through the main feed - as often that can be the worst place to be if you are feeling blocked. You can end up feeling that everyone else is nailing it and that you should just give up.
The creative process is not linear, it travels in peaks and troughs. Once you understand that, you can accept that the blocks are just a part of the process. It's how you deal with them that matters, not that you have them in the first place. They are there to remind you to stop giving in to comparison, stop traveling down a particular path, just figure out your way around the block. Try a new approach - even if it utterly fails, some of the best art and photography have been created from mistakes.
What is your typical day like?: Possibly what I love most about this career is that I do not have a typical day - it would kill me to be traveling to the same place to do the same job every working day and yet most people have to. To have an income from a creative job is one of life's greatest privileges and I'm deeply grateful that I've managed it. I'd love to tell you that I wake up in my beautifully boho-styled bedroom, roast some obscure coffee beans, and then sit in my sun-filled garden contemplating my day. In reality, I usually wake up to complete and utter carnage and I run around for several hours before collapsing into bed with only enough brainpower left to watch an hour of trash TV.
If you could add a question, what would it be?: Thanks for asking me to do this Eric. It's been a challenge and it's been thought-provoking. These questions are deeper than most that I've answered in interviews. I hope enough others get on board and I look forward to seeing the interviews on your site. I like what you are doing for the industry and can't believe that we've never met.
Who would you like to read from? Can you also help me to get in touch with this person?: Rebecca Carpenter - https://www.instagram.com/rebeccacarpenterphotography
ABOUT THE ARTIST
DOB :
LOCATION: BRIGHTON
OCCUPATION: WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER WORKSHOP CREATOR AND MENTOR
Copyright : Lisa Jane.
CONVERSATIONS AND CLASSES TO INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.
WHERE TO FIND THE ARTIST?
INSTAGRAM: /devlinphotos/
WEBSITE: https://devlinphotos.co.uk/
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Eliska Kubikova
SEBASTIEN BICARD : “Creativity is an unstable machine that always needs to be fine-tuned.”
by Eric-René Penoy
What are you the proudest of?: When I step out of my comfort zone and then I make it! Whatever it is. Just push myself to the next level!
If you could interview a creative person (past or present), who would that person be? Please explain your choice.: From the past Claude Monet! Every time I see his paintings, I'm stunned and amazed, I would like to meet him and chat with him. At present, it would be probably a photographic duo Ivan and Lisa Troyanovsky. Their photos and videos of couples are pure art, I don't get it! So beautiful!
What is creativity to you? Do you consider yourself to be creative? Why or why not?: Creativity for me is almost like breathing. I would say I'm a creative person in many ways, not just in taking photographs. It's like therapy to me, it's calming me down. I can express myself. Whether it is music, pottery, or painting.
If you had the chance to live during a different artistic movement other than now, which one would you choose?: Impressionism and Pop Art.
“If you're able to be yourself, then you have no competition”
How would you like to be remembered?: As someone who made people happy and was spreading love.
What is the best advice that you have been given?: In terms of the photography business - If you're able to be yourself, then you have no competition.
What inspires you?: Imperfection, traveling, meeting new people and their stories, being in nature, and absorb all the noises and colors.
Looking at what you have created in the past, would you change anything today? Probably the ways how I edited before.
Who is the most creative person that you have ever known?: My dad. Still is.
If you could add a question, what would it be?: How do you fight the comparison and discouragements?
ABOUT THE ARTIST
DOB :
LOCATION:
OCCUPATION: WEDDING and LIFETIME PHOTOGRAPHER
Copyright : Self Portrait.
CONVERSATIONS AND CLASSES TO INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.
WHERE TO FIND THE ARTIST?
INSTAGRAM: /eluch/
WEBSITE: https://www.elikubikova.com/
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Sebastien Bicard
SEBASTIEN BICARD : “Creativity is an unstable machine that always needs to be fine-tuned.”
by Eric-René Penoy
Any plans for the future you would like to talk about ?: Definitely: I think more and more about living between France and the USA.
What kind of jobs did you have before your career took off?: I was a financial controller and a financial consultant (consolidation). A different world!
Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work?: Yes but not only. It comes down to your mental health too. Creativity is an unstable machine that always needs to be fine-tuned.
What in your personal life has influenced you to choose your career?: Deaths in my family. It pushed me to take control of my life where I probably did not give enough attention.
“I actually am scared of creating anything”
What is creativity to you? Do you consider yourself to be creative? Why or why not?: Nope. I capture more than I create. I actually am scared of creating anything. I feel deeply inspired by people, light, and landscapes. But without them, I don't think I can create anything myself.
What made you decide to follow a creative career choice (though possibly risky) rather than something more stable?: I tried the stable one and it did not bring me anything else than a flat & sad taste.
If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend your day?: Sharing wine, cheese, and bread with my family on the coast. Simple things are the best.
Does your work convey a specific emotion or message?: That's what I work my ass for! I love to catch a real connection with my couples, especially if it goes to something intimate.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
DOB :
LOCATION: SACRAMENTO, USA
OCCUPATION: WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
Copyright : Sebastien’s Daughter.
CONVERSATIONS AND CLASSES TO INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS.
WHERE TO FIND THE ARTIST?
INSTAGRAM: /sebastienbicard/
WEBSITE: https://sebastienbicard.com/
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