What was the first thing that inspired you to get into photography?

I was inspired to start taking pictures during quarantine as I’d gotten a nice iPad for my 40th birthday and discovered the selfie timer.

What really got me going, however, was when I started dabbling in editing, editing not just my pictures but screenshotting pics of friends and playing around with what one could do with editing apps.

One day while cleaning my bedroom and listening to an audiobook, I was struck with the inspiration to create an Oracle Deck ( it’s like tarot cards but with more creative freedom), using real women and doing all the photography and editing myself ( once we were allowed to see people again of course.

What was the first subject you started to photograph, and why?

This question blends nicely into the next part of my story.

My 1st subject (technically, it was me) was women, as my Oracle deck was going to be a deck all about empowerment for women.

I did shoot pictures for an entire Oracle deck, and one day I will actually do an Oracle deck, but life is what happens when you’re making other plans, right?

My focus shifted to creating functional art pieces- t-shirts, coffee mugs, stickers, clothes, bedding etc.

So you mentioned you only use your iPhone why is this? 

Why do I only use my iPhone for my photoshoots, you ask?

Some of the reasons are actually based on my answer is question 2. It’s partly due to what I’m making and using my photography for.

Plus, my partner has a really fancy camera that I have played around with, and it’s mind-boggling how complicated it is and how my iPhone can actually do a number of the same things without all the extra steps.

I love my work, and until I feel dissatisfied with the results I get from shooting with my iPhone I’ll continue to use it.

Do you know the main advantages of using your mobile rather than a DSLR camera?

I’d say the advantages of using my iPhone over a DSLR camera are it’s always with me and I can easily replace it & my time for getting photos ready and edited is lighting fast.

If I were striving to get really big vast shots of mountainscapes or really sharp crazy intense detail on a leaf, it would probably behove me to get a DSLR camera, but working in a studio with people in a pretty close range and great lighting, my iPhone, which really if we stop thinking of it as a ‘phone’ because really it’s a DEVICE that has a phone function, but ultimately it’s a small computer, which includes a very nice camera.

How do you edit your photos? Do you do this on your phone or download them onto your computer?

I edit my photo on my iPad Pro- it’s ENORMOUS 😹

I don’t have a laptop that works for editing, so I don’t have any software, only apps.

What do the models think when you bring out your phone for a photo shoot rather than a camera? 

I do my best to ensure that all the models who work with me know ahead of time that I shoot with my iPhone.

If however, this information has somehow missed them, I generally let my work speak for itself.

No one has left because I wasn’t using a camera shaped in traditional camera fashion.

In a lot of ways I feel most people are more comfortable getting their pictures taken with an iPhone because that’s what they’re used to.

If there was one piece of photo kit you can’t live without, what would it be?

Well outside of the actual photo taking device 😹

Lighting.

Where do you find your inspiration for your photoshoots from?

My inspiration for my photoshoots comes from my endless love and obsession with books, movies, and music videos.

I am a BIG FANTASY ADDICT, both books and movies, and I was a teen in the 90’s, so MTV was God.

Album cover art, posters this was your identity as a teen, and fantasy was and is my imagination playground.

Can you please describe a photo shoot you would love to do if money and time were a problem?

What would a photo shoot be like for me if money and time weren’t an issue?

I have so many ideas, but what I dream of most is COSTUMES AND AMAZING SETS AND PROPS.

it would definitely be fantasy-based, something epic and over the top with a bunch of different people.

I love theatre, telling a story with a photo, so I’d want to tell an amazing story.

Can you tell me about any planned photoshoots you have in the pipeline?

Right now I’m gearing up for a blast from the past with a nod to fantasy and comic books and the 90s with a Tank Girl shoot.

If you enjoyed reading this interview? I have done more check out photographer’s interview.