Featured Artist 05: Brittany Boote

Brittany is a wedding and portrait photographer based out of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Owner of Brittany Boote Photography, Sister North Studios and Hello honey boudoir, Brittany has excelled in absolutely everything she does. From empowering women through her lens to capturing an emotive and natural connection with her couples. Her work is full of connections, beautiful compositions and incredibly creative images that will blow your mind. On top of all this, she is also an educator offering mentorships and in person workshops in her studio.

An incredible artist, educator and best of all, an amazing human being.

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What is one image that represents your overall work/style as an artist?

This is such a tough question. I am really drawn to connection, emotion and I really love finding a consistent composition throughout my work that feels like my own. This image that I took last November, in my hometown area really felt complete to me. I had always struggled with not having the epic landscapes or beautiful mountains, beaches that I felt like I couldn't really create jaw-dropping images. Once I realized that I could just embrace my home, and my local landscape, that was really liberating for me. I love simplicity, and a touch of imagination to come together. I love that the couple is on different ends of the image, but you can still sense how connected they are. I love the idea of capturing couples as individuals and working that into their portraits. I think that's really important in their story.

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What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone working to get where you are?

Stay dedicated. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing, posting, creating. Create with your heart and the clients will come. Don't chase the sales, chase the feeling. That was the one thing that I resonated with since the very beginning. That mentality is what brought me to where I am today, and I have so many miles to go and lessons to learn. Invest in yourself as a person, and an artist, and the rest will all fall in place.

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Who was your biggest influence when you were starting out?

On a professional level - I was really impressed with mentors like Anni Graham. Her work really showcased that connection, and emotion, while also understanding the value of composition to tell a story. Her brand mentality is what made me understand that I didn't have to be doing the kind of shoots that everyone in my town was doing. I just thought that's how you "open a photography business". I was like "Oh I need crazy backdrops, and cake smash props, and I have to offer all of these things". Realizing that I had the freedom to really create what I felt passionate about was super influential for me. I am in my 4th year and I just finally feel like I am beginning to have a small signature within my work. That feels really cool because I worked really hard to tap into that within myself. It makes me really happy when clients connect with that. Also, Sirjana & Ben from Tinted photography are so creative, and inpspiring. It's really cool to see how their work elevates itself all the time. I feel like they inspired that imaginative dreamy part of myself that lives within me that I was hesitant to show through my images.

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How have you worked to set yourself apart from other photographers?

As an industry, (with weddings/couples) I think we all basically learn the same kind of posing, and same prompts or lighting techniques. We see a photographer do something really epic and want to go create it ourselves (Thanks, Estaban!). Which I think is really okay to be inspired by our peers. Being inspired is cool, and being influenced is also very cool. I think setting yourself apart really has to do with how you express your own visual language in everything you do. Use your own words. Do something that really feels like your own, even if it was inspired by someone else's art. Finding my own artful, visual, language has been a big part of this journey for me. Its definitely given me the freedom to create with my couples spontaneously, and they trust my vision, that is something that is really encouraging and important when you want to create an experience for people.

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What’s in your bag?

• Chocolate

• Canon 1DX Mark II

• Canon 5D Mark IV

• Canon 50 & 85 1.2

• Canon 135 2.0

• Canon 24mm Tilt

• Sigma 20 1.4

• Canon 35 1.4

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More of Brittany’s Work

Connect with Brittany Boote

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

Featured Artist 04: Rachel Black

Rachel Black – our first featured artist of 2020 – is many things: adventurer, lover of the outdoors, wife and boy mom, Art Therapist, Photographer, and owner of Rowanberry + Lavender in Fairfield County, CT. Inspired by beautiful light and authentic emotion, Rachel finds a way to capture the intimate, extraordinary moments in even the most ordinary of situations.

Her portfolio shows just how much she embraces everything colorful and vibrant in any situation, each image displaying her creativity, imagination, and talent. It’s clear to us just how much she has invested into herself and her craft.

We asked Rachel to share a little bit of insight into who inspires her, advice she has to give, and - of course - the equipment she carries when creating her magic. Enjoy!

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What is one image that represents your overall work/style as an artist?

I hear people say to me when we meet "oh, that shot you did on the Brooklyn Bridge, that photo was so awesome." Honestly, It's a shot that happened out of a bit of luck. It was the first time I had ever been on the bridge and I assumed that Sunrise would allow us to get no one in the shot. However, I didn't consider the time change at this time of year so we literally showed up an hour before sunrise. If there is one way to describe myself it's "works well under immense pressure." My background as a trauma specific art therapist has really taught me a lot about what to do when things don't go exactly as planned. So this picture happened after we had already been shooting in the dark for about 20-30 minutes. I saw the leading lines in the bridge and was so mesmerized by them. It even feels to me like the white separation line could take you all the way to the top. I'm not From NY, I hail all the way from Nashville, but I have an appreciation for architecture and design. Not only that but so many painters and artists draw inspiration from this bridge (i.e. Warhol, Georgia O’Keeffe, as have photographers like Walker Evans or documentarian Ken Burns). When I walk on it I can only imagine the hard work and lives lost building this monstrosity. It's the most beautiful thing to walk across so it was only necessary that I wanted Kristen and Mike to look out on either side, taking in the
full city where they live.

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What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone working to get where you are?

Oh Man, tough question. Personally, I'm not exactly where I want to be because I am still growing. I'm so happy to be doing destination work,
but I still feel like I have so much to learn. I got here by working hard and I'm so proud to say that. I worked for an entertainment company
for years doing the underpaid and uncreative grunt work behind the scenes while putting myself through graduate school. Then I worked for a
few other photographers and later charged very little money for weddings and family work whilst learning and working long hours. I literally used to hand edit every wedding image in Photoshop. Say what?! I love to work but I definitely didn't start taking creative risks until long after. It's important to invest in yourself. That sounds so obvious and I think we are doing a better job in our society, but I don't think people
understand how necessary it is. I see it from 2 sides - 1. as a therapist watching the surge of mental health disorders drastically rise
and 2. as a photographer wanting to travel yet spend more time with my family. I wish people could understand the value of patience and
learning to say "no" more frequently. Boundaries, boundaries, and more boundaries. I should seriously get it tattooed. We live in a world of
instant gratification and clients do not always value our time. It's okay to reply to the email tomorrow and it's okay to not post on
Instagram everyday. There will always be another job but time for you and family is the best gift you can give yourself.

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Who was your biggest influence when you were starting out?

For Photographers it really began locally, Carla Ten Eyck. She has been a huge inspiration and I felt that her unique ability to always change
up the scene or posing was so daring and incredibly admirable. We still haven't met but unabashedly I'll admit we have a little instagram fandom romance going on. She so great with inclusivity and education so it's pretty awesome when she reaches out to comment on my work, I love watching her family grow with how she is raising her children, and representing the LGBTQ+ community. She's just an all around badass.
Corey Lyn Tucker has also been a huge support and influence. We met on a styled shoot several years ago and she is the epitome of what it is to be a visionary, friend, confidant, and embodies the principles of community over competition. For others I definitely draw inspiration from Music and Art. As an Art Therapist there's artists like Flora Bowley who teaches more about process and less about product. Obviously we have to deliver the goods, but we have to remember to take a step back and view it objectively and document as a journalist. lastly, My husband and son, they don't always travel with me, my husband John never bats an eye and knows how much I love to travel. When I say I'm leaving for a long destination wedding or workshop he's just says, "how cool for you and what a dream." Rowan has also become a huge inspiration for me as a role model. He's so sincere all the time and when I'm stressed he'll do little things around the house to make me feel better like draw a picture or pull out an album to go through. They also know how much I love fall and I miss a lot of it because it's the busiest time fore me with weddings but they'll suppose me after I come home after traveling with the house decorated and a fire burning. Sometimes I think I'm dreaming. All the stress and hardwork getting here has been completely worth it and they remind me of that all the time.

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How have you worked to set yourself apart from other photographers?

Well, I hope I don't offend anyone when I say this, but I still use a lot of color, haha. I feel like those of us left who still use greens and yellows are a dying breed. I love what I see in the new age of Photography. Some days I think, "what the heck am I doing? I want to edit or shoot like India Earl," I love it so much but that's not me I feel like I can't bring myself to desaturate 90% of the colors. In art school Oil painting was my safe place. I would sit for hours mixing colors thinking about Rembrandt while blending the paints just to achieve the all the right hues. I was always the last in class to leave and the lights were often turned out on me...this was of course before I became a mom! I rarely have time to paint anymore, but I think my love for oils comes through in my images. People comment that my work is cinematic and vibrant. I love that, I want people to feel colors when they see my images they way oils feel on a canvas. I also think time sets me apart from other photographers. I am old school and still edit in Camera Raw. OMG, the gasps I'm already hearing from people. Yes, I know I am very stubborn. I batch edit of course, but I take a lot of time with each image so my turnover for weddings is longer than most and I tell my clients that it's my way of applying paint to the canvas and having to take time to varnish and let it dry. Because I often go back through and make 100% sure I believe my clients will love what they see and why they chose to invest in me. Other than that I do shoot a lot of the same venues or locations for engagements and family work and I rarely, if ever use the same exact location or pose unless it's requested because I want people to always feel like their getting something unique than what they've seen on my IG. I look at a location or structure and see how I can change it from a very obscure perspective.

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What’s in your bag?

• Nikon d3s (super old model but it's my favorite and I think I probably
  own the last 3 models on the earth.)
  Nikon D850
  Sony AR7ii
  Sigma 85mm 1.4
  Sigma Art 35mm 1.4
  Sigma 70-200mm 2.8
  Nikon 24-70mm 2.8
  3 Godox AD200
  Nikon SB910
  Magmods

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More of Rachel’s Work

Connect with Rachel Black

• Facebook

• Instagram

Featured Artist 03: Celia Bell

Celia is a self-described “dreamer, adventurer and destination photographer, madly in love with searching for the intimate moments between breaths and the quiet pauses between kisses.” Our favorite part about Celia’s work is the fact that she approaches every shoot with the goal of telling the true story of her clients to be passed down from generation to generation.

We asked Celia a few questions about her work, standing out in the photography community and much more. Enjoy!

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What is one image that represents your overall work/style as an artist?

Oh man this is a tough one, hmmmm. The one image I feel most drawn too is of one of a couple and their dog, relaxed and natural embracing on the desert floor as the sun sets behind them. Nothing forced, totally relaxed and "them" completely in their element. That is what I hope to capture with every session, the absolute essence of who my clients are.

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What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone working to get where you are?

Believe in what calls to you, believe in what kind of a life you want to make for yourself and for your family and go for it with everything you've got. Invest in workshops and mentorships, if you want to be a photographer then DO IT! Understanding that fear and your own mind are the only two things that stand in the way of you reaching your dreams and not letting anyone else determine how big you can dream or how far you can go, only you can determine that. It's so easy these days, and I think especially as artists, to allow others to determine our worth and I know there has been more awareness towards this subject but let's be honest we ALL do it. STOP constantly scrutinizing and comparing yourself and work to others, let's wake up from the idea that everyone's work should look the same, be your own biggest supporter and you'll find that you will become unstoppable.  Also, don't be afraid to steer away from your "norm", being an artist doesn't mean you have to have the same look all the time. Explore and experiment, some of my FAVORITE images come from shoots may look a lot different than my client work but they are still an extension of who we are as artists.

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Who was your biggest influence when you were starting out?

Hmm i've thought long and hard about this and i've come to realize I really didn't have one specific influence, my interest and style has changed so much since I began this journey. I also think this is why I struggled so much in the beginning. There was no facebook or instagram, I had no idea really what the hell I was doing or what I wanted my work to look like, and not a whole lot of material in front of me, I just kind of wung it ( is wung it even a word?)

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How have you worked to set yourself apart from other photographers?

This journey has been such a complex one, from where I first started shooting to where I am now (and where I'll be in 10 years) is so vastly different we all evolve, change and grow over time. Sometimes is hard to set yourself apart, especially with social media. There are SO MANY amazing photographers and artists out there sometimes you feel like you can get lost in the mix. But, what I have to just focus on is me, my work and the experience I'm providing for MY clients. To really dig in deep to what calls to me when shooting, and to think "what would I want to capture and to pass down as my legacy". I try to draw from my own life experiences when working with my clients because what ultimately I and the conductor of a time machines. People intrust in me to capture a little moment in time, a snippet of their legacy. So i'm not sure if this is what sets me apart from other photographers, but it's what sets my mind apart to keep me from comparing and it keeps me true and honest to my intentions of my work. And I think once you stay true to who you are, what your intentions are as an artist and as an entrepreneur then you will stand out amongst the rest.

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What’s in your bag?

• I am, what I like to call a minimalist photographer, I really don't have that much equipment. I always shoot with my trusty Nikon D750 and have a Nikon D600 as backup just chillin' in my bag just in case (working towards getting another D750 this year). I only have four lenses a Nikon 24-70 f2.8 (this baby was my FIRST LENS and is still semi kicking 8 years later) a Nikon 50mm 1.8, Nikon 85mm 1.4 and a Sigma Art 35mm 1.4 and two speed lights that desperately beg me to take Esteban's course every time I break them out, Nikon SB-900 and Nikon SB-700.

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More of Celia’s Work

Connect with Celia Bell

• Facebook

• Instagram

Featured Artist 02: Andrea Martin

Andrea Martin is an award-winning children and family photographer based out of Beckley, WV. Being a mother of four children herself, she has a true passion for photographing children and animals together. Every one of these images expresses, in her words, “the innocence of childhood” and are sure to bring a smile to your face!

We asked Andrea a few questions about her work, standing out in the photography community and much more. Enjoy!

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What is one image that represents your overall work/style as an artist?

My “girl and duck” image is my favorite image I’ve ever taken. I’m sure people are tired of it by now, but it just shows everything I wanted to show in one image: humor, childhood, innocence, timelessness, and happiness. I don’t think I’ll ever take an image I’ll like more than that one.

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What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone working to get where you are?

Gosh, I’m trying to think of something that’s not too cliché. I live and breath photography, so it is always on my mind. Probably too much if I’m honest!  I’ve practiced so much and did a lot of research. I still do actually. YouTube has great tutorials for free. Even if it’s not a style I wanted to do I still would learn how to do it just to have the knowledge. So my advice would be to always be trying new things. Don’t ever feel like you’ve “arrived.”

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Who was your biggest influence when you were starting out?

When I first thought about even doing photography, I was blown away by Kim Winey. She had this album on her Facebook page called “Child Like Creatures” and it was full of the most inspiring and unique child photography I’d ever seen. It was the moment I knew I wanted to be a child photographer, before I had even bought a SLR camera. I messaged her and she graciously answered my questions and mentored me for free. She didn’t baby me, but she also was so encouraging. When I look back at the images I sent her to critique I can’t believe she was able to find anything positive to say. They were so bad!

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How have you worked to set yourself apart from other photographers?

In a world where photography is everywhere, you have to offer something new and different if you want to stand out. I have always been an animal person and so combining children with animals just seemed like the perfect combination. I love capturing the love and connection between them. Also I feel like it brings out the innocence of childhood in an image. It makes it timeless.

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What’s in your bag?

• Camera Bodies

  • Nikon D750

• Glass

  • Nikon 85mm f/1.4

  • Nikon 50mm f/1.4

  • Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art

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More of Andreas’s Work

Connect with Andrea Martin

• Facebook

• Instagram

Featured Artist 01: Tony Wodarck

Tony Wodarck is an award-winning SoCal Wedding Photographer with a passion for family, surfing and film photography. Tony truly embodies the mantra of “community over competition” through guest lectures, mentoring sessions and numerous educational articles on his website.

As if he already wasn’t the most likable person on planet earth, Tony donates 25% of all his profits to a charity of the purchaser’s choice. He highly recommends The Ecology Center, which “teaches people how to live a sustainable lifestyle.”

We asked Tony a few questions about his work, the photography community and much more. Enjoy!

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What image are you most proud of? What do you like most about it?

This is an impossible question! HAHAHA. My first response would be, I haven't taken it yet. But, truthfully, the one of the couple kissing on the sand and the water hitting them feels like it sums up my photography pretty well. Living by the beach I'm comfortable around the water so it was fun to have an adventurous couple that was willing to jump in. There's so much love, happiness and motion and calmness in this photo. I love it.

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What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone working to get where you are?

If I can do it, anyone can. I definitely don't think I'm the most talented or technically experienced photographer out there, but I do work hard. I just really focus on having fun with my couples and getting them to be who they are. They always end up loving the photos if they feel comfortable and are having fun. Work hard and ask what you can do for others in the the industry, there's tons of people willing to help, but just make sure you're giving more than you're taking.

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Who was your biggest influence when you were starting out?

In terms of style, India Earl was and is my go-to favorite. She's the one who showed me that shooting couples could be cool and fun and natural. In terms of people who influence me: Laurken Kendall for her realness, Natalie Franke for starting Rising Tide Society and spreading the message of community over competition, Bree and Stephen for their willingness to share their marketing expertise, Esteban and crew for all they do with Steel & Flint, and really everyone who builds others up in this community.

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How have you worked to set yourself apart from other photographers?

I've never really thought about trying to set myself apart. I just focus on what I love and who I am and try to be as real as I can in all aspects of my business. There's only one of me in the world, so if I can be myself, that's different enough.

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What’s in your bag?

I've been getting more and more into film photography since that's what I learned on. So I have a hybrid bag.

Tony’s Gear

• Other Goodies:

  • VTIN Punker Speaker

  • Hoya macro filters (+1, +2, +4, 72mm - fits my 35mm, 50mm, and Contax 80mm Zeiss lens)

  • Holdfast Money Maker Dual Strap

  • Holdfast Medium wide pouch

  • Holdfast Money Maker Solo

  • Tap & Dye Legacy Film Pouches

  • Sekonic L-358 Light Meter

  • Mophie Powerstation / Phone Charger (4,000 mAh)

  • A Stick-On Hanger Hook for Dresses / Command Forever Classic Metal Hook, Large, Brushed Nickel

• Camera Bodies

  • Canon 5D Mark IV

  • Canon 5D Mark III

  • Canon EOS 3

  • Contax 645

• Glass

  • Canon 35mm f/1.4 L II

  • Canon 50mm f/1.2 L

  • Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS

  • Canon 70-200 f/2.8 II

• Lighting

  • Yongnuo 560-IV Speedlites

  • Yongnuo 568EX-III Speedlite

  • Yongnuo YN560-TX Manual Flash Controller

  • MagMod MagSphere

  • MagMod MagGrid

  • MagMod MagGel

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More of Tony’s Work

Connect with Tony Wodarck

• Facebook

• Instagram