An Interview with a Shutter Bug
Emma (19), is in her first year as a Photography student at Middlesex University. Nicknamed “Shutter Bug”, at five foot one (“and a half!”) she has long blonde hair and is rarely seen without some sort of camera in her possession – she is the proud owner of four cameras, ranging from film to digital. As one of my flatmates, I often walk into the kitchen to see an elaborate set up for a photo shoot, recently one for her still life project which took up two tables. Having received a camera myself for Christmas in 2013, I have enjoyed many a conversation with Emma about cameras and photography in general. As such an inherent part of our lives nowadays due to the increasing amount of glossy and highly air brushed adverts, photography is undoubtedly crucial and never without effects. You won’t find features such as these in Emma’s photography though. Often featuring her native Kentish background, (“I’m a country girl!”) there is occasionally a horse popping up every now and then, sometimes with Indi and Merlin taking centre stage. She can be quoted as saying she’ll be happy as long as she has “a roof over my head and a horse.” Can’t go wrong with that.
For one of her projects, she had to create a fashion editorial comprising of six to eight photographs. “Every part of the photo is looked at carefully, so they have to be perfect,” Emma says. The importance of “flow” and a “connection” throughout the narrative of the photos was highlighted as a vital aspect of fashion photography, a tricky thing to nail. It seems that perfection is something that is a requirement in this particular branch of photography. “The styling of the models in the photos had to be immaculate,” Emma states. However, “it made me see just how much goes into a fashion shoot,” she goes on to mention. “I now have a lot of respect for people working in the industry.” Her photos for this project were set on a country backdrop, one stand out photo in particular of her younger sister Holly, complete with a model pose and blue eyes rimmed with black eyeliner.
When asked if she would consider a career in fashion photography, Emma immediately declares “it was not for me. I just didn’t enjoy it that much.” With such varied interests including horses, music “Muse and Foals!” and baking, I doubt she won’t find something to occupy her time when she graduates in 2016. Whether it be a career as a concert photographer, baker extraordinaire (“if all else fails, I’ll open a café with my mum”) or maybe in an art gallery, Emma is bound to succeed and of course, she’ll be armed with a camera. I just hope I can continue to see her photographs, from planning process to the final shot and share a slice or two of Victoria Sponge with her. She makes a mean one.