Simone Anne, Wedding, Travel, and Commercial Photographer
Simone Anne, Wedding, Travel, and Commercial Photographer
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This interview was conducted via email in October 2019.
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Brittany: How did you get into wedding, travel, and commercial photography?
Simone: I started with photography my senior year of high school when I took a black and white film photo class. I’d love to say that it was love at first click, but it was just something I enjoyed (although, true to my obsessive nature, I spent hours and hours in the darkroom on weekends, so I must have loved it in some way). I was finishing up a roll of film at the park taking photos of my mom when she got tired of me taking her photo. My mom, who doesn’t love being in front of the camera, pushed me towards another woman in the park. “Excuse me,” I said. “I’m taking a photography class at the high school and need to finish up this roll of film for school. Do you think I could take a few photos of you?” She said yes, I awkwardly manually focused and snapped some images. Then she turned to me and said, “I’m actually a professional photographer.” Shanti, the photographer I met in the park that day, became my mentor, friend, inspiration, and more. She’s a wonderful human, inspiring business owner, and incredible photographer. Without her and this chance encounter in the park, I would not have gotten into photography and it would not have turned into my career in this way.
Brittany: Can you describe a typical day as a professional photographer?
Simone: I am very much not a routine oriented person and one of the big things that I love about my role as an independent business owner is that for the most part, I get to mold my work days to how I’m feeling. There are (of course) photography days where I am working with clients with my camera: Usually we’re outside, exploring around, and having a ton of fun. I love these days so much. I also love editing days, where I tuck myself in at my desk, put on an audiobook or podcast (I listen to a TON of audio in this role and love it very much), and make the images match my vision.
A huge part of my job is also back end things: I send a lot of planning and organizing emails, talk to my clients on the phone a lot to help them plan their day or pick their photographer, and work on various web things. For commercial jobs or travel jobs, I’ll put together fancy pitch / proposal decks to get the job, go back and forth with them on the phone and via email to make sure all of our plans are set, and more. Most of my wedding photography clients find me through Google and I spend quite a bit of time working on my website, dealing with pages and content that drive traffic, and working on the back end things (I don’t have a developer so it’s all just me). There’s always a lot going on and I am a work-a-holic who loves to get everything done as soon as possible, always.
Brittany: Can you describe the process of planning an engagement, wedding, or elopement shoot with a couple, touching on logistical details like timing, picking locations, and mapping out the kinds of photos you'll be taking?
Simone: My biggest goal for a wedding is this: I want my clients to have their dream day, whatever that is. I ask questions to help them narrow in on what kind of day they want and what that might look like and then I make suggestions as to how photography can fit into and augment that. I always tell my clients, “I’ll never tell you what to do, I’ll just tell you what your choices mean.” What this means is that I’m never ever leaving them hanging, but I will make whatever they want work, as long as we’re realistic about the timeline and build in the time they need for their dreams to come true. It sounds very up in the clouds, but ultimately it means that the way that I do it, wedding photography is a super fun and rewarding part of an overall joyful wedding day where we get exuberant, meaningful images that are beautiful, too.
That being said, in terms of locations and timelines, I do make suggestions. For locations, I like to get a general sense of where clients love (ocean, mountains, town, etc.) and make suggestions from there. I have a HUGE library of past work and can often share that to inspire locations, otherwise I am always scouting and exploring and love to share new finds.
In terms of the kinds of images I am going to make, I feel so lucky to have clients that trust my vision completely. I am always happy to work in a request or two, but mostly my clients come to me without anything except love of my work and trust in me and it really opens us up to a super fun and rewarding experience working and creating magic together.
Brittany: Many of the moments you capture seem so natural and your subjects seem far from stiff. Do you find yourself directing your subjects? How do you make them feel comfortable in front of a camera?
Simone: I absolutely direct and pose clients, but never in a way that asks them to stand there and hold a moment. I believe that good “posing” is less about telling you how exactly to position your body or interact with your partner, but more about figuring out where your body is its most comfortable, most you, most beautiful, and how you and your partner most naturally fit together. It’s pretty common for me to get on the phone with a potential client and have them tell me that while they love the natural, candid look of my work and want that for their own photos, they don’t actually feel that relaxed in front of the camera. This is very normal! I do a fun kind of posing that lets my clients relax, have a wonderful time, AND come away with photos they absolutely love.
Brittany: You've worked with brands like CLIF Bar and United Airlines. How does a commercial gig come to be?
Simone: I’ve gotten my biggest commercial gigs through Instagram, where clients are looking for a powerful combination of high quality photography and a strong social media presence. Most of these clients have then licensed images for other use after the fact as well.
These types of jobs have led to other commercial and editorial jobs as well: Word of mouth and experience of course go a long way.
I am not a high production commercial photographer who manages production teams of 30 people over a week in a big company’s office building. That’s just not what I do or what I am interested in, so in that sense “commercial” is perhaps not quite the right industry word, although I am working with commercial partners on big jobs.
Brittany: How has your business grown or changed over the years?
Simone: Over time, I’ve dialed in my voice and my work to really and truly represent who I am, how I approach photography, and how I work on a wedding day. With a strong voice (or brand) and strong images that fit within that story, the clients I work with these days are people who I utterly and truly love and who are SO excited about my work (beforehand, on the day of, and when they get their gallery). It’s ideal because it works as a win-win all around for my clients and myself and I am endlessly thankful for the wonderful relationships and jobs this has brought me.
Brittany: In addition to being an amazing photographer, you're clearly a UC Berkeley grad in that you steep yourself in local and global issues. Is there any issue you think more people should be paying attention to right now?
Simone: I don’t understand why managing climate change isn’t our number one priority at all times, above profit, above politics, above everything. The concept that there are people out there who don’t believe the science boggles my mind and I find our lack of care for the planet embarrassing and upsetting.
Brittany: You're definitely an expert in social media and have a background in marketing. If you could share one tip (or even a pet peeve) on how to use social media better, what would it be?
Simone: Honestly as our social media lives and IRL lives become more and more intertwined, my advice for both is the same: Focus on being interested, not just interesting, and the rest will follow.
I’ll follow an interesting account that doesn’t know how to use hashtags over a glossy, perfect account any day and overall those accounts and people that build a real rapport or community will always have a voice that outlasts the social media platform and usage tactic of the day. All that and you didn’t sell out! ;)
Brittany: Have you always been interested in photography and art in general? Can you describe your first "art memory"?
Simone: I have always been interested in art and writing, but photography was a later interest acquisition. I grew up without a television and while it meant I miss out on a TON of pop culture references, it also meant I just kinda putzed around and created a lot as a kid.
I was really, really into scissors as a young child and created a lot of collages and cut paper art. (I still love doing this, haha).
I also wrote a LOT. My parents still have so many little homemade books: For example, I had an adventure series I wrote about a girl who liked to explore outside named Art with probably five or six “books” in the series. I’ve also kept a journal since I was six years old. I’ve written in them a few times a week pretty consistently my whole life and I have a printer box full of old thoughts, worries, interests, travels, and more. And since everybody asks if this comes up: I don’t really read through them! Maybe one day I will, but for now the joy has been in the writing and exploration of them.
Brittany: I know you're a writer and have been making pottery for a few years now. Have you ever experimented with other creative mediums, like video?
Simone: I’ve never played with video professionally or even with my camera, but I’ve fallen in love with video on Instagram Stories! It’s such a versatile medium, where you can meld sound, movement, and vision to share a true sense of place. I’ve considered experimenting with this “for real,” so to speak, but video editing is time consuming and a true art.
Brittany: You've traveled all over the world, including places as far as South Africa and India and as close as the John Muir Trail here in California. What's on your travel bucket list?
Simone: I want to spend more time in India, for sure. Getting just a month in only a few of the Northern states was seriously not enough. So much to explore (and eat!) and so many interesting, historic, and beautiful things to see. Other than a return to India, I want to spend some time in Bolivia (I have tentative plans to be there for a job next fall!), explore Greece and Portugal, and get back to Africa (not sure what’s at the top of my list, but possibly Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Morocco… Ahh, so many ideas). In short, everywhere!
Brittany: What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Simone: I want to work on more editorial and travel projects, am interested in pursuing writing more seriously, and will continue to photograph rad couples getting married with joy and intention (so, more of that). I really love the life I’ve built and right now I just want to continue that: Grow and finess my business, travel more, and pursue some personal projects as well.
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Photo by Karen Santos
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Special thanks to Simone for discussing her work with us. You can follow her work on her wedding photographer website, travel and editorial photographer website, travel, editorial, life Instagram, wedding Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
