In November last year I was asked to be an ambassador for an exciting project as part of The Photography Show… ‘Women Who Photo’. It was, and continues to be a positive experience (and I hope to speak more about this in the future). In March I had the photograph here exhibited and spoke on stage in front of approximately 200 people. Below is a copy of the interview I was asked to do for Flux Magazine.
1) What would you say to young female photographers who are just starting their journey? Take photographs. Learn what you like. Experiment. Explore. Have fun. Make mistakes, that is where growth comes from. Be brave. Don’t take shit. Nobody has a 100% hit rate with the click of a button. Find a safe space to talk about your work. Don’t stop learning. And if you intending this to be a career… ask for payment.
2) How is the world of photography changing with regards to gender? Hopefully in the same way as society in the UK is starting to shift, with a degree of positivity. I think that SheClicks and facebook groups like ‘Shoots like a Girl’ have definitely helped. I love to listen to the podcast Shoot Chat Edit Repeat as it makes me feel normal but inspired. But the thing I look forward to the most is seeing is all of the major photography brands having more female ambassadors.
3) Why did you join the Women Who Photo campaign? So many reasons… Last year I headed to the Commonwealth Games in Australia, my first international sports event. It was self titled ‘The Equality Games’ as it was the first one to offer equal medals for males and females and had made an effort with diversity. It however didn’t reflect in the representation within the media. I counted the female photographers I met – a total of twelve which made up about 4% of photographers in attendance. It was a totally amazing experience and as a newbie felt truly supported by all those around me, but if equality looks like that then get me a new planet (we are going to need one soon anyway). Another reason it was important for me to take part in ‘Women Who Photo’ is that I am still at the early stages of my career, I have massive aspirations and goals for myself yet (and although I am obviously amazing) there isn’t that much difference between me and someone who is thinking about making the jump to being professional. I need women out there to know that I made a small step and it is okay. Because of this I felt lucky to get the call, and feel lucky to be involved and champion something that is part of my soul. If I can inspire one person to be brave and follow their dreams then that is super cool. I have young nieces – I want them to be proud of me and know that if they focus and have an open heart then the sky is the limit.
4) How can the Women Who Photo campaign and The Photography & Video Shows help aspiring female photographers? Giving us a platform to explore is a good start. Maybe have more interactivity with the stands and speakers. Make somewhere comfortable to come and share experiences, ideas and thoughts. Have better cake and coffee at the show. And don’t stop… look at Women Who Photo as a starting point for growth.
5) What’s the hardest part of being a photographer or filmmaker that people don’t know about? For a long time it was self belief, as a creative person I am super critical of the work I do. I have met some amazing people in the last year that have really helped me with that. So more recently it has been that the kit is HEAVY, I stand at 5’2″ and a 500mm lens is bigger than my thigh, no word of a lie. A tennis ball, yoga and deep heat are my friends
https://www.photographyshow.com/theatre-programme/women-who-photo
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