Welcome to the Feature artist blog for May and the theme perspective. For this month we have one of my favourite artists, the amazing Chrissy Lamb. I just love the way she explores difference and creative perspectives to enrich her storytelling and gorgeous work. Enjoy!
Tell us a little bit about your photographic journey.....
My photographic journey began with my love to document my life. My husband would tell you I have an obsession! Whether it is journaling, making monthly family videos, or taking photographs, I am always documenting. My true passion for photography started once I began having kids. My husband’s mom is a photographer, as well as his brother and sisters, so he has always had an appreciation for photography and knew that it would be something I would be interested in. A few months after having our son my husband bought me a camera and from then on I have tried to learn anything and everything about photography. I have learned that if I want to truly document my family, I had to get over feeling embarrassed to have my camera out. Once I got over that my camera started to feel like a part of me, like another limb. Photography is the perfect creative outlet for me while being a stay-at-home mom. I want to remember our everyday life, no matter the stage we are in, and that is what keeps me shooting!
Tell us a bit about your style......
Like a lot of us, I am still figuring it out! What is most important to me is that I am documenting my family each day, so that is what I aim for. I love warmth, evoking emotion, beautiful light, and capturing moments that will otherwise be forgotten. I have recently developed a love for portraits and love to take advantage of the beautiful light that comes in my bedroom window each morning to take self-portraits and portraits of my children.
What gear do you use?
I currently use a Canon 6D and have a Canon 35mm 1.4 ART, Canon 50mm 1.8, and Canon 24-70mm.
What’s your go to lens and why?
My go to lens is my 35mm. I love the versatility and it never leaves my camera body! It focuses quickly, is super sharp, and is great for shooting both indoors and outdoors. It also creates beautiful bokeh. An 85mm lens is next on my wish list!
Who and what inspires you?
It’s not uncommon for my husband to see me booking it up the stairs to grab my camera for an image that I know I only have a moment or two to capture. Moments that could easily be forgotten. A silly face, tears over not wanting to share toys, my kids dancing in our tiny galley kitchen to Gangnam style over and over and over. That is what inspires me. My husband just finished up four years of dental school, so we have been living the student life in an old two-bedroom townhouse with a parking lot as our backyard. As a young photographer, I used to look at my surroundings and think that I couldn’t take beautiful photographs because I don’t live in a beautiful home. However, as I have forced myself to take photos on a daily basis my perspective has changed, and I have come to appreciate everything around me: the good and the mundane. I am inspired to pick up my camera and capture our life exactly as it is because time is fleeting, circumstances change, children grow up, and I don’t want to forget a thing!
As far as other photographers go, I really admire the work of Andrea from mama_and_little. She shoots so many different perspectives and documents her family so beautifully. Anna Aromin from seldabelda is an incredible photographer. Her images always leave me breathless and her double exposures are truly pieces of art.
What tips do you have for shooting for perspective?
As I was starting my photography journey, I really looked up to one of my favorite photographers who happened to be the photographer for my wedding. She showed up to every shoot in knee-length waterproof boots and would put them to good use climbing into fountains and crouching in the mud to get the perfect shot. Her images were always unique and captivating because she was willing to put herself in whatever position was necessary to get her images to look the way she wanted them to. Perspective choices are up to the photographer and what they want the viewer to see. You are trying to provide spatial awareness for your subject. In order to do that I suggest moving around and not staying in the same place! Someone once told me, “the more the photographer moves, the better the photographer.” Get low and lay on your belly, get on your back and shoot straight up, crouch, stand on a ladder, keep changing it up! Shooting with different perspectives gives you so many more options for your photographs and allows you to really focus on what details you want to include. Don’t be afraid to shoot through the emotional moments or the messy ones. Not everything is picture perfect and does not need to be! By changing up your perspective you are helping the viewer see the story through your eyes because we all would see if differently.
What perspective image are you most proud of &/or love the most and why?
The perspective image that I love is one I took of my husband and son at the state fair. All of the colors, rides, the man’s Kool-Aid shirt in the corner, my son’s expression, are all details that I feel really help paint a picture of being at the state fair.
