When we decided on "Creative Techniques" as the theme for October, we knew without a doubt that our Artist Spotlight would have to be the one and only Cassie Lee! Her creativity often blows our minds, and she makes ordinary things look out of this world. Continue reading to find out how Cassie gets inspiration for her work, and some great tips and tricks for creative technique shooting.
Tell us about your photography journey...
I studied Radio/Television/Film at Northwestern University in Chicago. Originally I was considering a career path in cinematography; but as a student athlete while in college, I found it extremely difficult to participate in internships. Most of them required me to be available weekends which was often spent traveling or training with sports. Upon graduating I moved back to my hometown in Southern California and started working at a professional photography lab while contemplating a move to Los Angeles. Without an internship history I found it difficult to break into a paying film job. While working at the photo lab I met many professional photographers and one San Diego based wedding photographer in particular took an interest in my film history. He asked me to work as his assistant which I did for only a few months before he started sending me out as one of his company's lead photographers. I shot for him for about 6 years before I decided to start my own photography business in 2009. I started my business mainly shooting weddings; then, as I started having kids and time became limited, I transitioned to more family and other portrait type sessions. I eventually branched out and became the city photographer for Carlsbad, CA. I photographed many of their city events ranging from movies in the park, to holiday parties, to city classes, to triathalons and golf tournaments. In 2015 my family made the big decision to move to Texas. After a short break I found myself slowly starting back into portrait photography. Since then I have now become the city photographer for Celina, TX doing many of their city events that happen year round. My schedule seems to constantly be filled with a wide range of jobs from family events and functions, Friday night markets, classes and town hall meetings, groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings, city architecture and real estate, headshots, and even fire and police department needs. I absolutely love the variety that this brings to my job as a photographer.
Tell us a bit about your style...
I love color! I am a true child of the 80's and I just adore vibrant and eye catching color. I also love creating visually stimulating images in photoshop. In real life I have a very hard time communicating how I feel or what I think about things. But I find I am able to express that side of myself more effectively through photography. Often times an idea will pop into my head at a completely random time. This idea may change shape in my brain over weeks or even months until if forms into a vision of how I want to portray it. Once I have this idea I find I cannot simply let it go... I have to get it out. Once I have shot it, sometimes even in the editing process it continues to evolve. Nothing is set in stone when I start creating an image; it helps if you can keep a fluidity to your idea and allow it room to change and mold itself into a final work. Often times the final image will become something else completely once I begin to edit and play.
What gear do you use?
Canon 5D mkIV with xtra battery grip
Canon 35mm 1.4
Canon 85mm 1.2
Canon 16-35mm 2.8
Canon 70-200mm 2.8
Tokina 100mm macro 2.8
Other accessories I often use are my backdrop stand which usually hold up sheets, blankets, or leftover fabric depending on colors I need. I also use an Elgato Keylight and a Neewer LED panel light for extra light when I need it but often find that the best light is found in the front of our house when I leave open the door. I take many pictures there. I have 2 different sized Lens Balls for creative fun, and an entire wardrobe of costumes and wigs from years of family Halloween (which I am a little obsessed with).
What's your go to lens and why?
My go to lens is the 85mm 1.2. I often have to shoot quick and in low light so its ability to shoot fast at a low fstop and get the most out of ambient lighting is key. Its a fantastic portrait lens and I love the dreamy bokeh it can produce. I don't use flash very often so this lens allows me to get the desired result with the light I have available. An added bonus is when I shoot for the city I can keep my distance while shooting and feel like I am not noticed, which helps me to get the candids I desire. When I am not shooting with my 85mm my second favorite is my 35mm
Who and what inspires you?
I am inspired by my girls. I get to experience things through their eyes often and it brings a renewed joy in the everyday. I am also inspired by whatever is around me. The key is keeping your eyes up and open. You can find inspiration in many things if you just look. In the rush of a day its super easy to just put your head down and trudge through in order to get your tasks done. By taking the time to just pause and look around, you will be surprised by what opportunities present itself. I am very much inspired by music and films. I love the emotions that come through in both medias. Music can help set the tone of an image I am working on even if its just something I have playing while I am editing. I love recreating imagery from film too. I am a lover of all things dress up and if I can embody another persona I feel (and I know this sounds contradictory) like I can express more of who I am. While I can be quite introverted, cosplay allows me to be very outgoing. It's very freeing to play a role. I am also inspired by things that are weird or different. I am drawn to people that don't necessarily fit the social norms and environments that may not seem magazine worthy. I love my own weirdness and try to show my kids that being different is not something you have to be embarrassed by, but something that can be celebrated.
What tips do you have for shooting creative techniques?
You don't have to be amazing at photoshop to experiment with creative techniques. A lot of things can be done in camera. Shooting through items, changing perspectives, think outside the box, play with reflection, light, shadow, motion, etc. sometimes if you don't know how to do something, just try... even if you do it “wrong” you might come up with something different that you maybe never thought about in the first place. There is no right or wrong when it comes to being creative. If you do have a vision in mind, try to keep it fluid and give yourself leeway for things to possibly change. If you know you are taking images into editing, take multiple images from different angles with different focuses in case you need to sample parts from other shots in order to get the final image. Most the times you won't need them, but they are a lifesaver when you have them. If you don't know photoshop just play with it. Don't feel like you have to make something amazing, just see what happens. I learned everything I know just by playing around. In today's world if there is something specific you are trying to achieve there is literally a youtube video for it! You don't need the fanciest editing programs... all of my editing is actually done on an old version of CS3. Learn how to push your camera, understand what happens to light and focus when you change your settings. If you are feeling stuck, listen to music, get outside, walk away for a moment and come back to it. Creativity doesn't thrive in a forced situation. When trying to get kids involved I have found that if you let them lead, it can help inspire creativity. Often times I ask my kids what they would want to do or if they have any ideas for a photo and then we go for it! If its their idea, they are definitely more into it and become very willing models!
What creative technique images are you most proud of and/or love the most and why?
01. I absolutely love this image I took of my daughter. I initially just wanted to take a photo of her long hair before she donated it. I thought to myself how can I take a photo of her hair but have it be fun and different? I had her out back just doing tons of hair flips and spins in front of a sheet I hung up and we got some great shots of her hair flying through the air. When I took this one into photoshop I randomly decided to try flipping the orientation and upon doing that it appeared she was falling! I loved it even more. Sometimes just flipping an image on its side or upside down can completely change the look and feel of the image.
02. I am often times inspired to try something that I have seen on other pages. This is the first one I tried to recreate after seeing it done on @jordikoalitic 's Instagram. I liked the idea of creating an illusion in a photo that is not necessarily true. While abby held the hammer and coconut in place and made that awesome face, my husband was off to the side and tossed the other half of the coconut filled with water onto the table. It gave the illusion that Abby had just smashed it open when the reality was definitely not as exciting.
03. Another Jordi inspired image is this one. I like to make things and get crafty so its fun if I can incorporate that into images. For this one I had my husband help me bend a metal hanger into a circle and then glued colored pencils onto very meticulously so they were evenly spaced. In photoshop I went in and changed the hue of her iris to coordinate with the circle of pencils around her eye.
04. This was one of the first images I let my girls direct from start to finish. They were very much into Welliewishers at the time and all it took was a simple prompt from me asking “If you were a Welliewisher what would your doll look like?” This turned into a game of go dress as your ideal Welliewisher, and give it a name! Then they each stuck a few poses as their Welliewisher personas and they were totally into it. We happened to have an empty box so I took a photo of that and then in photoshop put them inside the box and stacked the images together as if they were a store display.
05. Sometimes trying things that are popular or a general photography "fad" can get you to be creative. I always wanted to try one of the record album portraits I had seen being posted. There are a lot of options to get creative with so many different cover options. I had this George Michael album and after sitting with the cover image in my mind for a few days I came up with a scenario that I thought fit comically well.
06. Forced perspective really makes you look at normal things in a different way. I loved the way this image turned out because... in all honestly my kid is just laying on the ground holding onto a curb in front of a mural. But with the right crop and perspective it turns into something a little bit extra!
07. I absolutely love creating composites. While most of this work is done post shooting you still have to shoot your subject with your final image in mind. My daughters favorite book is James and the Giant Peach and I told her we would create a book portrait for her. This is one of the most difficult and time consuming composites I have done. There were so many components and layers that went into creating this final image. Doing composites like this are an outlet for me to stretch my imagination and often times creating one is very therapeutic to me. I love trying to piece things together and the more difficult it is, the better, because even though I think I have a good handle on what I am doing... I always find myself having to learn something new. So it's a good push for me to creatively learn.
08. As mentioned before its hard for me to speak out loud my thoughts and feelings, so its better for me to try and portray that into an image. With photography you can think creatively, outside the box in order to achieve a meaning. Photos are an art and can portray many emotions, feelings and meanings. This image in particular spoke to the innocence of children and I felt I was more able to portray my feelings through this image than I could in words.
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