be seen. The best moments are the ones nobody knows you are witnessing. There are times (not depicted in my culture section) where you can suss out if someone might be up for being photographed for a certain end game. But I think a lot of that is being in tune with people, their energy and where they are heading (a show, dinner, work, etc). Just be aware and be inviting. I find that if I’m open and I smile and tell them exactly what I’m doing, people are generally game, and if they aren’t, it probably has nothing to do with me. When first assigned a celebrity client, what are your first steps to starting the job? Do you research their work?
PORTRAIT COLLECTIVE look at it again. I’m surrounded by a beautiful world that’s in focus, and I’m out of focus and hiding behind my hair. I really have a hard time being seen, or with the idea of being seen. I can always empathize with people who are camera shy, yet we all want to be seen — nobody wants to be invisible. And I think that’s where photography comes into my life. I’m able to show everyone how I see the world around me, how I see you — I will see you as nobody else does – which is what makes photography fascinating to me, the point of view. And by sharing my point of view, I feel like a part of me is being seen.
play space, but really I’m creating an environment that’s safe to express, feel, reject, whatever. Being photographed is a very intimate thing, so controlling the energy you allow on set is vital. I’m very particular about who I allow on my sets – my shoots are intimate, my walls come down, their walls will come down, it has to be safe. So that means, glam, wardrobe, “the entourage,” anyone who steps foot on your set is taking part in the experience you are trying to create. If you don’t have the correct energy, you will not be allowed on my set. And you shouldn’t let it on yours. The most important aspect of this, however, is being open yourself. I think it’s easy to get lost in technical Be sure to check out Catie’s website! details, lights, camera, action – and controlling how the subject looks. I figure out all my lighting and technical stuff before someone steps onto my set, and that way I’m open to them, interacting and conversing, being ridiculous or telling personal stories. And I’ll almost never correct someone in how they look. If you want honesty, be very aware of how you correct a subject – especially women. There’s a very subtle way you can lead someone to where you want them to be, but if you overcorrect, they are over thinking, and I don’t want an image of someone thinking about the picture they are taking – I want an image of someone lost in an experience. Create that experience for them.
I feel like I should say yes, but honestly, no. If I don’t know who they are, I might look them up and see what sort of imagery they have done, and most of the time I feel like the image of them I see isn’t being represented. I generally get a sense, a feeling, a vibe of a person – or of the person that isn’t being seen, and I think and plan around that. But there isn’t a ton of planning past location and a playlist. I get those locked in and everything else just happens naturally. I don’t like to plan my shots, that’s not fun for me and it doesn’t feel authentic. I like to create a play space for people – a safe space to feel, create, express and play – everything happens naturally once we are shooting in that space. The self-portrait in your bio is great. It looks like you’re walking on waYou say in your bio that you look for ter. What does this photograph say honesty and connection in your por- about you? Any last words on how traits. If you had to teach a class on photography has affected your life? achieving this, how would you structure your first lesson? I would say that image is a perfect representation of me or, at least, how Wow, that’s a question. Create a safe I see me – although I hadn’t really space for your subjects, I call it my thought about it until you made me
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