Inspired, A Very Special Project | Lora Swinson of Swinson Studios
We are really making headway here. I am so pleased with how this project is coming along. It has been an amazing two plus months this far and I have just fallen in love with all the wonderful photographers that have been featured and will be featured reading their wonderful interviews. It has been quite a wonderful opportunity for me to really learn so much MORE about these photographers as people, humans flawed or otherwise and not just through their body of work.
This week we are featuring a very sweet member of the Clickinmoms community. Lora Swinson is an amazing clean and soulful photographer. Her black and white images are so dynamic and the tonality in her images range from soft to bold. She has a wonderful sense of reality in her images. Makes you almost feel like you are there!! Even cooler Lora is heading up a break out session with Clickinmoms so you can learn a little something something from her too! You can find all the information and details right here on that. In her own words:
“The mini workshop I am hosting with ClickinMoms is titled “Creating Connections in Family Portraiture” where I talk about posing, creating conversations with your clients to evoke genuine emotions and it includes a 32 image posing guide, 13 minute video following me on a family shoot and a PDF with loads of info.”
You can also find Lora’s Blog HERE. You can find her website HERE.
So let’s get to know Lora!
Hi Lora!
You can say “Hi” to Lora on Facebook here too!
Lets get to know you! How would you describe yourself in three sentences?
I am a 20-something Mama to 2 insanely destructive boys who love to keep me on my toes. I love coffee, the gym, Jamie Cullum, snow and my incredibly good looking husband. I love my huge family (I am 1 of 14 kids) and I will forever be that awkward 15 year old art nerd I was in High School.
What sparked your passion for Photography?
It has always been something I’ve loved doing since I was little. I would take my younger sisters out into the cotton field across from my house and make them pose with an empty coke can in their hand. Ha! I was super creative 😉 In high school I took a film and darkroom course my sophomore year and I fell in love and continued with it throughout college.
Whats in your camera bag?
Just a 5DMKII and a 50mm 1.4 lens. Sweet and simple.
What Camera/Equipment did you start out with?
I started with a Nikon D80 and 50mm 1.4. That camera and lens served me well and I some of the images produced with that gear are still some of my very favorite.
If you could only use one lens an entire session which one would you choose and why?
This is very obvious, but my 50mm 1.4 🙂
What advice would go give to someone just beginning in photography and hoping to have a business of their own?
Work hard on your photography skills, but work harder on becoming a better business person. Do you research, make your business legal, pay taxes and fully understand what it takes (financially and personally) to run a successful business.
What was your first official Photographer crush if you had one?
David Lachapelle. I stumbled up his work through a Rolling Stone magazine when I was 16 and promptly headed to Barnes & Noble and found his book, Hotel Lachapelle, and have loved his work since. Its weird, creative and sometimes like looking at a train wreck. I love it.
What kind of photos do you like to take for just yourself when not working with clients?
Last year I did a 365 project and loved it (for the most part!). I photograph my boys almost daily and love trying to capture them in their element. No posing, no directing or pushing for a specific image. I love watching their little minds work and think and I try to capture just that 🙂
If you could photograph absolutely anyone who would it be dead or alive?
Bob Marley.
Describe your style in 3 words.
Heartfelt. Clean. Emotive.
Most embarrassing moment on a session would be?
Calling the Mom the wrong name the entire session and having her tell me 5 minutes before we wrapped up. Ugh!
Any challenges you have had to overcome to be where you are today?
Stepping out of my comfort zone to help my clients do the same. I am a pretty quiet person so being outgoing and cooky and crazy to help toddlers/babies smile and laugh was VERY hard for me to get over. But once I did it’s become 2nd nature to me when I am on a shoot.
Favorite time of day to shoot is?
2-3 hours before sunset. The sun is still high enough, but not right at golden hour, to give a gorgeous back light….and if I could shoot until the sun went down, that would make it complete.
If you had to stop taking photos right now, what would you do instead?
Go to medical school.
Have you attended college or had any formal education in Photography?
My sophomore year of high school I started film and darkroom courses shooting only black and white. I continued with the same through 2 years of college.
What do you do to get your clients to relax with you?
I try my hardest to be funny and crack stupid jokes to get my clients laughing. Most the time it works! Also, getting to know them before their session helps in so many ways. Even just talking on the phone will help ease some of the tension that can be created when meeting someone for the first time.
What are your photography related goals for 2012?
Work to live and not live to work. I am focused on finding a balance between my 2 roles on this earth. Being a Mother is my #1 role, but being a business woman is right up there and at the end of the day it makes me a better wife and a better Mother.
How do you push yourself to keep growing and learning? Any Big Aha! Moments?
I love everything about photography and I have since I was young, but I get in ruts more than I’d like to admit. My biggest fear is that what I will one day hate what I once loved about photography so I try to keep changing how I shoot. Right now I am trying to get better at shooting closed down more. I sometimes rely on the awesomeness of bokeh to make an image but I want to change that. I feel like I am continually pushing myself by trying to step out of my comfort zone.
Biggest Photography related insecurity?
I’d have to say my gear envy. I sold some gear when we moved out of state and while it’s been great to really push myself with just one lens I do sometimes feel like I need more gear to become a better photographer…which we all know is NOT true.
Digital or Prints?
Both.
How long does your processing usually take you?
I spend about 2 hours of editing per session (that includes proofing and culling around 25 images).
What is your favorite kind of location to shoot in?
I really love anything, but my favorite would probably be the client’s home. That is where they feel the most comfortable and at ease.
If you could trade places with another photog for a day who would it be?
David Lachapelle…it would be amazing to hear the voices in his head. 🙂
Can you share one of your first photos ever taken when starting out? Its always fun to see how photographers have grown and changed!
Sure! I have no shame! Now, keep in mind, in high school and college I shot only landscape and still life, never humans. 3 years ago I photographed my first client, a newborn, and they’re not good. AT ALL. But I love them because they show me how far I’ve come.
Current Favorite Photo?
Ugh…this is hard. I’d have to say this photo of my younger brother who was killed in Sept.2010. I regret every single day not taking more photos of him (we have very few from the last 5 years). It’s of him and my youngest and its not even in focus. But the smile on Connor’s face is so contagious. I miss him everyday and I am so thankful that I do have these images of him…even if they’re not perfect.
Fun stuff:
Favorite Color:
Yellow 🙂
Favorite Season:
Spring.
Biggest Guilty Pleasure:
Trashy reality TV…so embarrassed!
Pet Peeve:
People who don’t wipe down the equipment they’ve just sweated all over at the gym.
Favorite Day of the Week:
Any day that I can sleep in! I am so not a morning person.
Favorite Pandora Station:
Zion I
Studio or On location:
On location for now, hopefully I’ll be opening a studio in the near future.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Doctor/teacher/nurse/zoologist/fire(wo)man. 🙂
One thing no one knows about you is:
Ummm…I don’t know if this is good or bad but I have no problem telling a perfect stranger everything and anything about my life. I guess no one knows what I had for breakfast (oatmeal with cinnamon!) 🙂 That works, right?
Pc or Mac:
Mac!
Lightroom Or Photoshop:
Both, but mainly ACR in photoshop.
Film or Digital:
Digital (film for personal but haven’t shot it in a while).
Props or No Props:
Balance baby….a little here, a little there but not overdone.
If you could travel anywhere it would be:
Greece.
Glass Half Empty or Half Full:
I try my best at half full 🙂
Raw or Jpeg:
RAW
Favorite Music to Edit to:
I can’t pick! I have multiple personalities when it comes to music. I am usually editing at night so my music is more low key, I love The Weepies, Bon Iver, Jamie Cullum and Brandi Carlile. If I by chance get lucky and have the house to myself during the day to work I am usually blasting something like The Roots, Looptroop Rockers, Prince or Zion I.
Favorite Quote:
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Since losing my brother I find myself saying this in my head when I am pissed that the person in front of me cut me off in traffic or the cashier at the grocery store isn’t moving fast enough and telling the customer her life story. You never know what anyone is going through, emotionally or physically.
Most valued material possession:
I’ve never been very attached to material things but as of late I’d have to say my gym shoes.
Processing Style:
Clean with a little bit of haze/matte here and there.
Coffee or Tea:
Coffee…2 cups a day, always. 🙂
If you could photograph a Celebrity who would it be?
I’d love to photograph Christopher Walken….or Jake Gylenhall lol…swoon!
What kind of Camera bag do you rock?
Crumpler 8 million dollar home.
Great interview, Lora! I love the photo of your brother <3
Love her work! Love to hear what other photogs have to say about their journey, thanks so much for sharing! (And woohoo for another Jamie Cullum fan!) 🙂
Great interview. I have to say I am super inspired that you don’t have a bag full of lenses and that your images are amazing, regardless! It’s so hard to keep our feet on earth when we see all these blogs and all the gear etc that photogs have! Well done! You are a true inspiration!
thanks for posting her! I am actually in taking that mini session right now, and I love it! She is beyond awesome, I love her work.