Spotlight for Inspiration - Shelby Robinson

| January 13, 2014 |

SPOTLIGHT FOR

INSPIRATION Our Weekly [fa] Photography Spotlight for Inspiration is all about talent, inspiration, success,

camaraderie and collaboration. Artistic success and appreciation is built upon networks of like-minded

people and our team of artists here will inspire you for days.

If you have not taken the time to peruse our membership list, I think you will be shocked to see who you are rubbing elbows with. Some of the most amazing up and coming artists in the industry and they are all a part of this team! Each week we sit

down with one of them and find out about them, what they are doing, what keeps them

motivated and pull from them inspiration for us all. We will be covering artists at every level

and every style. There is no requirement for this spotlight except a passion for your craft. Read on… network, be inspired and shoot your dreams!

SHELBY ROBINSON

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Shelby Robinson Fine Art Photographer

How to get your work noticed? We all want the answer to this question. What is the magic recipe? This weeks Spotlight for Inspiration is all about unwavering dedication, living in the moment and enjoying fine art photography for the pure joy of it. This was the magic recipe that worked for Shelby Robinson. At nineteen she is already heralded as one of the finest

concept photographers of our generation. And her journey has just begun…

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Caroline: I am really excited to sit and chat with you! When I first saw your images and your huge body of work and was so excited to learn you are only 19! Your journey has just begun! Tell me how long you have been doing photography?

Shelby: I have been blessed to have been placed on this pathway because it has brought me so much happiness and freedom for my mind to create! I began to get serious about the art side of

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photography the later half of my senior year of High School. So it has been about three years now. Though I feel like I have been doing it all my life!

Caroline: How old were you when you first picked up a camera?

Shelby: I don't remember when exactly, but even when photography was not prominent in my life when I look back now I feel like I always had that

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spark to have a creative outlet. I can't draw or paint well, so the camera eventually acted as (my medium). The only time I really remember having a camera and using for photographic purpose was when I was about 15. I only had a point and shoot then. But once I got a DSRL at seventeen things began to move forward! My family actually purchased it to use as a family camera, however once we got it I practically took it over, hah! I was the only one willing to sit and learn and experiment. That's when things "clicked" I guess you could say.

Caroline: How long after that did you discover conceptual portrait? When were you first introduced to that? Tell me how that evolved.

Shelby: It was funny - or perhaps fate - but I had joined Flickr a couple years beforehand for whatever reason, I have no idea! Once I began taking images I decided to upload them to Flickr and start a collection. A couple months passed and I began to grow in my work. (From random object to plants - its pretty amazing, I know) But I also began to explore Flickr a little more and I

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discovered some pretty amazing artist and their ability to actually create a story in an image. It practically blew my mind! I knew then where my next step was. So leaving my plant photos behind I moved to self-portraits and continued from simple portraiture to more complex conceptual images you see today!

Caroline: Do you remember whose image it was that made you *GASP* and say "I want to do THAT!"

Shelby: Rosie Hardy! She was a huge name I came across. I fell so deeply in love with her work and found it to be so inspiring. But I know there were many more names I marked down to follow. Flickr is such a gift for beginning photographers - I am so happy I was lead to begin there. Another name - Brooke Shaden - whose work I didn't find until I was pretty far into creating, became a huge inspiration to me and still is today!. But as it is for many of us, once I found her, my goodness was I inspired all over again! She definitely became, and still is, a big leader in the photography world to me.

Caroline: I get this question a lot from photographers just starting out in fine art conceptual photography, when you see something like Rosie Hardy's work and you say "I have GOT to do that!”. Their very next thought is "umm… Now what? Ah!" Ha! It looks like a HUGE overwhelming mountain to climb. So much to learn! It's daunting! Where did

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YOU start?

Shelby: I have gotten this question a lot recently! And it is so true! For me, it is so hard to tell because all of that process has blurred together. But what I do remember is my complete excitement over getting Photoshop. I cannot even express to you my joy to have finally gotten it. However once I installed it and opened it up, I blankly stared at my screen for about 10 seconds before I closed it out and walked away feeling deflated. We all think it will be so easy- if only! But that program continued to call out me even when I wanted nothing to do with! I just remember exploring it a little day by day; I began using simple photos I took and seeing what tool did what. It was a long process, in fact, I still learn new things every time I use it! I try to explain to people who ask me this, when beginning photography you need patience. That is how you learn - taking your time and learning your own short cuts to develop your style. It is so much work but so rewarding!

Caroline: I have heard that a lot as well. Photoshop is very overwhelming and so that leads me ask your opinion on another on going debate. Do you believe Photoshop is a necessary tool in order to be an accomplished and respected fine art photographer?

Shelby: I don't believe it is necessary as many photographers have grown successful by only using film. However for me, I see it as my canvas and brush to further bring my image to life - to give it that story. As I mentioned

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earlier I cannot draw to save my life! So it is nice to be able to paint an image with my camera and illustrate it further in Photoshop.

Caroline: How do you come up with your concepts for your images? What are your inspirations?

Shelby: Hmm, I'd say mostly by nature - the beautiful things my eyes will come across. Our world is so beautiful, just going outside and spending time reading or exploring is enough to inspire me to create my images. I include mainly elements of nature in my photography because it is such a big part of my life. It is where I mostly find God! Music too. I listen to a lot of instrumental music - movie scores, Celtic, and Ambient - especially when I am editing. It puts my mind at ease and allows me to think of ideas or just simply enjoy the world. Many times I have fallen asleep to such music and come up with many photos ideas; of course then the idea of sleep is so far gone because I am up sketching out those ideas! I am currently sitting back for this interview enjoying such music now.

Caroline: I can definitely see the nature inspiration in your images. Do you have a back ground in any of the other arts

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beside photography?

Shelby: There really is nothing for me. I did pottery in high school but there wasn't much success there, hah! Aside from the occasional stick person image-sketch, photography is the only art I am involved in.

Caroline: You images look very specifically planned, all the way down to the colors used in your images. They are very well executed and it really does look as if you have had some type of class on color theory and the use of light and shadow. I am amazed you have never had any formal teaching in that area. Did you notice and pick up on those things when you were studying other fine art photographers?

Shelby: Thank you so much! That is very kind of you to say. I definitely picked up the basics like warm and cool tones and what you could do with lighting. However, I tried to stay away from absorbing too much from others because I didn't want to consciously or unconsciously copy them. I didn't like to look at many tutorials because I wanted

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to find my own ways to do things so I could grow to become comfortable in the roots I had established. I can't tell you the amount of time I have given to learning photography but though the journey was long, I have developed a style that I believe to be unique to me and processes I and found through my own explorations.

Caroline: What was the first image you completed where you stepped back and said, "OH my goodness! I think I am on to something here!"

Shelby: Honestly I don't know if there was a specific image but more so a time. it was around this image titled "How My Life Flashed

Before Your Eyes". I found an old box of letters from my family dating back to the early 1900's and wanted to create a story-image around them. And this image was born! I took a lot of images around this time and I believe it was at this stage I felt more comfortable and confident as a photographer and thought, as you said, that I could be on to something.

Caroline: I saw on your website where crispme.com listed you in their article "A Handful of the Finest Female Photographers" along side HUGE talent in the industry such as Annie Leibovitz and Brooke Shaden! To be recognized along side such huge influential photographers is amazing at any age. Much less nineteen! Was that planned? Did you have an ambition to make that happen? Or was it a surprise to you?

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Shelby: Oh goodness I cannot even TELL you what I was thinking when I saw that. I teared up and just stared. I STILL can't believe it. I really want to ask them "Why?" I feel like I still have such a long way to go before I am even deserving of that. I honestly never thought I would do anything really significant with my life. I feel like all this is such a wonderful dream that I never want to wake up from. I mean people know my name in so many countries, I've been on book covers, and received honors such as the one you mentioned - it just unfathomable to me. I am so, so blessed. I cannot express my gratitude in simple words.

Caroline: So many people would love to have that question answered "How did you get your work noticed?" What do you think it was? Was it your use of social media? Was it your willingness to put yourself out there?

Shelby: I would say a majority of it was Flickr. That was the first social media/ photo site I used. (I made a Facebook much later as my work got noticed more on Flickr)

Caroline: So where do you see yourself headed now? What are your goals moving forward?

Shelby: My main goal is to just keep photography in my life in whatever way possible. I am in one of the busiest stages of my life right now - 3 jobs and school. There have been many times where I just want to toss photography aside because of a shortage of time - but how could I? After everything it has given me? I could never even let

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myself think that way. Photography brings me so much joy and it is my escape from life. I trust God and I trust where He has me headed and for that reason I try not to worry much about the future and what it holds. Instead, I focus on the present and bring the most out of each day. And that involves seeing the world through my lens whenever possible.

Caroline: So I take that to mean you don't see yourself doing photography as a career going forward? What other things are you currently involved in? What degree are you working toward?

Shelby: I guess I did kind of spin off there! I very much want to do photography as a career - whatever it may be. I would love to keep doing what I am doing, making fine art or something of that nature. What a dream it would be! Currently I am enrolled in school and going for a business degree. I didn't want an art degree because my talent doesn't reach further than photography and I wanted something that could cover more options. Actually I have had two local photographers recommend me to go for a business degree, stating that they wish they had done so. Currently that is my plan along side my pursuit of conceptual photography as I am doing now.

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Caroline: Well I look forward to seeing more of your work over the next year. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me. One last question. There are going to be a lot of aspiring fine art photographers reading this. If you had to give them one piece of advice… something you wish you had been told when you first started out? What would that be?

Shelby: Thank YOU! It has been such an honor and you are a wonderful interviewer! I would tell them, though the journey of photography may seem difficult or impossible, never stop. Find a light and give everything you can to reach it. You may stumble along the way but rise even stronger and ready to create. Use this journey as a photo-story - capture your weakness/ strengths, and the stories you've had along the way. Every memory you make, let it be an image that speaks of you experience. Photography is a beautiful thing and let it shine through you - make it be a journey of light.

A Gift of Inspiration For You. With each F.A.P Spotlight look for a link to a tutorial, texture, preset,

tip or stock image!

Shelby’s Gift of Inspiration is an editing playlist. She says, “This is the type of music I edit to and it really

gets me in my zone. This is just the start but I’ll always be adding more for me and others to explore.” Thank

you Shelby for the gift of inspiration.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYD6I5cppySNXlQL5fkxT5uEN5tRvXyRx

Shelby’s 411… Website: www.shelbyrobinsonphotos.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shelbyrobinsonphotography Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shelby_rae/ Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SrRPhotography

[fa] Photography Spotlight for Inspiration: Shelby Robinson January 13, 2014

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Spotlight for Inspiration - Shelby Robinson