I am so proud to be featuring Beth Ann Fricker Photography on my blog today. I am a huge fan of her work and I really admire her passion and her drive. To find out more about her work, please go to her website and browse her portfolios. Please follow her on Google+ to view more of her work and join her on her Facebook page to see more of her awesomeness. If you are an avid pinner, please also follow her boards on Pinterest.
Now, let’s dive into her interview and get to know more about her and what makes her fabulous!
If someone were to ask you how you would describe your style of photography, what would it be?
This is a hard question for me to answer since I’m sure people see different things in my photographs. I try to take a documentary style approach to what I’m shooting and I hope what viewers see is a story around the people I’m photographing.
Can you tell us something we might not know about how or why you fell in love with photography?
I’ve always loved photography but I never felt I was very good. A few years ago, I put more effort into learning how to use my camera. There are so many amazing photographers out there and I’m continuously inspired by their work and use of light.
What are some photography pet peeves of yours in terms of shooting style or editing style?
I’m always trying to improve but right now I’m trying to slow down and not over shoot. I get annoyed with myself when I’m editing and I notice something in my frame – such as a garbage can or a crooked blind – that could have easily been fixed before taking the shot. I hate having to fix something in Lightroom or Photoshop that could have been fixed in camera.
What do you shoot with? What would be your dream lens?
I am a Canon shooter and I use prime lenses. I have a tendency to switch my lenses a lot. That said the 35mm f/1.4L is my go-to lens when I’m inside and the 135mm f/2.0L is what I use primarily when I’m shooting outside. I’d love to pick up the 85mm f/1.2L but the price tag is a little hefty.
What is your workflow like? Do you use ACR, Lightroom, or Photoshop? Why do you think this works for you?
For the longest time I used only Lightroom. Last May I bought Photoshop and started to integrate it into my workflow. Currently, I begin with most of my basic adjustments in Lightroom and then, if needed, I use Photoshop. I’m not as well versed in Photoshop and one of my 2014 goals is to become more proficient in that software.
I see that you love to photograph weddings, newborns, and babies. Do you have a favorite and why?
This is a difficult question for me to answer – I love them all! All the business gurus say you should focus on a niche but I love that one weekend I can photograph a wedding and then the next capture a family bringing home their newborn. I never get bored shooting because the work is always changing. My favorite moments are unscripted and I love capturing candid moments between couples and families.
For someone just starting out, what kinds of words of encouragement or advice would you have wished someone had told you when you first started your journey?
You don’t need a fancy camera and lens to take amazing photos. My advice for anyone would be read your camera manual, take your camera off auto and take a lot of photos. When I lived in DC I took a photography class at a local arts center. We spent most of the first class reading our camera manual. At the time I only had a point-and-shoot camera but it was still worth it. Knowing how your camera works – whether the camera is your phone, point-and-shoot, or DSLR – will help improve your photography. The teacher in this class was so impressed by the photos from the point-and-shoot cameras – not mine 🙂 – that he ended up buying one during the class to use. When you put your camera in the manual mode, you have more control over the output. And lastly, the great thing about digital photography is you are instantly able to see the photo so experiment with all of those settings.
Your children’s names are so beautiful and unique, how did you come up with them?
My husband and I had a hard time choosing names and were looking primarily for Hebrew names. We had a difficult time agreeing on any names and kept a list going on my phone of names I liked and names Marc liked. Initially, when my husband proposed the name Ezra I wasn’t very fond of it but the name grew on me. The other top contender was Max. My husband is Jewish and there is a tradition of naming a child after a deceased loved one. At the time, there was no one named after Marc’s paternal grandmother. We preferred Ezra as a first name but selected a letter “A” name, Alexander, to honor Marc’s grandmother Anne. As for my daughter we both really liked the name Sadie when we heard it and I really wanted her middle name to be Lynn, after my sister. Plus, those two names just flow well together. If my husband had his way both children would probably be named after Greek mythological creatures.
Marc and I have been really fortunate that we have been able to visit so many places in the last few years. We’ve made traveling a priority for us and have given up other things to save for our trips. To stretch our budget, we try to choose dollar friendly destinations and make most of our meals.
Now that we have children, Marc and I don’t travel as much. With two young children we need to be more discerning about accommodations and the activities need to be adjusted. Plus adding on two more plane tickets makes it more expensive. With that said, we did take Ezra to Turkey when he was 10 months old and LOVED it. It was an amazing experience traveling with a baby and people were wonderful to us. In the US, I feel like people are annoyed when your child starts crying but in Turkey people would make faces at him or even offer to hold him. At dinner one night Ezra was cranky and the waiter held Ezra so I could finish my dinner. When Ezra was 14 months we went to Yosemite National Park and hiked over 50 miles with him! Our first trip with both kids is coming up soon. We will be going to Israel to visit Marc’s family and I’m sure that will be an adventure. Marc does his best to chronicle our travels on the blog, Operation Wanderlust.
Where did you get your cats?
We adopted our two cats from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). Marc and I both come from cat families and made it a priority to find a cat friendly rental apartment when we moved to Boston. The two cats are sisters and were strays in Boston. The cats are named after places we have traveled – Kili for Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Didi for Madidi National Park in Bolivia.