Yep, positive feedback can be a bad thing! Episode 27 of theFilter Photography Podcasthas an interview withApril Josie, wedding and music photographer from Sydney, Australia.
We talk about how April goes about creating bodies of work, why crediting is actually important to photographers, whether a formula is useful in client work and more.
You can check out April’s work at:
- https://www.apriljosiephotography.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/april.josie.studios/
- https://www.instagram.com/april.josie/
Listen to the photography podcast episode
Listen to the episode oniTunes,Spotify,YouTubeor wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Quotes from this episode
April Josie on how she chases photography credit
“I one-hundred-percent understand they’ve done something right, like they’ve put the information in there, but it shouldn’t have to be us contacting them too. Put the information now because then it’s this conversation of like, well, we got it from management and blah, blah, blah, blah. So if I have a good relationship with the band and with their manager, I usually will email the manager and say, ‘Hey, just like noticed this press release came out. Um, are you able to contact them for me?’ That’s if I have a good relationship. If I don’t, then I’ll email the publication on either Instagram or email.”
On why photography credit matters
“It’s hard because like when you’re an artist, you don’t do things for recognition, but when you work in media, being recognised as a part of the job, like it’s a part of your career portfolio. You kind of have to follow it up. It’s your responsibility and if you let it go, I don’t know, it just kind of sets a bad habit for me, personally.”
On self-care with your photography
“I think one thing that I benefit from was, um. Maybe you can call it like imposter syndrome or like the fake it till you make it kind of vibe. And so like, I do a lot of self-talk with my, through my therapy, like I talk to myself a lot, which is kind of, kind of sounds counterproductive, but it works for me.”
On looking deeper in your photography’s meaning
“With one of my projects, I took a photo of something one afternoon just randomly, and I was like, that’s really pretty. I’m only taking this photo because I think that looks pretty and there’s something aesthetically pleasing. And then I would be, I would sit there and be like, all right, I need to be deeper about this and think about what this could potentially mean.”
On having a formula with client work
“So even with music photography, I shoot at one venue a lot of the time and I’ve got a formula for that venue. I’ll go from like, sides, left side stage, middle stage, right side stage up the back corner, and then do a whole loop of the room and then do that two more times during the set. So you kind of see me running around the place a lot, but that’s how you’ve got your formula.”
On why empty positive feedback can be a bad thing
“It was the worst time of my life. But I will never take back doing that because I call it ‘photography bootcamp’. It was amazing. I was way better a photographer after someone tore me down because I needed to be torn down a little bit.”
The Bouys’ ‘Wah’ Clip, filmed and edited by April Josie
Missed the last episode?
The last episode of Filter was an interview with multi-talented artist and host of the first Isolation Art Show, Rach Audrey Anger.