Fotograf Annabelle Agnew

—Først og fremmest - hvem kan du navngive som den bedste fotograf i Montreal, Canada? :)

—Excluding myself, I admire the work of a lot of talented photographers globally. In Montreal: Brent Calis, Laura Regev, Ella Mack & Micheal Beaulieu are some of my favorites. In Ottawa: Agatha Rowland, Joel & Justyna, Rubicon and Age of Indie.

—Er du fotogen?

—At the right angles and if I'm not being a goof... yes.

—Hvordan blev du en del af fotografiindustrien?

—My mother is a painter, my step-father a theatrical and architectural lighting designer. I was surrounded by art, artists, and so forth my entire life. My mother's best friend is a professional photographer and I remember taking my first "real" photograph at 8 years old with my mother's Olympus Rangefinder. Even then... it was a very circuitous route, even after I got my BFA in Photography at Concordia. But I am very certain of my path now that I found it.

—Hvad er de vigtigste komponenter i et godt billede efter din mening?

—Light is the most important — then composition. After that comes artistry and understanding how your settings can capture moments that evoke how they felt. Sharpness and bright lighting are over-rated and feel unnatural to me a lot of the time.

—Elsker du at rejse?

—Yes. Adore it. One of my favorite trips that I ever took was to Nicaragua. We go to Ireland (at least prior to the pandemic) yearly because my husband is from there. The last place we traveled to prior to the pandemic was Mexico.

—Hvad kan du bedst lide ved dit fag?

—I love that what I do captures some of the most important moments of a clients' lifetime and that the history of that photo will shift over time to mean different things. I know how valuable my family photo albums have been for me and that's my driving force for every wedding I photograph.

—Hvad synes du mindre godt om ved dit fag?

—I'm a workaholic, it's hard to turn my brain off and find balance, being passionate about my craft verges on obsessive. It's important to hit pause, look back and appreciate work that I have done and so I've learned to do this — rest is equally important to make good work.

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ud for fotografering?

—Just like anything else, it will evolve and yet it's essence will remain the same.

—Hvad er der specielt ved den fotografigenre, du specialiserer dig i?

—I'm not sure I understand this question.

—Hvordan håndterer du kritik?

—I went to art school where our work was critiqued daily — so I am open to it and frankly wish I heard it more often now in my professional life. It's important to get external feedback in order to grow. That said, I am probably my own worst critic.

—Er der nogen tendenser inden for fotografering?

—Lots of them. A lot of photographers buy presets and apply them to their work – I find this makes their work all look the same. The standouts always have a strong sense of color, light, composition and a connection with their subjects.

—Hvad bør kriterierne være for en kunde, der skal vælge en fotograf?

—Connect with the work and the photographer.
Ask for full galleries.

—Hvilke ting er slet ikke tilladt under fotograferingen?

—Too much posing, going to "hotspots", shotlists that are formulaic to wedding pinterest boards.

—Hvilke detaljer, der som regel går ubemærket hen, vil en fotograf bemærke?

—It's the in between stuff. For instance — this summer I photographed a wedding where I did a giant group photo of all that attended. Once the group dispersed the bride & groom each took a big swig of their drinks in hand (which I took a photo of) and then each realized that it was too big (which I also took a photo of) — this sequence brought a lot of joy to all of us later.

—Hvad påvirker værdien af et foto? Hvilke elementer indeholder det?

—Emotion, Light, Artistry.

—Hvilken person kan være symbolet på det 21. århundrede efter din mening?

—I have no answer for that!

—Hvem vil du gerne fotografere?

—Anyone who wants me to.

—Har du nogen professionelle tabuemner?

—I don't think so?

—Hvem ville du gerne fotografere sammen med?

—Erik Madigan Heck; Annie Liebovitz; Roger Deacon; Joel & Justyna; Samm Blake; Leann Weston; John Dolan; Cinzia Bruschini; Sarah Falugo; Corbin Gurkin; Danijela Gorley; Thierry Joubert; & Jamie Beck

—Hvad bekymrer du dig om, og hvorfor?

—Equipment functionality – having something breakdown in a wedding is possible and you need backup strategies in place
Data Storage – you need a lot of storage and backups in place when working on photographs, losing something would be horrible
Money – who doesn't worry about this?
Health – it's very important to my wellbeing and my job

—Hvad har været det mest imponerende øjeblik i dit liv?

—Giving birth to my babies

—Hvis du var en animeret figur, en fiktiv person eller en person i en film, hvem ville du så være, og hvorfor?

—A lot people liken me to a cross between Tina Fey, Elaine Benes, Winona Ryder and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

—Hvem inspirerer dig i dit liv, og hvorfor?

—That's too hard to define. I am inspired by a lot of things – art, comedy, movies, friends, family, landscapes etc.

—Hvordan definerer du succes? Hvordan måler du det?

—Good sleep, peace of mind. Someday living by the ocean.

—Foretrækker du, at folk kan lide dig, eller at de respekterer dig?

—Respected. Too hard to make everyone like you – and I am not sure I'd want everyone to like me.

—Hvad er den største fejl, du nogensinde har begået i dit arbejde?

—Underselling myself. Doing a lot of work for too little. Not noticing "red flag" clients — I've learned the signs and avoid these types now. A word of advice: don't go into meetings with photographers assuming we're trying to "rip you off".

—Når du skal rejse, hvad tager du så med dig, og hvorfor?

—My camera, my kindle, and a lot of earrings and shoes.

—Er der noget, du ville ønske, du ikke havde købt blandt de tingester, som du ejer? Hvorfor?

—That's a constant thing — right now I am considering selling the only zoom lens I have. I never use it. I also have too much lighting equipment I never use.

—Hvordan uddanner du dig selv til at tage bedre billeder?

—I have a degree in film photography, but now I take online courses through Creative Live; Masterclass; Youtube and so on — sometimes it's photography or business related, but other times it's just something I am interested in. I'm convinced that external interests influence your work in a lot of beneficial ways.

—Hvis arbejde har haft størst indflydelse på dig som fotograf?

—Showing up everyday to do it.

—Hvad er det eneste, du ville ønske, du vidste, da du begyndte at tage billeder?

—Patience.

—Hvad vil du gerne fortælle med dine fotografier?

—I want them to be evocative of the moment.

—Hvad motiverer dig til at fortsætte med at tage billeder?

—My pleasure in taking them.

—Burde dine forældre have været mere eller mindre strikse?

—Less strict.

—Hvis du kunne gå tilbage i tiden, hvad ville du så gøre anderledes?

—I would not have strapped some lighting equipment with a bungee cord. It's a very long story.

—Hvad med liv på andre planeter?

—It's there probably?

—Hvem er dine helte?

—My Mom; My husband & kids; and then a lot of other artists, writers, comedians, politicians, scientists and so forth.

—Hvem har du ingen respekt for?

—I don't think it's a Who, but rather personality traits: those who feel entitled; who are not open to listening/do no ask questions; choose fear.

—Hvad laver du i din fritid?

—Improv; Kitchen Dancing; Reading; Running

—Hvilken side af dig viser du aldrig offentligt?

—I can be hyper-focused in a way that's detrimental to life balance; I talk to my cat like he's a real person; I need hugs

—Hvornår er du helt tilfreds med dit arbejde?

—Generally right after shooting and the initial edit. Before my critical brain starts to micro-inspect and take over in the edit.

—Tror du på de traditionelle mande- og kvinderoller?

—No

—Har du let ved at få nye venner?

—Yes

—Hvor vil du gerne bo?

—I'm going to retire someday and live along some rough coastline either in Eastern Canada, Ireland, or the South of France.

—Hvad er det dummeste, du nogensinde har indvilget i at gøre?

—A coffee drinking challenge one night when I was a waitress in a diner in Banff. There was a snow storm and we were young, stupid and bored. I ended up calling poison control because "I won" the competition and boy did that feel bad.

—Er der liv efter ægteskabet?

—Yes, it's pretty good too. I won't lie — it's work — but I would take this over a lot of connections without depth.

—Har du en yndlingsvittighed? Fortæl den til os.

—Too many. I am a comedy nerd/junkie. My best friend is a standup comedian and in school I used to drop in to the club on Open Mic nights to watch my friends tell jokes.

—Kan du lide hunde eller katte?

—I like both, but I have a cat named Steve.

—Hvem eller hvad hader du?

—Too complicated to answer.

—Det bedste ved livet er:

—good food, laughter, sleep, the water, sunsets, fresh air, snuggles.

—Det mest irriterende ved livet er:

—noises like chewing?

—Er der nogen ting rundt omkring, som du gerne vil ændre?

—I mean, yes. But hey, life is a process.

—Hvad vil du gerne ændre ved dig selv?

—A lot of things, like I said, life is a process — and I have learned recently that accepting myself is just as important to changing.

—Hvad vil du gerne ændre i verden?

—Fast fashion; greed; hustle culture; the direction of the climate

—Kan du give et par råd til de fotografer, som lige er startet?

—Show up everyday, take a lot of photographs and edit them. Rinse and repeat. And look at other Art, not just other photographs.

—Hvis nogle rumvæsner kom til jorden, og du var den første person, de mødte, hvad ville du så sige til dem?

—Hello? I haven't given this much thought.

—Hvis du bliver spurgt, om du vil indspille en film, hvilken genre vil det så være?

—Romantic Drama (think The English Patient)

—I morgen tager jeg ud og...

—Website editing; run; laundry; help my kids with online school