Fotógrafo Annabelle Agnew

—En primer lugar, ¿quién puede llamar el mejor fotógrafo en Montreal, Canadá? :)

—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.

—¿Es usted fotogénico(a)?

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

—¿Cómo empezó a trabajar en la industria de fotografía?

—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.

—¿En su opinión, cuáles son los elementos más importantes de una buena fotografía?

—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.

—¿Le gusta viajar?

—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.

—¿Qué le gusta más de su profesión?

—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.

—¿Qué le gusta menos de su profesión?

—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.

—¿Cuál será el futuro de la fotografía?

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

—¿Qué tiene de especial el género fotográfico en que trabaja?

—I'm not sure I understand this question.

—¿Cómo gestiona las críticas?

—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.

—¿Existe alguna tendencia en la fotografía?

—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.

—¿Qué criterios debería tener en cuenta una persona a la hora de elegir a un fotógrafo?

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

—¿Qué no está permitido de ningún modo cuando realiza una fotografía?

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

—¿Qué detalles que normalmente no tenemos en cuenta puede un fotógrafo captar?

—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.

—¿Qué influye en el valor de una fotografía? ¿Cuáles son sus elementos?

—Emotion, Light, Artistry.

—En su opinión, ¿qué persona podría ser un símbolo del siglo XXI?

—I have no answer for that!

—¿A quién le gustaría fotografiar?

—Anyone who wants me to.

—¿Tiene tabúes profesionales?

—I don't think so?

—¿Con quién le gustaría fotografiarse?

—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

—¿Qué le preocupa y por qué?

—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

—¿Cuál ha sido el momento más impactante de su vida?

—Giving birth to my babies

—Si fuera un personaje de animación, literario o cinematográfico, ¿quién le gustaría ser y por qué?

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

—¿Quién le inspira en su vida y por qué?

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

—¿Cómo definiría el éxito? ¿Cómo lo mide?

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

—¿Qué prefiere, gustar o sentirse respetado?

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

—¿Cuál es el mayor error que ha cometido en su trabajo?

—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".

—Cuando va de viaje, ¿qué lleva consigo y por qué?

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

—¿Se arrepiente de alguno de los gadgets que ha comprado? ¿Por qué?

—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.

—¿Cómo se forma para tomar las mejores imágenes?

—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.

—¿A quién pertenece el trabajo que le ha influenciado más como fotógrafo?

—Showing up everyday to do it.

—¿Cuál es la única cosa que desearía haber sabido cuando comenzó a tomar fotografías?

—Patience.

—¿Qué desea decir con sus fotografías?

—I want them to be evocative of the moment.

—¿Qué le motiva a continuar tomando imágenes?

—My pleasure in taking them.

—¿Cree que sus padres deberían haber sido más o menos estrictos?

—Less strict.

—¿Si pudiera volver atrás en el tiempo, qué haría de forma diferente?

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

—¿Qué piensa de la vida en otros planetas?

—It's there probably?

—¿Quiénes son sus héroes?

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

—¿Por quién no siente respeto?

—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.

—¿Qué hace en su tiempo libre?

—Improv; Kitchen Dancing; Reading; Running

—¿Cuál es su lado desconocido que la gente nunca quiere ver?

—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

—¿Está complemente satisfecho de su trabajo?

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

—¿Cree en los roles tradicionales de hombres y mujeres?

—No

—¿Hace amigos con facilidad?

—Yes

—¿Dónde le gustaría vivir?

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

—¿Cuál es la cosa más estúpida que ha aceptado hacer?

—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.

—¿Hay vida después del matrimonio?

—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.

—¿Tiene un chiste favorito? Cuéntenoslo.

—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.

—¿Le gustan los perros o los gatos?

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

—¿A quién o qué odia?

—Too complicated to answer.

—Lo mejor de su vida es:

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

—Lo más molesto de su vida es:

—noises like chewing?

—¿Hay algo a su alrededor que le gustaría cambiar?

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

—¿Qué le gustaría cambiar de usted mismo?

—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.

—¿Qué le gustaría cambiar del mundo?

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

—¿Podría ofrecer algunos consejos a los fotógrafos que empiezan?

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

—Si los extraterrestres llegaran a la Tierra y fuera la primera persona que encontraran, ¿qué les diría?

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

—Si le llamaran como fotógrafo de una película, ¿a qué género pertenecería?

—Romantic Drama (think The English Patient)

—Mañana voy a hacer...

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