Fotograaf Annabelle Agnew

—Ten eerste - wie beschouwt u als de beste fotograaf in 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.

—Bent u fotogeniek?

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

—Hoe bent u beland in de fotografie-industrie?

—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.

—Wat zijn volgens u de belangrijkste elementen van een goede foto?

—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.

—Houdt u van reizen?

—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.

—Wat vindt u het leukst aan uw beroep?

—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.

—Wat vindt u het minst leuk aan uw beroep?

—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.

—Wat ziet u de toekomst van fotografie?

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

—Wat is er bijzonder aan het fotografiegenre waarin u zich specialiseert?

—I'm not sure I understand this question.

—Hoe gaat u om met kritiek?

—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.

—Zijn er bepaalde trends in fotografie?

—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.

—Welke criteria moet de klant hanteren bij het kiezen van een fotograaf?

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

—Wat is er totaal uit den boze bij het fotograferen?

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

—Welke details die vaak onopgemerkt gaan, kan een fotograaf vastleggen?

—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.

—Wat beïnvloedt de waarde van een foto? Wat zijn de elementen ervan?

—Emotion, Light, Artistry.

—Welke persoon kan volgens u symbool staan voor de 21e eeuw?

—I have no answer for that!

—Wie wil u graag fotograferen?

—Anyone who wants me to.

—Heeft u bepaalde taboes op professioneel vlak?

—I don't think so?

—Met wie zou u graag fotograferen?

—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

—Waar maakt u zich zorgen over en waarom?

—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

—Wat is het meest indrukwekkende moment van uw leven?

—Giving birth to my babies

—Als u een personage van een cartoon, boek of film was, wie zou u dan zijn?

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

—Wie inspireert u in uw leven en waarom?

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

—Hoe definieert u succes? Hoe meet u het?

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

—Bent u liever graag gezien of gerespecteerd?

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

—Wat is de grootste fout die u ooit begaan heeft op professioneel vlak?

—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".

—Wat neemt u mee op reis en waarom?

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

—Is er iets dat u liever niet gekocht had tussen de gadgets die u bezit? Waarom?

—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.

—Hoe leert u bij om betere foto's te maken?

—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.

—Wiens werk heeft u het meest beïnvloed als fotograaf?

—Showing up everyday to do it.

—Wat had u graag geweten toen u begon als fotograaf?

—Patience.

—Wat wil u graag zeggen met uw foto's?

—I want them to be evocative of the moment.

—Wat motiveert u om foto's te blijven maken?

—My pleasure in taking them.

—Hadden uw ouders strenger of minder streng moeten zijn?

—Less strict.

—Wat zou u anders doen als u in de tijd kon terugkeren?

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

—Wat denkt u over leven op andere planeten?

—It's there probably?

—Wie zijn uw helden?

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

—Voor wie kan u geen respect opbrengen?

—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.

—Wat doet u in uw vrije tijd?

—Improv; Kitchen Dancing; Reading; Running

—Welke kant van u krijgt het publiek niet te zien?

—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

—Wanneer bent u helemaal tevreden over uw werk?

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

—Gelooft u in een traditionele rolverdeling voor man en vrouw?

—No

—Maakt u gemakkelijk vrienden?

—Yes

—Waar zou u graag wonen?

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

—Wat is het domste waarmee u ooit akkoord bent gegaan?

—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.

—Is er een leven na het huwelijk?

—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.

—Heeft u een favoriete mop? Vertel ...

—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.

—Houdt u van honden of van katten?

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

—Wie of wat haat u?

—Too complicated to answer.

—Het beste in het leven is:

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

—Het vervelendste in het leven is:

—noises like chewing?

—Is er iets rondom u dat u graag zou veranderen?

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

—Wat zou u graag veranderen aan uzelf?

—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.

—Wat zou u graag veranderen aan de wereld?

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

—Kan u tips geven voor beginnende fotografen?

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

—Als buitenaardse wezens naar de Aarde komen en u bent de eerste persoon die ze ontmoeten, wat zal u hen dan zeggen?

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

—U wordt gevraagd om een film te maken, welk genre wordt het?

—Romantic Drama (think The English Patient)

—Morgen zal ik ... doen

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