Photographer Annabelle Agnew

—Unang una sa lahat - sino ang papangalanan mo na pinakamahusay na photographer sa 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.

—Ikaw ba ay photogenic?

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

—Paano ka nagsimula sa industriya ng photography?

—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.

—Ano ang mga mahahalagang bahagi ng isang magandang larawan sa iyong opinyon?

—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.

—Mahilig ka ba maglakbay?

—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.

—Ano ang pinakagusto mo sa iyong propesyon?

—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.

—Ano ang hindi mo gusto sa iyong propesyon?

—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.

—Ano ang magiging kinabukasan ng photography?

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

—Ano ang espesyal sa kategorya ng photography kung saan ka dalubhasa?

—I'm not sure I understand this question.

—Paano ka tumatanggap ng pagpuna?

—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.

—Mayroon bang mga trend ang photography?

—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.

—Ano ang dapat na pamantayan ng isang customer sa pagpili ng photographer?

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

—Ano ang mga bagay na dapat iwasan kapag kumukuha ng larawan?

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

—Ano ang mga detalye na kadalasan ay hindi napapansin na napapansin ng photographer?

—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.

—Ano ang mga umiimpluwensya sa kahalagahan ng isang larawan? Ano ang mga element nito?

—Emotion, Light, Artistry.

—Sinong tao ang sumisimbolo sa ika-21 siglo sa iyong opinyon?

—I have no answer for that!

—Sino ang gusto mong kuhaan?

—Anyone who wants me to.

—Mayroon ka bang mga propesyonal na ipinagbabawal?

—I don't think so?

—Sino ang gusto mong makasama sa pagkuha ng larawan?

—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

—Ano ang ikinababahala mo, at bakit?

—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

—Ano ang pinakahanga-hangang pagkakataon sa iyong buhay?

—Giving birth to my babies

—Kung ikaw ay isang kartun, libro o karakter sa pelikula, sino ang gugustuhin mong maging at bakit?

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

—Sino ang nagbibigay inspirasyon sa iyong buhay at bakit?

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

—Paano mo binibigyang kahulugan ang tagumpay? Paano mo tinitimbang ito?

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

—Mas pipiliin mo bang magustuhan o nirerespeto?

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

—Ano ang pinakamalaking pagkakamali ang nagawa mo sa trabaho?

—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".

—Kapag ikaw ay naglalakbay, ano ang dinadala mo at bakit?

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

—Mayroon ka bang kahilingan na hindi mo pa nabibili maliban sa mga gadget na mayroon ka? Bakit?

—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.

—Paano mo tinuturuan ang sarili mo na kumuha ng mas magagandang mga larawan?

—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.

—Kaninong mga gawa ang may malaking nagimpluwensiya sa iyo bilang photographer?

—Showing up everyday to do it.

—Ano ang isang bagay na nais mong malaman noong nagumpisa ka sa pagkuha ng mga larawan?

—Patience.

—Ano ang nais mong sabihin sa iyong mga larawan?

—I want them to be evocative of the moment.

—Ano ang nag-uudyok sa iyo na ipagpatuloy ang pagkuha ng mga larawan?

—My pleasure in taking them.

—Ang iyong magulang ba ay dapat naging mas o hindi gaanong istrikto?

—Less strict.

—Kung maaari mong balikan ang nakaraan, ano ang babaguhin mo?

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

—Paano naman ang buhay sa ibang mga planeta?

—It's there probably?

—Sino ang iyong mga bayani?

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

—Kanino ka walang 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.

—Ano ang iyong ginagawa sa iyong bakanteng oras?

—Improv; Kitchen Dancing; Reading; Running

—Anong bahagi mo ang hindi nakikita ng publiko?

—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

—Kailan ka ganap na nasisiyahan sa iyong trabaho?

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

—Naniniwala ka ba sa tradisyunal na mga papel para mga sa lalaki at babae?

—No

—Mabilis ka ba makipagkaibigan?

—Yes

—Saan mo gustong manirahan?

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

—Ano ang pinakamangmang na bagay na sinang-ayunan mong gawin?

—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.

—Mayroon bang buhay pagkatapos ng kasal?

—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.

—Mayroon ka bang paboritong biro? Sabihin mo sa amin.

—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.

—Mahilig ka ba sa mga aso at pusa?

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

—Sino o ano ang iyong kinasusuklaman?

—Too complicated to answer.

—Ang pinakamahalagang bagay sa buhay ay:

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

—Ang pinakanakakainis na bagay sa buhay ay:

—noises like chewing?

—Mayroong ba sa iyong paligid na nais mong baguhin?

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

—Ano ang nais mong baguhin sa iyong sarili?

—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.

—Ano ang nais mong baguhin sa mundo?

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

—Maaari ka bang magbigay ng mga tip para sa mga photographer na nagsisimula pa lamang?

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

—Kung ang mga alien ay pumunta sa Earth at ikaw ang una nilang makikilala, ano ang sasabihin mo sakanila?

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

—Kung ikaw ay tatawagin upang mag-shoot ng pelikula, ano ang magiging kategorya nito?

—Romantic Drama (think The English Patient)

—Bukas ako pupunta at gagawa...

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