Stephanie Geddes
Stephanie Geddes
Photographer/Co-Founder of Bird
Brooklyn, NY
www.stephaniegeddes.com
instagram @stephgeddes
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“Photography, specifically portraits of people in their personal environments … work, home, on the street!”
I love to capture people as honestly as I can, while still portraying them as their best selves. I also dabble in more editorial style imagery, and would love to explore that side of things more.
I am the co-founder of a digital publication called Bird, that features a weekly long form interview with a badass successful woman in New York or Los Angles. Sharing women’s stories, interviewing them, and taking their portraits is one of my favorite things to do.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (many moons ago), I worked as a studio manager in Sydney before moving to New York to produce shoots for my mom, photographer Anne Geddes. Being able to create the environment needed to produce beautiful high production photographs gave me a great understanding of both the business side of things, as well as the team work needed to make a set run.
All the while I’ve been continuing to shoot my own work, which lead to my co-founding Bird. Meeting women for the first time, interviewing them, and shooting their portraits within a short space of time has been both fascinating, insightful and a great place to further develop my photographic skills.
FOR OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR FIELD, WHAT DO THEY USUALLY LACK?
Perhaps the ability to understand where the person on the other side of the camera is coming from. It’s so important to maintain your personal vision as a photographer, but it’s also integral to take at least a little time to get to know the person you are photographing. This can apply to building new business relationships as well. So much of getting your foot in the door is really putting yourself out there and it can be incredibly scary. If you’re fortunate enough to be on the other side of things and people are reaching out to you now, remember what it felt like to be on the other side.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I’m currently producing a private portrait commission for a photographer, I will be traveling to Florida to oversee production, budget and crew.
I’m also working with my Bird co-founder to figure out how we can take the site to the next level. I think in the current political climate, it’s become even more important to share stories of women from all walks of life, and to celebrate success in whatever form it takes.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
If somebody described my work as honest and beautiful, my heart would burst. I want my photography to capture whoever is in front of the camera in a very real way, while bringing the beauty of the environment or the person to the forefront. At this stage in my career I’m still hustling to get to the point where I can pick and choose projects that speak to me stylistically, but until that happens I love the challenges put forth in creating photography under many different circumstances. Stylistically the favorite photos I’ve taken are truthful, softly lit, emotionally honest and visually spacious.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
Taking photos! I think this is the answer any photographer would give right? The hustle, making connections, updating websites, editing, taking non-photographic paid work to pay the bills can take up a lot of time!
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
To be honest, not knowing what to do next. There isn’t a rule book to becoming a successful creative, everyone’s path is so different. I wish I knew the exact steps I could take to reach the next level in my work.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
I would love to have someone craft individual, thoughtful emails to editors and publishers, this is something that takes up a fair bit of time.
My initial answer though was vacuuming. Dust on the floor is a completely ridiculous thing to worry about, yet I’m thinking about it right now …
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I would go back to when I graduated university and as cheesy as it sounds say “you can do it, start now!” I spent too much time convincing myself that other people were so much better than me, that they had more experience, or had more natural talent. It’s something I still struggle with, but I wish I hadn’t waited so long to get enough confidence to put myself out there.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
I always love speaking to anybody who has made their creative passion their full-time job. I want to hear their stories, and learn about their failures, successes, and the steps they took.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I’m looking for freelance photography assignments. I’d love to grow my portrait portfolio, and play with more editorial style portraiture. I would love to collaborate with a team to create more stylistically complex imagery.
I’m also interested in exploring content creation, working with brands to create a visually cohesive story that they can use to progress their brands visual identity online.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
My ideal job would be to collaborate with team to create a portrait series that is both visually striking, honest and beautiful. Dream time – I would love to freelance to a variety of publications capturing the interview subjects they are featuring.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
This is a tough one to answer without speaking with the client first. Depending on the job I can offer, half day, full day rates, or a flat rate for a project.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Shoot me an email at stephanie@geddes-group.com with a little bit about yourself, your brand, the project/concept and a rough idea of the budget. We can set a time to chat in more detail after that!
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Nature, a good book, and no iPhone.
This member profile was originally published in June 2017.