_{Also find this story in my dA Journal: [link]}
Ladies and gentlemen! I have known Alyssa Schroeder since October 2006. Ever since then she did not cease to amaze me with her unique spirit and her refusal to slow down in her conquest of photographic knowledge. I can say with clear conscience that Alyssa is one of the most determined photographers, if not people, that I know.

This is one of the reasons why I find it necesary to not deprive the rest of the deviantART community from knowing her . So here I go introducing her to those of you who do not already know her and enjoy her most excellent artwork.

Questions:

1 Alyssa, tell us what kind of photography you post on dA and how did you get into it? (as in timeline)
I got immersed into photography upon buying my first digital camera an Olympus D-575 about three years ago. When I started out I mainly photographed flowers and landscapes. Roughly a year later, I used all my money to buy a Canon S3 IS, that marks the time when I started some experimental work with taking self-portraits and portraits of my brothers. The, ability to capture so many different sorts of emotions really drew me to portrait photography. I still enjoy photographing flowers and landscapes, just not as much as portraits. If I had a car, I could get around and take more landscapes. I more frequently photographed flowers which are easier since my mom is a great gardener and grows my favourites for me to photograph.


2 Which is your favourite type of photography?
As I've said above, I enjoy landscapes and floral photography, but I'm most in love with portraits -- particularly closeups that focus on the eyes and show lots of emotion. I also love bokehs!

3 Which is your favourite style of editing?
I don't think I have a favourite. Every photo requires a unique style of editing. Generally I am a fan of vignettes and toned black and whites. I like natural looking clean edits. The type that really enhance and bring out the best in the photo so you don't notice it's edited, you just love the photo.

4 What do you get inspired by for your art?
So many things!

Music. I occasionally listen to it while taking self-portraits and photographing nature. I am almost always listening to music while retouching my photos. I really like listening to soundtracks, some favourites are Pirates of the Caribbean III (anything really from Hans Zimmer), The Village, Amelie and Atonement. Other artists include One Republic, Lifehouse, Michael Buble, Josh Groban.

Viewing the artwork of others, not necessarily photographers.

Some people on dA include ~PicTd =timeodd *proverbios31 =chirilas *iKate ~justina-m ~frida-vl `achfoo. There's so many more, but I'll stop here. Please check these talented artists that inspire me.

I think I am most inspired knowing that with more experience, work and practice I will always improve and this really drives me.

5 Are there any deviants or other people who inspire you or have helped you along the way (that you might want to mention, thank and/or feature now )?
First and foremost I would like to thank God for blessing me with my abilities and gifting me with photography!

The first person to really help me out with photography was my high school photo club leader when I was in grade 11-12. He was no easy critiquer. I would show him 20 photos, and he would very quickly eliminate my photos till there was one or two left. He taught me things like composition and the law of thirds. I really appreciate his honest critiques and encouragement, he helped me improve so fast!

I also owe a huge thank you to you! (=chirilas) I cannot explain what a huge encouragement you have been to me Stefan. Whenever I start to feel down about my work or less confident, you're always there to reassure and encourage me. Thank you for helping me to think positively and always reminding me to care less about pleasing others with my photography, and more about really making it my own art. Thank you for so generously borrowing me your Rebel XT SLR for, almost a year now! It has helped me an insane amount! Thanks for building my website template, journal features, editing tips and a billion other things I'm probably missing! There are really too many things to thank you for! I appreciate your support so much, means everything to me.

Some other deviants who really encourage and help me out. Thank you so much!
~PicTd =thetopcrusader *finkycake *godscapes *somadjinn *Wessonnative ~Air-557 ~Khaiya *Windsfantasy

Some of my watchers who have encouraged me from the beginning:

=timeodd ~Cristosea ~shiftis ~stewmac ~Grae-J *andras120 =mrcool256

6 Do you see photography as a potential career path for you?
Yes, I am just starting out with my career in photography. I am still working on a website... well more like procrastinating I guess. I plan to establish myself and make my entire income from photography eventually.

7 What are some interesting random facts about you?

Hmm, well I am short, 5 feet tall. Oh, and half an inch.

I love chewy chocolate chip cookies and cookie dough ice cream!

I am addicted to ice tea.

I am in love!

8 How do you see deviantART? (honesty is appreciated, don't be too harsh though )
Well, I will be honest, looking at the popular deviations on front page is somewhat frustrating at times. Often there are the same sort of things, cute snapshots... among other things, I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about. This is not a big thing for me though, I just don't spend much time on the front page. I really admire and appreciate the community that dA has. You can really form great friendships here. I have started a flickr account as well and I don't even get half the support there. DeviantART has a variety of ways for users to interact, journals, chat rooms, etc. It's a lot easier to keep in touch with your contacts. I also love the variety of artwork that is respected on dA. The amount of help and support I have received from dA is incredible. I will definately be on dA for many years to come!

9 Since I have met you on dA the first time, I noticed how you have slightly moved from nature photography towards portraits. Any chances we might see more nature shots from you anytime soon?
Of course! I just don't get out much without a car. I usually just visit close by parks. In Fall, I usually tend to take a lot more landscape photos.


10 Any encouraging words for the young beginning photographers out there who read this? (perhaps about cameras, brands, techniques)
Ask for, accept and appreciate critique from photographers/artists of whose work you admire.

Another thing, it's hard to do and I fail at it sometimes too, but try not to be discouraged about all the professional cameras, lenses and equipment out there.

I took the following photos with my Olympus D-575 point and shoot on macro mode. The first photo, "Yellow Rose" has earned me over 100 s. Keep in mind it only has 3.2 megapixels and at the time cost me around $300, now the equivalent camera (and better) would be under $200!



Composition, and use of light and colour can really be learned on any camera and lens.

11 Can you divulge (give away ) any interesting technique you have learned throughout your photographer's career?
Hmm.. only if you pay me. I expect payment for this.

How a photographer uses light is crucial to creating a great photo. Personally, I prefer natural light, 95% of my gallery is natural lighting. Starting out with photography, I always thought sunny days had wonderful lighting, but I later learned partial cloudy/overcast lighting was the ideal light, particularly for portraits and macros. Colours come out more saturated and you eliminate harsh shadows. There are also the golden hours, before sunrise and sunset where the light is very warm and the shadows are very long. My favourite type of lighting would be a combination of the two, cloudy with gentle diffused golden light.

Another more specific tip, that I notice a lot and I had to/am working on this too.. is watching your photo background. So many times there are "hot spots" or distracting lines or objects. Even if you have achieved a nice bokeh (blurry background) these things are still distracting. A background with one solid colour works very nicely I find.



Try to keep the background simple and making sure your photo subject is obvious. Generally, people should never have to ask themselves "What is this a photo of?" It's a very good practice to ask yourself "Why am I taking this photo? What do I want to show through this photo? What is this photo's purpose?" Sometimes it is to show texture, emotion, colour, symmetry, tell a story, etc.</div>

12 What is/are your favourite colour(s )? Why?
<div class="pullquote">Blue, it can represent so many moods and is just beautiful! I also like the freshness and life of green too, it was my favourite as a child.

13 What are your favorite movies and why?

Pirates of the Caribbean, it's just so fun, amazing actors and incredible music!

Les Miserables (1998), I love the themes and meaning, great cinematography too and of course the music!

The Village, so much meaning in this one that is overlooked, beautiful gentle music too.

14 What are your favorite actors?
Johnny Depp, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Sandra Bullock

15 Are you single or dating?
I am dating the most wonderful guy in the world who is interviewing me.

Thank you so much for your time Alyssa and we hope to hear from you soon!

Interview Feature
by:


Wedding and Engagement Photography

Nature and wildlife photography

Personal Portraits

Black and White art

Children's portraits