Your Name: Angie
Dornier
Your studio/business
name: AnnGeeDee Photography
Location: Houston, TX
Website:
www.anngeedee.com
Instagram/ Flickr: anngeedee
Your Style
In 50 words or less,
how would your clients describe your photography? I would hope that my clients would describe my photography
as an artistic perspective on the scene before me. I enjoy capturing unscripted story-telling moments rather
than posed portraits.
Are you self-taught or
classroom trained? A combination
of both. I have spent my fair
share of hours sitting in a classroom and I am currently taking an advanced
photography class through the Studio School at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. I've also done several self-study
projects including researching photographers and a 365 project. I've checked out and read countless
books and I love learning new techniques for shooting. I'm currently trying to work more with
an off-camera flash setup.
How many years have
you been a professional photographer?
I officially became "for hire" very recently- November
2011.
Where do you want to
take your photography business in 5 years? I'd like to have several repeat portrait clients and I'd also
like to have my artwork displayed in a gallery.
Is there a
photographer who inspires your style? Who would that be? I have several photographers that I
admire: Elliot Erwitt, Irving
Penn, Helmut Newton, John Baldessari and I'm reading about new ones every week.
Favorite location to
take photos? You will most
commonly find me taking pictures around my neighborhood, either crouched down
low or laying on my belly. My
neighbors are used to it now.
Favorite vacation
spot? Anywhere with a beach.
Your Business
What was the pivotal
moment when you decided to become a photographer? I was working on a 365
project in 2010. I am easily
distracted and get bored with projects often before I finish them, so I was
delighted to discover that not only was taking a picture each day fun and
challenging, I never got bored with it.
At that point, I knew I had stumbled upon something profound in my life.
What’s the best
marketing tip that has worked for you?
Carrying my camera around everywhere I go. It is an instant ice breaker.
What’s the most
surprising thing a customer has asked you? Not really a customer, but another parent on my son's soccer
team asked me casually to email all the pictures I'd taken of the team that
season to him individually because he couldn't figure out how to the view the
larger size images on the team's website.
Favorite print lab?
Bay Photo for customers, Costco for my casual stuff
Your Gear
Are you Canon or Nikon
(or –other): Canon, but only
because that's what I started with.
I have used Nikon gear on occasion and it's great too.
If you could only have
one lens on a photo shoot, what would it be? I would choose my 70-200 mm 2.8 lens. I like close framed shots of people but
find it hard to get genuine facial reactions when I'm all up in their
business. The longer focal length
allows some breathing room between us.
Plus, it's a perfect lens to catch my children unaware since they
sometimes cheese it up when they see me get out the camera.
What brand bag do you
carry your camera in? I love my
Ginger Epiphanie bag. I regularly
get compliments on my "purse" when I have it with me.
What gear would we
find in your camera bag? My camera
(Canon 5D), either a wide angle lens or my zoom (usually not both, because it
gets pretty heavy) my flash, and my 50mm compact macro lens. In the side pockets, my iphone, my
remote, extra batteries, business cards, lipgloss and mints. Oh, and a pocket lens cloth. For some reason, kids love to touch the
front of my lenses.
Are you a natural
light fan or strobe fan? I like
both. I really like how off-camera
flash helps give shape to a portrait, but I'm not as proficient with it as I'd
like to be yet.
Are you PC or Mac? PC
Your Tips and Tricks
What post processing
tools do you use? I currently use Lightroom 3 and Photoshop Elements 9. But I love Picassa too, especially for
the ability to email photos directly through it.
Do you shoot in Raw or
Jpeg? I shoot in jpeg most of the time to save space and time at the moment,
but I've been considering shooting RAW more often.
Best advice you would
give your 20-year old self? Adventure
more and compare less.
Best advice you would give a new photographer? You don't have to have the latest and greatest gear to get amazing shots. You just have to know what to do with what you've got.
What site do you use
for your photography and why? I use Flickr for most of my photography right now
because it's a one stop shop. I
can connect with peers, find inspiration and showcase my work to friends and
family easily.
What Else Should We
Know?
What was your worst
photography experience? The
shutter mechanism on my first SLR camera stopped working 3 weeks before my 2nd
child was born. I was
panicked! Luckily, my husband used
the opportunity to upgrade my camera.
What would surprise
people most about you, whether it is photography related or not? I'm a total extrovert personality but I
am actually a pretty private person.
Sometimes I find it difficult to share images that are very personal to
me for fear of divulging too much about myself.
Tell us something else
you’d like us to know: I would really like to teach more. I have hosted a "Cameras &
Cocktails" party in the past and it was a wonderful way to interact with
local moms who have great cameras and great ideas, but lack the technical
expertise to connect the two together.
I find that hands-on, low pressure situations are great for getting
people comfortable with their cameras.
And just because we
want to know you better, fill in the blanks
Three things I can’t
live without…. my husband, my
family, and coffee
I wish I had more…..
hours in the day without sacrificing sleep
The best thing about
being a photographer is… getting to notice all the beautiful things in our everyday
lives
The most important
lesson I ever learned was…. luck comes to those who are prepared.
My favorite time of
day is… early morning before the rest of the world gets going. It is peaceful, the light is gorgeous,
and I feel great the rest of the day knowing that I spent the first part of it
doing something creative and meaningful just for me.
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