Photographer Interview: Abbie Warnock

Abbie Warnock is a Utah photographer with a very distinct style. She has earned several awards and has been published in publications as varied as AMERICAN PHOTO to Punk Rock Confidential.

She shoots incredible portraits and live concert photos, but it does not end there. Warnock recently released her first book. INITIUM, which is latin for "beginning", collects photos from her first five years of work in Salt Lake City, UT. On the eve of unleashing INITIUM she answered a few questions about working in photography.

What first attracted you to photography?

I had a teacher in high school that attracted me to it. He treated the classes as so much more than a high school art class, he showed me that it was not only a career option but a way to express myself and help other people express themselves through my lens.

How did you get started yourself? What was your first camera?

I'd been carrying around a cruddy little camera for most of my life, from 110 film snappers to 35mm point and shoots. When I progressed in my photos courses in high school, it came time I needed to have an SLR. My parents couldn't afford that kind of splurge right away, so I borrowed my uncle's Canon Elan II until my parents helped me out with a Canon Rebel 2000.

What photographers - well known or unknown - inspire you?

Annie Leibovitz has incredible lighting...I've adored her softbox location work since I very first got into photography. I like Annie's lighting, but it was Herb Ritts who made me want to photograph people. His photos not only made his subjects look like a million bucks, but his images were so personable. I could tell just by looking at his images that he was a friendly and awesome person, who put his subjects totally at ease and had a fun time with them. That was such a big thing for me. I think there are a lot of phony photographers out there right now, who treat their clients just like that-clients. Your subjects should want to be your friend by the end of their session, it should be a fun and awesome experience.

What equipment do you use? Is there a certain piece of gear you could not live without?

I find that I use my tripod a lot. I know that sounds like a lame answer, but it's true. I love shooting in low light/sunset scenes when I do outdoor portraits, and that takes a longer exposure at a low ISO to get the goods. I avoid image noise whenever possible.

Do you have any goals in mind with your photography?

Big budget published shoots with influential people that I admire, where location options are plentiful and creative ideas are welcome.

Do you shoot in film or digital? Do you prefer one over the other?

Digital. I learned on film and am so glad I did. Film teaches you the value of proper exposure, and taught me to shoot on Manual mode at all times. I love knowing how to have complete control over my exposure values.

What post-processing tools/software do you use? How much does that influence your photography?

CS3. I was taught the ways of the portrait retouching ninja when I was working at a wedding studio, and it's a skill I use and modify everyday. I think it's important to know post production and to want to learn it. If you want to stick to purist photography, that's fine, but at least know what's going on out there! Don't shoot naked photos out of ignorance and showcase it under the guise of "purist art."

How much into the "business" side of photography have you been into?

I can't lie, I'm a creative minded person, which means I suck at crunching numbers and marketing. Luckily, I have a wise friend who is a business whiz, and she is more than excited to help me start up my business, and I'm completely grateful to her for believing in me enough to want to help.

What was the process like putting your book together?

Choosing the photos that went in and the order that they were placed in took way longer than anticipated. I'm pretty anal about things like that. I designed wedding albums for about five years when I worked at a photography studio, and it taught me a lot about visual flow and moving from one image to another while still pleasing the eye. Consideration for everything from fashion to nature to music, to spreading out horizontal photos between vertical shots evenly, to color flow...it took about three months just to narrow down and do all of that.

I put the whole book together myself after getting the initial design down. I finished the theme in Chicago with two other people, and then had an editor go through and narrow down the shots and give me reasoning as to why they were getting cut. It's good to get feedback from a neutral party that will tell it to you straight.

What advice would you give new photographers?

Constantly shoot, be your own biggest critic, find your faults and learn from them, and nevermind the naysayers. Insecure photographers are the first to point out faults and call you awful, so just ignore them. It's mostly because they build themselves up by tearing others down, and you just need to tune them out.

Where can people see your photography?

www.abbiewarnock.com or www.myspace.com/photovixen. Buy the book at http://www.blurb.com/user/store/abbiewarnock.