We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Annie Schutz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Annie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
From my parents for sure. They’ve been through it, through it all, and I watched them always get to the other side of any problem without it ever bleeding into my childhood. You wouldn’t even know it, but I could see and always appreciated how hard they worked. I just remind myself that I can get through anything, especially with the support system I have, the only person that can ever hold me back is myself.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a fulltime photographer, videographer, producer, just all around digital creator. I work in sports and music, right down I feel like I’m just completing side quests, collaborating with my favorite brands and shooting with artists I love.
I’m always freelancing, along side my fulltime job as a producer/editor, so I’m always looking for opportunities to create in spaces that encourage diversity, community, and art.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
In no specific order, 1. Communication
2. Researching
3. Film Theory
For me, in a broad sense, communication and research go hand in hand, especially if you’re a freelancer. Get comfortable sending cold emails, answering calls, introducing yourself, going to networking events, knowing who’s-who, learn how to find an agent, manager, publicist etc.
Film is maybe a preference, I went to film school and it heavily influences my photo editing, composition, storytelling etc. I always say I want my photos to look like a still in a movie, that’s how I do it.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
Definitely portraiture! I’ve only started taking portraits seriously this past year, mostly because I’ve never felt comfortable telling people what to do in front of a camera, never had a good understanding of posing and such, but I’m learning and I’m seeing the improvements in real time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.annieschutz.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annieschutz/
- Linkedin: https://annieschutzphoto.darkroom.tech/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/annieshoots_
