Her vision is parallel to art, Beth Parnaby has got amazing talent in surprising us with some of the most beautiful and arresting self-portraits. These portraits are meaningful and guides the viewer into her own world. Natural lighting with minimal gear above all loads of imagination is what she calls the ingredients for a beautiful portrait.
Go through this brief interview as Beth speaks much about her thought process, inspirations and shares us few good advice too. It is quite unbelievable for us as we start appreciating these self-portraits coming from a humble 18 year old.
Meet Beth Parnaby a beautiful artist..
Few words about you?
My name is Beth Parnaby and I’m eighteen years old from England, UK. I’ve been photographing for maybe four years or so and since I started I’ve never really stopped. I like to create.
What made you choose portrait photography & how would you describe your style?
I think everything goes back to when I was young and my mother had always been an artist in her own right with painting and helping me make my own messes when I was a child, because, after that I was the one who became solely interested in creating things. It started with arts and crafts until I progressed to drawing/painting portraits and then moved forward into photography.
I become taken in by the person or people and create a world within the photograph where the subject is the main focus. I’m not entirely sure if there is a specific ‘why’ to being interested in portrait photography other than because I find people, male or female, incredibly fascinating. As for my style, I really enjoy working where there are parallels, symmetry and lines as well as in natural lighting.
How do you achieve this stellar mood in your portraits?
Stellar? haha I’ve never heard my work being described as stellar before. I really don’t know. Natural lighting, environments (weather, location), my moods and my emotions tend to get my images to what they are when they are finalized and uploaded.
Although, this, which may also add to the mood in them, is that i rarely completely alter my images from their originals. I like to keep them simple. My post processing is slight and minimal, not a tonne, so they ultimately are what they were just with a little bit of a kick.
Your Inspiration?
Whenever i’m asked this I am certain that I always give a different answer but I guess that’s because there’s no definitive or singular thing that is inspiration. Recently, I like the weather and the sky and quiet places. Anything, really.
Your gear?
I shoot with a Canon 550D and nearly always with my 50mm lens. As well as my tripod and remote which stick with me through thick and thin. Literally.
How do you conceive an idea and transform it into a photograph?
It’s funny. Sometimes, I just go out and let myself fall into being somewhere where I want to create something but have no other thoughts other than that and just see where I end up. Other times, I go to a place and something clicks and i’m ready for anything with either a bundle of ideas or a single one which I absolutely without hesitation have to create and don’t shoot anything other than that image; alternatively, i will have seen somewhere and instantly had an idea come to me so i go back to that place and shoot it.
So, really, I don’t have a set method of doing it. Although, I have found myself inadvertently planning before, too, where I’ve looked up for specific props or locations. (I am seriously ALWAYS looking for props, locations, dresses, something glittery, wigs, and so on. Seriously. I don’t go ‘clothes shopping’ i go ‘prowling-around-the-shops-to-see-if-anything-will-work-in-a-photograph’-ing).
Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity, Few words of advice for aspiring photographers?
Thank you! It’s been fun putting into words my thoughts about my work. For aspiring photographers I would just say go for it. Enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy, if you keep at it and find yourself getting into a rhythm where you discover what your favourite angles, locations, colour schemes, etc, are in photographs, push further until you have an image that you can say ‘hey. i actually did it.’
Ah, and probably not to go out just before a storm is going to come crashing down on you without a tested AND proven-to-work method of keeping your camera dry. That get’s really scary and reviving your camera is something I, personally, am hoping to never have to go through again
You can find Beth Parnaby on the Web:
Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted to Beth Parnaby. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
