Portraits, Paul Andrews, and the Petzval

Paul Andrews is a professional photographer who resides in Kansas City. His expertise cover portraiture, commercial advertising, editorial, and lifestyle photography. Catch a glimpse of the remarkable portraits he took using the Petzval and check out the great advice he gives to budding photographers out there!

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into photography.

I got into photography, like many people, back in high school. I found out our school had a darkroom and I was interested in knowing more about it. A friend of mine showed me how the process worked and I was hooked the first time I saw a picture emerge on the paper under the chemicals. It’s all I have ever wanted to do since that day. I continued with photography on into college and have now been a professional photographer in Kansas City, Missouri for about 15 years now

What did you think about the Petzval?

I first saw the Lomography Petzval lens during their Kickstarter campaign. As soon as I saw it I had to have one. It’s a tricky lens to get the hang of, I love shooting with it but I still don’t feel like I have fully unlocked its potential. It isn’t right for every situation and if you try to force it it doesn’t work, at least in my experience. But when it does, it’s incredible!

Do you normally shoot analogue or digital? Why?

I don’t get a chance to shoot with film very much these days. I grew up in the darkroom and I really miss the hands-on analogue process. I still have all my old darkroom equipment and one of these days I hope to build a darkroom again but it sadly doesn’t serve much purpose in the world of commercial photography.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I photograph people primarily and I personally find portraiture one of the most engaging types of photography. It’s one of the reasons I love shooting with the Petzval; In my mind it’s fundamentally a portrait lens. It has such a unique look that it gives portraits a timeless quality that no other lens or post processing technique can achieve.

What advice would you give to other young photographers out there?

- Shoot, and shoot a lot. There is always more to learn and the best way to do that is to get behind the camera.
- Gear doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t matter what kind of camera you have or what brand of gear you use, just get out there and start shooting. The more you shoot the more you can start to ‘see’ photographically. Your camera is a tool and shouldn’t get in the way of making images.
- Find out where you passions lay. Whatever type or style of photography you want to do the most just go start doing it. After enough time has passed it will just become what you do and what you are known for.

What do you love to do beyond photography?

Running my photography business and teaching photography really eats up a lot of my time so there is little room for much else for me. That said I play drums in a few bands and I have a 100+ year-old house I am restoring with my wife.

What does you creative process look like?

At the beginning of 2014 I embarked on a portrait-a-day project for the year so my creative process is pretty fast and loose. I usually go into a shoot with a loose plan of a look or mood or a lighting technique I’d like to try but I am very fluid and will ditch a plan and move onto something else if I see something better or if my original concept isn’t working. Shooting a new portrait each day can be pretty challenging, from scheduling to shoot to editing. I have to be very conscious of what I am doing to avoid falling into stagnant patterns and staying fresh.

You can keep tabs on Paul’s photographic journey on his website.

written by mindofmyra on 2014-10-13 #people #nyc #portraits #new-york-city #lomoamigo #petzval #paul-andrews