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Fine art finesse - part 1 of 1 2

Published 01/11/2012

By Raven Mathis

By applying her fine art style to portrait shoots and one-of-a-kind weddings Raven Mathis has built herself a great reputation and she's now looking to spread her wings and to find some international commissions.

We all know the feeling: the frustration of seeing work that we know could have been done better and wishing perhaps that we might have had the opportunity to do it ourselves. Kentucky-based Raven Mathis knows all about that particular urge, and it's one that she used to experience regularly during her days as a graphic designer, when she would regularly encounter images that she needed to use in a design that simply weren't up to scratch.

"I'd always had an interest in photography," she says, "so even though I was working in graphic design I was often inspired to pick up a camera to shoot pictures for my own pleasure. As part of my job I was endlessly correcting other people's images and eventually I thought to myself that if I was grumbling so much about putting sub-par images in my designs for holiday cards, I should actually do something about it. I've always been a doer whenever a problem has arisen, so I picked up a camera slowly but surely and have been at it ever since."

In some ways it benefitted Raven coming into the business a little later than some because it gave her an opportunity to think about her own style, and from the outset of her professional career she determined to create her own look and not to follow the crowd.

"I tend to be more laid back than most wedding photographers," she says. "I'm also naturally drawn to quirky and unconventional couples. I've learned from my own great mentors to be a shooter who not only captures the action but is prepared to shoot the reaction as well. That's the thing that I believe sets me apart from many of my peers in my town and, as fine art documentary-style family and wedding photographer, I focus on stunning portraits and beautiful one-of-a-kind weddings."

At the moment Raven is delighted by the way her photographic career has been going and, looking ahead, she's got some big ideas regarding where she would like to see herself heading in the future. "The next big challenge I would love to tackle is shooting weddings internationally," she says. "I adore the couples who have the faith in me to 'kidnap' me to other parts of the country to shoot their events or portraits. I'm just looking for that next big leap across the pond and hope it comes sooner rather than later."

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1st Published 01/11/2012
last update 09/12/2022 14:54:16

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