Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Angelique Herring. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Angelique, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.
It really gets under my skin when people reflect on their time in school and see it as this huge hurdle they had to overcome. That, I think, is a failure of the school system. Learning doesn’t have to feel like that.
Fundamentally, I believe all people are born curious, not about all of the same things, of course, but everyone wants to know more about something. That’s their spark.
The goal of school, instead of focusing on passing tests that prove the ways we’re all the same, could be to teach us all how to follow our unique curiosities, how to research our passions, learn complex skills and show us how to use our skills and passions to make the communities and lives around us better.
I’d love to see school centered around the idea that you really can, and should, graduate and do something you love. I’d like to see a school system that encourages young people and older learners a like that the school subjects we learn can give us the power and knowledge to live a life driven by passion and curiosity and that you will be doing everyone around you a huge favor when you follow your bliss.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I grew up just outside of Baltimore, MD with a love for storytelling. As a kid, that mostly meant writing, though my parents got me a tape recorder when I was about six that I used to do little interviews with and by the time I was 10, I was on my way to falling in love with cameras.
When it was time to head off to college, my goal was to become the kind of triple threat that magazines and publishers would be interested in, a writer capable of wielding her camera for photo and video as well. During a hurricane evacuation my junior year of college, I took my camera with me to continue shooting photos and videos for the classes I was in that semester. During that two week period, I realized my love for traveling and telling stories and haven’t been able to shake that bug since.
I started my content studio shortly after and began taking in clients for headshots and portraits while I finished up my degrees in Interdisciplinary Arts and Communication. After school I worked as a photojournalist at the Tampa Bay Times, a pre-school photographer at Lifetouch and now, a digital content producer at NASA, all while managing my studio and gathering more clients interested in creating compelling and authentic imagery of their work, their products and themselves.
Recently one of my favorite clients has been the camping site Hipcamp, which has allowed me to stay at beautiful campsites all around the country using my camera to capture the campsites and encourage others to get outside. That has felt a lot like a dream come true.
I’ve been able to work with other outdoor clients like Jackery, a solar power station brand, to capture images and photos of their products out in the field, which feels like another dream come true.
Getting to use outdoor products and resources and show people how incredible getting outside is has becomes a big part of my ethos as a creative. It’s especially fun for me because as a one stop studio, I’m happily the filmmaker, photographer, model and editor. As a young, afro Latina, the representation I get to infuse my work with excites me. Not only do I get to make this beautiful content, but I get to show other little black and brown girls that they can explore the world around them, too.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is helping people to see the world through a more aesthetic lens. Making photographs and films allows me to show people the world from my point of view: a perspective that’s sensitive to color, humbled by light and excited by those moments when color, light and shape all come together to create that feeling of heaven on earth. Life is beautiful and I love getting to remind people of that.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I didn’t get to be as wild as I wanted to be when I was a kid. I always wanted to be outside, climbing trees, camping, or exploring in the woods. For me, my creative journey, is my way of fulfilling a personal promise to my younger self: to see the world and all that’s in it.
I’m also driven to encourage other people to get out and explore, too. Representation is huge, so, I want to be an example of someone doing what they love, getting outside, and living life to the fullest, to remind the people around me that it’s possible for them and their children to do that as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.angeliqueherringstudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whereisangelique?igsh=MTg1bjQxbWN1Zzl0OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelique-h-322b6788?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Other: https://angeliqueherring.com/
Image Credits
Angelique Herring