Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rita Anthony. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rita, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My photographic journey started as a love of taking photos everywhere I would go. Back then it was film and you would take a picture and have to wait until the roll was full and take the film to be developed and hope that they turned out ok. Now 99% of photographers and enthusiasts use digital, whether it is a DSLR or a phone you have an opportunity to see the image immediately and retake the photo if it didn’t turn out.

When I started with a digital camera I would look at other photographers work and would read everything about different styles of photography, and I made the mistake of thinking I needed every type of lens and filter and gadget to get the same shots and I wasted a lot of money on purchases that I realized weren’t helping. What I needed to do was learn my camera and lenses and what they can and cannot do, and learn the camera settings required to get the shot I envisioned.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My inspiration to become a professional photographer was my lifelong love for photography. My preference in this medium is landscape, cityscape and architecture. With the styles of photography that I enjoy you can take the same picture in the same location every day and have a different result because of lighting, time of day, etc. and also the photographer’s vision for the end result.

On the road to becoming a professional photographer I was hindered with having a fulltime career that kept me from doing what I truly wanted to do which was photography. I retired from my fulltime career in July of 2024 and have now focused on doing more art shows in the Chicagoland area and the Midwest. Even though it is “work” preparing for each show, setting up the day before the show and breaking everything down at the end of the show I enjoy meeting everyone that comes into my booth during the show, whether they make a purchase or not, I know that it is my work that made them stop and spend time in my booth looking around.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

What I would like someone who is non-creative to understand about the journey as a creative is we are doing what we love and hope that you enjoy seeing our work and consider purchasing artwork from an individual and not a store. When you buy artwork from a person you are supporting their business and their growth as an artist. Anyone can go to a chain store and purchase a print to frame or a mass-produced painting but will have something that potentially millions of others have hanging in their home. Your home is a reflection of you and your style, and your artwork should be as well.

For creatives just starting out my advice is to follow your path and do not compare your work to others only compare your work to the artist you were when you first started out.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is sharing my work with others, when someone purchases my work to hang in their home that is the most rewarding. You can shop at stores or from other artists but when someone purchases a print of mine it is testament to me that I am on the right path.

Contact Info:

• Website: ritaanthony.photography
• Instagram: rka62
• Facebook: Rita Anthony Photography