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

Hi Briana, thanks for joining us today. 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.

I’ve learned photography and the business of photography through self-directed online education (shout out to LinkedIn Learning and YouTube), the advice of photographers in my area, and practice. I’m still learning, absolutely.

To speed up my learning, I’d have shot in manual mode sooner. I wasted lots of pixels because my shutter speed was too slow. Turns out, if you’re already shooting in aperture priority, manual ain’t even hard. One of the foibles of self-directed learning: self-directed avoiding an essential skill.

The essential skills of photography are composition and understanding your gear. I’ve seen lots of good photography by folks who aren’t gear heads, and I’ve never seen good work by someone who obsesses over gear alone.

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?

Hey, I’m Briana Woods. I’ve always been a shutterbug, but I wouldn’t call myself a photographer until 2022. During the pandemic I began to learn photography in earnest. I watched photography courses on LinkedIn Learning and went on photo walks several times a week. If you post enough photos, eventually someone you know will think you’re ready for a (low cost) engagement session, even if most of your photos are of trash cans at golden hour.

I currently offer couple, family, branding, and wedding photography. I’m inspired by highly styled images, and raw, honest portraits. Creating a space for real moments of connection, that’s what it’s about. If the kids wont sit still? If the couple is shy? Perfect.

I haven’t abandoned my golden hour trash cans, either. Photography is art, and I don’t want my practice of it to become static, ever. I love change.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I may have pissed off a few guests at the first wedding I’d ever shot.

The couple requested documentary coverage of their wedding and ya girl would love to be a badass documentary wedding photography. Because I was accustomed to shooting small groups of people who trusted my expertise, I was surprised and frustrated when guests repeatedly asked me for grip and grin photos. I took the photos, but also said that the couple requested candid images. But requests kept coming from the same guests. I was worried I wasn’t getting the images the couple wanted. The worst moment came at the end of cocktail hour. The guests, on their own, formed a posed image of at least twenty people, three rows deep. I was photographing the guests photographing the group of twenty people when I was asked to photograph the posed group myself. I was frustrated and, when I snapped the photo of the group, I could barely look at them and barely framed the shot. I was hired up until the end of cocktail hour, so I left not long after the group shot debacle. If it’s possible to cringe oneself to death, I would have done so in my car on my way home.

I apologized to the couple the next day and offered them a complementary session. Luckily, they said they weren’t unhappy with my service. I reached out to wedding photographers in-person and online to get their take on how they’d handle a similar situation. Some said take the shots because it’s so little effort. Others said stick to the documentary plan. I don’t know if there is one right way to handle this conundrum, but I DO know that maintaining one’s cool and openness is crucial. In the following weddings I have shot, my number one goal was to provide an upbeat, positive experience. Yes, I’ll take the grip and grins! I’ll even suggest it. I’ll also make sure that we move into the best light and get some badass documentary shots, too.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

A universal basic income! That’s pie-in-the-sky, but I love pie and I love the sky.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bwoodsphoto.com
• Instagram: @bri.bot (street photography, mostly) + @b.woodsphoto (retail portait photography)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084214032229
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briana-woods-raleigh/
• Other: https://waltermagazine.com/current-issue/street-views-of-raleigh/