We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natalie Fields a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Natalie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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 started photographing as a kid. I loved taking images and was extremely fortunate to travel to various countries which always gave me beautiful scenery to photograph. Being a hobby and passion for a long time, I improved my skills by watching tutorial videos, reading books, and enrolling in a few classes in college. I fell into photography at a professional level by chance and at that point, I decided I wanted to get my Masters in Photography. I enrolled at The Academy of Art University and finished my MFA in December 2022, where I focused on documentary photography. I think time to get into the field and shoot is one of the biggest obstacles for me. I was trying to improve and hone my skills while still having to work a full-time job. Like anything, the more time you can spend practicing your art the faster you will improve.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am originally from Barbados and have been lucky to see various countries in the world. I am absolutely fascinated by travel and culture. I started photography professionally by chance. I started second shooting at weddings with a friend of mine and before I knew it, I was being called or referred to shoot various events gaining my own clientele and reputation. I still shoot events and weddings but have started to shift to more of a documentary role in my photography. As much as I love sharing clients’ big day, I have a passion to share places, cultures, and landscapes with everyone. I went to graduate school for Photography and realized that I wanted to spend more time in the documentary fine art realm. I am currently working on changing that model and am working to have my work in galleries and prints for sale in the near future.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Having the skillset to capture an image that is not just a pretty picture but being able to photograph an image that is powerful and engaging is really rewarding. Anyone can take an image, and the basic skill set for composing an image is easily learned. However, having the skills to combine the natural eye, technical skills, and share a story through your camera is an artist.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During my first few semesters of graduate school, I struggled to capture imagery that I was interested in. I was very used to shooting weddings or taking images that inspired me and now I had limitations; subject matter that would not be my usual interest. Week after week my professors would say your work is good but it could be better. I was becoming very discouraged and started thinking I had made the wrong choice. After about a year and a half, all of the concepts and ideas we had been working on started to come together for me and I started finding my signature in my photography. Needless to say after a three-year program my photography had improved immensely and my work had more depth. It also started to allow me to love photography again for the art and not just for the paycheck.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nataliefields.com
• Instagram: @nataliefieldsphotography @fieldinghorizons

Image Credits
Natalie Fields Photography