Jade Lisa Photography

I’ve decided to start a new feature on my blog to brighten up those Monday mornings… (hopefully) every now and then on a Monday I will be posting a little 60-second interview with a photographer that inspires me, to show an insight into their work and to find out more about the person behind the pictures.

I wanted to do this not only to show where I draw my photographic inspiration from, but to also inspire those out there who want to learn more about photography and to showcase what great talent exists in the photography world.

This isn’t going to be limited to wedding photography, so I hope it’s enjoyable to everyone!

Kicking off the first post is Canadian-based photographer Matt Parsons, a dear friend of mine from university and a very talented photographer indeed. Enjoy!

I’m Matt and I’m a 34-year-old Englishman living in Canada, a dedicated geek, artist and photography graduate who is passionate about imagery as a form of expression and communication.

What has been the most memorable assignment/project you have photographed and why?

The one project that allowed me to grow as a person and photographer was documenting myself for a whole year as part of the ‘365 Days’ project.

I thought why would anyone ever want to look at 365 images of myself? Then I decided to use this opportunity to explore myself and portray sides of my personality even my family and friends never knew existed. Thus opening the question of who is Matt and when is he playing up to the camera or revealing his true colours?

What do you love most about photography?

I just want to create images that people can relate to on their own level. I don’t want to strongly influence their understanding of my work and whatever they take from it makes me happy. Hopefully I entertained them a little, making them think, even if it’s only for a few seconds and then I feel I’ve achieved something.

What’s the best photography lesson anyone gave you?

I don’t recall who it was but it came from one of my peers at University. They told me to stick to my guns and shoot whatever I feel like because my lecturers often tried to enforce their ideas, which was not always in my best interest but more for them.

Name one picture that made you say “I wish I could take a photo like that”?

I’m not sure I can name one single image but I know what series amazes me still to this day. My love for cinematic imagery/film stills are a constant theme through Gregory Crewdson’s work and something I tried to aspire to throughout University. I hear that Crewdson had access to a whole town in America where he conveyed his eerie elaborate set-ups of suburbia at dusk which he aptly named ‘Twilight’.

If you could choose to shoot with just one lens, what would it be and why?

I never leave home without my trusty 50mm. Its shallow depth of field is something I love to utilise, especially in my portrait work, because its a wonderful tool to direct your audiences view to the subject with little or no distractions. Another great thing is that its one of the cheapest lens I own.