Loading ...Leah Nash Photography 10 December 2008
Freelance Photographer with an emphasis on reportage, editorial, and portraiture
Leah Nash Photography is the brainchild of Leah Nash, specializing in documentary, editorial and portrait photography for a variety of national and international magazines, newspapers, and non-profit organizations.
Leah has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Vassar College and a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Photojournalism where she was awarded a Fulbright Grant to photograph AIDS in India in 2004. She moved to Portland in 2005 to freelance because of the creative vibe combined with an affordable lifestyle.
Some of her clients include Der Spiegal, GEO, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Oregonian, Portland Monthly, Stern, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
What are you up to?
I recently did a portrait series for the NGO Springboard Innovations, which highlighted socially responsible entrepreneurs. The images were then exhibited at the NE Urban Grind Coffeehouse. Other than that, everyday is something different. Most of my shoots keep me on my toes, which is why I love my job. This month alone I photographed OHSU’s Emergency Room, Black Friday starting at 4am, a men’s shelter, all night Buddhist chanting, and the Opera.
This year I also had a logo and web site redesign, which you can check out at www.LeahNash.com. A new print portfolio and promotional campaign are in the works as well as I am always looking to expand and pick up new clients.
What do you do best?
I would say my strength as a photographer lies in my ability to build trust and create rapport with my subjects. This is crucial because getting access into people’s lives is such a huge part of the work I do. In photojournalism you often have to enter a scene and produce an image within 60 minutes or less. In that time you have to be able to create a comfort level with your subjects at the same time you are making an image that is compelling, not an easy task.
People and their individual worlds fascinate me and I always give my subjects the same amount of respect, whether it is the Mayor or someone living on the streets and I think that comes out in my images.
How do you keep yourself fresh and motivated?
Well, recently I bought an old 1959 Medium Format Twin Lens Yashica. It produces a square BW negative and is basically the opposite of my digital cameras. It takes me forever to focus and shoot and sometimes I feel like I am learning to be a photographer all over again. But that is what is so great about it. It makes me slow down and take my time and it gives me a different perspective on things. I have been using it to capture the more personal aspects of my life.
Secondly, I think it is hugely important as a photographer to have a longer-term personal project to work on…something that you will probably never get paid for but that makes your heart race. Unfortunately, at this time I am in search of that project. I have been trying to work on something about uninsured in America, since I think it is such a massive problem in our country today.
What’s been your most memorable assignment?
So many…dodging land mines in Croatia, photographing AIDS in India, spending months with a four-year-old competing in children’s beauty pageants…really too many to count. I feel incredibly fortunate because so many of my assignments and the people I photograph are amazing. I’d like to think I haven’t had my most memorable assignment yet. I am always pushing myself to see more, document more, and experience more.
What’s next?
I really want to move to more international social documentary work and more long-term projects. I try to do at least one international trip a year, but everyday life and work seems to take up most of my time. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to support myself in such a creative and amazing town but I would also like to move to a more global sphere. Next year I plan to spend a few months in Berlin, to see if I can expand my business to a European market and cover more international issues.
Connect:
- Leah Nash