Today we’d like to introduce you to Heath Fewell.
Heath, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Growing up, photography wasn’t remotely on my radar. My interest in the artistry didn’t spark until I got to college. Even then, my photography footprint was pretty much nonexistent to the public. The only source of my pictures came from a basic handheld phone. What really initiated my interest was learning how to edit through the phone’s basic editing functions. Looking back now, the editing capability a phone has is very limited, but at the time I felt like I was recreating an entirely new image. As time went on, I could see the unintentional progress through those simple edits.
While attaining my Master’s of Science in Marketing, I moved to an entirely new city. A city full of artistic creatives, but empty with people I personally knew. Although buying a camera had been on my mind for a while, being in a city with so many different artistic outlets, I knew I was ready to finally take that step. My mom graciously decided to invest into my art and gift me with a camera, and that is when I began taking pictures at every waking moment. At the time, landscape photography was my one and only passion. However, after taking some shots of a few close friends and family members, I fell in love with all the different ways a photographer could edit portrait photos. A photographer’s editing/shooting style is what differentiates them from other photographers and developing my own editing style has become my favorite part of the process.
Months of shooting the closest people in my life, I decided to go public with my art. In order to attract awareness to my services, I created an Instagram page that would cater specifically to my photography versus a few mediocre edits that were temporarily displayed on my personal page. Thus, the launch of Fewell Focal was born, and the business has grown.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Starting off, I dabbled in landscape and architectural photography, but you can’t necessarily direct and guide an inanimate object. Now, my main and most enjoyable source of photography is portrait photography. When editing landscapes, it is easy to alter a photo, but what is so fascinating to me about portrait photography, is being able to completely erase all evident flaws. Sometimes people look in the mirror and see less than what they are, but with the help of a photographer, a picture can express the disregarded self-beauty in each model. Sometimes models need that creative help to bring a simple picture the flare it needs. As a photographer, I greatly enjoy bringing together the client’s visionary wants with my artistic touch to document these cherishable moments. Photography is a way of documentation, and I love being somewhat of a guide to help portray a story through my own visionary direction. After a shoot, the greatest satisfaction is finding that first breathtaking picture and editing it to its fullest potential with that keen thought of knowing the client will be in awe after seeing the final edit.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Unfortunately, wanting to pursue photography can be a bit pricey. A good camera can cost you a pretty penny, and all the needed lenses & accessories can set you back a great deal, but it’s an investment into one’s craft. However, having certain tangibles definitely caters to each individual. A camera or lens isn’t grounds for determining the difference between an amateur and a professional, as it’s the person behind the camera. The person behind the camera determines the angles, the creative style, and even the photographer specific edit that will bring the picture to life. From a photographer’s standpoint, a photograph is somewhat of an expression of the person who takes it. With that being said, jumping into a photographically artistic craft does not derive from getting a professional camera. Like I said, my journey started by taking pictures on my phone. Those meaningless yet fun photos got a lot of praise from my close friends, which helped give a slight sense of validation toward this craft. Each photographer has their own style. That means that with billions of people in this world, there is surely a vast group of people that will support the creative direction each individual photographer has to offer.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
As of right now, my photography catalog can only be viewed by the public via the Instagram handle of @FEWELLFOCAL. A ‘Fewell Focal’ website is currently in the works but has not been published to the public for viewing and online booking at the time being. Once the website does go live, the link can be found in Fewell Focal’s Instagram bio. Currently, anyone looking to support with booking/business related questions can contact me through Instagram, Twitter, or email.
Contact Info:
- Email: heathfewell@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fewellfocal/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/notshtaeh
Image Credit:
Heath Fewell (Fewell Focal)
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