Art & Life with Amy Gray

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Gray.

Amy, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I’ve always enjoyed photography and have been the family “picture taker” since I was a teen, making scrapbooks and documenting life’s important moments. I graduated from college with degrees in English and history, and I worked as an English teacher for seven years before my children were born. I was the one designated to photograph the historical studies tour for the eighth graders and send the photos back to their anxious moms and dads back home. When I stopped teaching to raise my children, I took over my mother-in-law’s resort babysitting agency, sitterwise.com. That gave me the opportunity to expand my ability as a business owner and increase my understanding of customer service and creating great experiences for our visitors here in San Diego. When my son was born 9 years ago, I began to learn about photography.

I bought my first “real” camera, took courses, and read up online. Friends and family were my first subjects, and I shot everything — weddings, newborns, births, birthday parties, funerals. After about 4 years of continued growth, I found that I had discovered my niche and my editing style became well-defined. I love to photograph clients on San Diego’s beautiful beaches, and my ideal subject is a family with children who would like a fun and memorable experience and heirloom photos that are a mix of posed portraits and freewheeling, artistic fun.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
Every session has two goals. One is to make portraits that show my clients as they are with their genuine personalities and natural expressions. Fake smiles make me die inside, so I will work hard to get someone to laugh and be real. My second goal is to create art that will please any viewer (not just the family and friends of the subject). I love pull-back images of the beach, especially on days with great sunsets or white puffy clouds. It’s fun to play with the sun and use my subjects to create shadows and flare.

What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
Facebook groups!

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I have been featured in the San Diego Women in Photography “Visual Voice” exhibition. My blog is at amygrayphotography.com, and I’m on Facebook at facebook.com/amygrayphotography and Instagram at @amygrayphoto.

Contact Info:

• Website: amygrayphotography.com
• Phone: 6193224986
• Email: amy@amygrayphotography.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/amygrayphoto
• Facebook: facebook.com/amygrayphotography

Image Credit:
The photo of me was taken by Melanie Monroe Photography. melaniemonroephotography.com.

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