Today we’d like to introduce you to Romy Suskin.
Romy, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I have always photographed people. My mother was a portrait artist and my father was a photographer so growing up I was immersed in the study of faces and the lines of the body.
When I moved to San Francisco from Michigan I started shooting street stories focused on the gender identity movement there. That led to some of my images being in a book and that pushed me forward to grad school and then to LA where I photographed musicians, shot catalogs and look books for young fashion brands and lots of portraits for magazines, artists and friends around me.
I moved to Texas in 2010 and opened a studio in Austin where I shoot mostly fashion, portraiture and branding work.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
To me portraits are stories. Our faces, our body language, the way we carry and dress ourselves, these are the stories that transcend our day to day lives.
In school, I took anthropology, religious studies, acting, and dance. These interests kept drawing my attention back to the map of human emotions and how we let (or don’t let) who we are shimmer to the surface. The human body is a map of so many things. I see beauty in everyone. People think I only photograph models, but often they are looking at someone just like them that I just see as iconic.
It amazes me how a project can still sweep me up with excitement when the image turns out even better than I imagined. It’s always a collaboration with the subject, my team and the elements. Even when everything is planned carefully there is always a moment of magic, simply the breeze catching someone’s hair at the right moment can change everything. It’s a cool job. Not gonna lie.
Have things improved for artists? What should cities do to empower artists?
I did the struggling artist thing for years. Paying my dues, all that. It’s no joke. I started my business during the recession and it was tough. People didn’t want to pay for work. Everyone thought exposure in their publication was pay enough. Which is nuts. There would be no professional photographers if we all worked for exposure. (haha, I just heard it).
But if you want it you figure it out. Keep an eye out for luck and be ready for it. Build your network and keep in touch. Know when you’re ready. There is always more learning to do at some point you just have to jump in and declare it. The landscape changes constantly based on technology shifts, economy dips and peaks and also on trends – what fresh look or sound people want effects who looks at your work. So know who you are and what YOU do.
That said, the biggest challenge for an artist isn’t outside it is inside. The breakthrough for me was giving my self permission to be an artist, whatever that means, and to be in business and to set my worth in financial terms. That’s a tough one for a lot of artists.
Texas is a really cool place to be an artist. Texas loves to support its makers. And Houston is especially awesome at supporting and networking creative people. Houston folks are just plain fun. They live big. The city itself is so big you don’ think it will be as close and connected as it is but there is a real cozy quality to Houston.
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?
website: www.romysuskin.com
Instagram: @romysuskinphotography (or @romywashere if you want to see my dog)
Contact Info:
- Address: I come to Houston for work often. Have gear. Will travel.Or come to Austin! Bring some friends. I offer group package portrait shoots at my studio that include bubbles and bites. It’s a good time.
- Website: www.romysuskin.com
- Phone: 512-912-1885
- Email: romy@romysuskin.com
- Instagram: @romysuskin.com
- Facebook: romy suskin photography
- Twitter: romywashere
Image Credit:
© Romy Suskin 2019
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