Meet Bethany Brewster

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Brewster.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’ve always loved photographs. When I was a kid, I’d spend hours looking through all of my parents’ old photo albums. There was just something about having this image of the past right there in front of me that felt magical. Photography wasn’t introduced to me as an art form until high school when I took my first darkroom photography course. From then on, I was hooked. I experimented with a little Fuji point-and-shoot and an old Nikon film camera until I received a Nikon D80 DSLR for my 18th birthday. I began making portraits of friends and family with any free time I had. I taught myself how to use Photoshop to edit images and began sharing my photos on Facebook after I felt like I’d established a semblance of personal style. Almost immediately, I booked my first few weddings, without ever having done wedding photography before (exciting, but terrifying)!

In the decade since then, I’ve come to realize a few things:

1. I am a major introvert, therefore, weddings are NOT my jam.
2. I often feel that I enjoy a music concert or vacation more if I have a camera in hand – essentially hoarding images of the memories, details, and moments I want to keep forever.
3. I am obsessed with the idea of capturing the essence of a person in a photograph. The people that claim they are awful in front of a camera are my favorite nuts to crack.

In 2017, I finally quit my day job to jump into full-time photography. Family clients are my bread and butter because I simply cannot resist a newborn squishy baby session. Recently though, I’ve been shifting to focus on creative portraiture as a way to challenge myself and further develop my skillset. Oh, and I still love looking through old photos!

Please tell us about your art.
I am a photographer, specializing in portraiture. Whether I’m making portraits of newborn babies or of adults, my goal is always to find and capture that unique spark present in each person. Sometimes this comes through in a child making a ridiculous expression, or it could be in the intense, observant stare only a baby can give, or it may even show up in the soft smile of someone looking away from the camera. That subtle shift in emotion, the details of eyelashes, freckles, or wrinkles, the freezing of a motion so dynamic that it almost seems as if the image actually moved…

I want my viewers to feel the same sense of awe at humanity that I feel when I take photos of an individual. This being that is so incredibly different from the next person, but who also shares a basic biological commonality with someone on the other side of the world. It’s humbling every time I sit down to review images from a session.

As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
Defining success as an artist is something I actually struggle with. I don’t like to define my success by money because it doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness as an artist. If I was making six figures (which I most certainly am not, haha), would I still be passionate about creating portraits? Or would I be so busy that I lose sight of the why behind my art? Honestly, I have no idea. It’s hard to imagine, but I think it could go either way which is why I don’t use money as a defining characteristic.

Also, in the age of social media, it’s incredibly difficult not to constantly compare yourself to other artists. Photographers are especially abundant these days – there are hundreds (probably even thousands) in Houston alone – so the comparison seems inescapable. However, I wholeheartedly believe success should NOT be based on other people.

When I feel myself getting sucked into that spiral of “I’m not good enough because so-and-so just posted this incredible image” or whatever else I’m comparing, I try and answer a few simple questions:

1. What did your last photo look like? (i.e. Do you love it?)
2. Is your current work better than your work from last year or even a few months ago? (i.e. Have you grown as an artist?)
3. Have you done a creative shoot lately? (i.e. something likely unpaid, that’s just for fun)

If I can answer yes to all of these questions, usually by the end of my reflection I realize I’m doing pretty damn well for myself. I believe a successful artist is one who is constantly growing and evolving, and who can always find their passion in the work.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My work can mostly be viewed online – on social media and on my website. Once I paint the walls, I’ll have some of my work hanging in my home as well!

The biggest way to support my work is to book a photo session with me! I have also sold prints of my abstract a landscape images in the past at a long-ago gallery exhibition, but have not yet set up shop to sell prints online.

Another huge support is sharing my work through social media and spreading the word of who I am and what I do. Word-of-mouth referrals are pure gold!

Contact Info:

• Website: bethanytakesphotos.com
• Email: bethany@bethanytakesphotos.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethanytakesphotosss
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bethanytakesphotos

Image Credit:
Bethany Brewster

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