Interview: Photographer/Model Marie Sturges
"I think it's important to give yourself new challenges to stay inspired." -Marie Sturges
I guess the first thing I wanted to ask in your transition from still life images to full figures.
I reviewed your albums and there doesn't seem to be a drop in quality.
Was that an easy move?
Now that you mention it, I haven't actually noticed that I transitioned and haven't done as much still life as I did before! I do miss it. The only time I really do it now is for clients. I feel like the "transition" happened just because I moved out of a place that had great little spots for shooting still life.
Do you prefer posed or natural figures?
For portraits? Or like arranged still life?
I guess both.
I'm literally learning the finer points of photography from you right now.
For still life, I like finding things as they were set down naturally without any thought. For clients, it's definitely an arrangement. But I try to keep it as natural as possible by not thinking too much about it. I don't like things to look forced, especially if it's in a home setting where you don't really think about the products you use and how you put them down. For portraits, being relaxed and not thinking too hard about posing produces the best shots. Even though posing is a big part of bringing a character to life in cosplay photography, it's best not to think too hard about it and do what feels right.
You make it look pretty easy, I can barely tell the difference between your studio shots and your images from the Athensfest.
[Laughs] those albums on there are pretty old! I stopped doing albums a few years ago. The more recent stuff is on the timeline. But I've still kept the same style I think throughout the years.
How did you move into Cosplay Photography?
It's another transition that I didn't notice too much until I realized that it's something I wanted to do more than other types of portraits. I always bring my camera to all events I go to. I brought it to my first convention in 2014 (Sakura-Con) and I noticed how much happier people are to see themselves in cosplay compared to those I shoot for general portraiture. I like that I can make people happy that way. I also realized that I had more options for creativity for cosplay photography, and there are more challenges and more things to shoot.
In the last year you've started appearing as cosplay model. Did you have previous experience or was it a spur of the moment?
I did not have previous experience prior to starting cosplay. It's something I wanted to pursue possibly, but the idea didn't really become real to me until I randomly saw a model call for the lolita fashion brand Angelic Pretty. This actually also led me into becoming very interested in the fashion. It's something I'm definitely trying to pursue now, specifically modeling for Japanese streetwear brands.
Has making the move to modelling been easy?
I wish it were easy, but there's a lot more involved than just walking a runway and posing for photos. It's a lot of work to put together a portfolio, and there's a lot of competition especially since I haven't been doing this as long as others. It's also hard because I am pretty short (5'1", which is fine for lolita), so I'm limited in what types of things I can model in. But that is fine because I'm not interested in high fashion that you see on TV or in magazines anyways.
I guess that leaves me with one last question:
Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in photography or hoping to make the move to other side of the lens?
For those just starting in photography, always learning new things and always staying up to date on the latest techniques is very important. Some people in the industry do photography for a few years, but then quit educating themselves for some reason. It can make your work stale and I think it's important to give yourself new challenges to stay inspired. For photographers who want to transition to the other side of the lens, be open to other photographers ideas, even though it may not be the same approach as you would take. You may just learn something new.
images provided by Photography by Marie Sturges