Today we’d like to introduce you to Cait Brady.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started out around 2008 taking photos of my first and forever muse- my sister. We grew up really in the middle of nowhere Missouri and our imaginations were strong. Both my parents are artists, my sister followed along, and some sort of creating was always going to be a part of my story. It just took me awhile to find my voice. I started taking self portraits. I started getting in with more and more weird art kids that also were finding their voice and we just started shooting. Around the time I started feeling like I was forging a path into this medium, substance abuse was a part of my life, and everything seemed to fall by the wayside. It still took years after coming out the other side to even pick up a camera again. By then I’d made it to Nashville, and a whole new world had opened up for me.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think any time a person has to monetize their art, things can get a little hairy. It’s easy to remember why I shoot; I’m entirely compelled to. It’s something I have to do. But it’s equally easy to forget why I love it. Money just ruins everything doesn’t it? It’s always been an ebb and flow. When I get to work with someone or shoot something that involves nothing but the collaborative spirit of creating something together, it all makes sense again. Becoming a parent changed my creative world more than anything. Being a parent is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. But I have had to claw my way back to myself. I think I’m only now beginning to feel like a human again, let alone any type of artist. I think the next season of my work will be different, just because of how hard I have tried to get back to it. Compelled, I tell ya.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a photographer. It’s been an incredible move for my life, relocating to Nashville 13 years ago. I love working with musicians, designers, or just any of these beautiful humans I’ve had in front of my lens. I’ve always done my best to wholly represent what the subject wants to bring to the table. Photography is an intimate art and it should be fun! Or cathartic. I want to make it feel like play. Adults don’t play enough.. There’s nothing I love more than laughing together on a set. Thats part of the job, for me. I’m deeply grateful for the creative community here. I’m really proud to be a part of it, even if I’ve been on the outside for a few years.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
My favorite lesson is allowing things to be disappointing. A shoot didn’t go the way I wanted, a self portrait is not portraying what I expected. It’s important to make bad art. Humans are meant to be imperfect and our art should be too. Especially in this current social climate, it seems like perfection is not only deeply desired but it is expected. In a world where generative AI actively steals from artists and anyone in the world can type in a prompt to get what they deem a far more “perfect” product than they could have actually created themselves, we need to embrace the imperfection. Bad art means we learn what to do try and do differently next time. And it might still be bad! And we keep going. Our water, our humanity, our Earth is depending on it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @cait_brady
