Meet Abby Dodgen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Dodgen.

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’ve been interested in photography for as long as I can remember, my first camera was my dad’s old blackberry camera phone when I was around 6 years old. I remember the exact pictures I took on it, I would look around my house and document little things I found interesting and I remember being so proud of myself and there grew this lifelong passion of mine.

I eventually moved on to taking photos on my iPhone as a young teen and then moving on to a digital Sony camera. I’ve grown as a photographer immensely since I got that Sony camera, I feel like I can finally take a photo and show people exactly how I see the world and I feel more understood because of that.

for the past few years now, I’ve been experimenting with film photography- 35mm and instant polaroid photos to be exact, I just love the authenticity of the medium and I feel like it tells stories with less of a filter than digital and I’m really glad to have found that.

when I look back at where I first started versus where I am now, I feel quite a lot of accomplishment and I am so excited to see where I will be creative/professional- wise in the future.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Photography has always come naturally to me, it’s like a language that I’ve always known, but they’re definitely been a struggle; sometimes photos turn out not how I expected and it can be hard to embrace the imperfections if possible when I can be so set on a particular look for things.

I have also struggled with the whole business side of photography; I eventually want to be able to support myself financially with my photos somehow but it’s definitely a lot of work to get started with everything that goes into that.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
A lot of photographers lean towards a genre of photo taking, for example; street, portraits, and nature. I have found that I really enjoy taking all kinds of photos outside of genres.

I simply photograph what makes me feel something in hopes that the emotion will be felt through a screen/print. So, if I would like to be known for anything it would be my ability to translate a specific feeling into a photo.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
YouTube! When first starting out with both digital and film I watched so many videos about operating the specific camera I was using at that time.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.e.dod/