Taking Pics w/ Anna Koblish

(upbeat music) - Hello, and welcome to another episode of Based News Network. My name is Sophie, AKA Joanavarca, and I'm here with Kaya, AKA Punk Revolution now. We're back after a little bit, and today we have a lovely guest from a beautiful, secluded home in the forest, or so it seems, and a co-bless, amazing photographer. Say hello. - Hello. - Sorry, I lost you for a second. - Hi. - I know, hi. Okay, let me know the connection. - No, it was my fault. - I had a new version of a good show. - Sorry, you're good, and I know you're good. Thank you so much for coming on the show. I think you're incredibly talented, and I'm really excited to learn more about photography, 'cause I don't know anything about it. And, yeah, I basically just used this show to force people to tell me stuff I wanna learn about. Just kidding. - Yeah, I think that's great. - Yeah, I'm looking at your Zoom profile picture that's so cool. - Yeah. - Did you shoot this, is this you when you shot this? - It was a part of BB Bella's eye collection that we did with Highest Nobody, I think last year, and we did a new-- - Oh, cool. - So we shot like a bunch of her friends, I think it ended up being like 15 people, and then at the end, she wanted me to get in. It's like the only nice picture I have of my-- - I love this photo, it's beautiful. So Anna is a very accomplished photographer. You've shot for the likes of Vogue recently with Avantika, that was so beautiful. - Thank you. - What was that like, have you ever worked with Vogue before? - Honestly, that whole thing was very serendipitous as most of my big projects, mostly editorial end up being. I was in the middle of kind of a dry period, and it was fashion week, and I wanted to work, and I just DMed Avantika one day, 'cause I think it was in the middle of the Mean Girls press tour, and I just DMed her, and I was like, "Hi, do you wanna shoot?" Like I would love to take your photo, let me know if you're interested, and she responded immediately, and-- - Oh, wow. - I'm like, I'm here for, I think she was Columbia, or she did at that time. - Oh, yeah, she does, that's right. - She's like a New York City girl, and she was like, "Yeah, let's shoot." And then she followed back an hour later, and she was like, "Well, I have to go to this show, "in this show, and I'll be in this dress at this time." So I would love to have you shoot both, like what do you wanna do? And I ended up shooting her for the area show beforehand, and then before, it was willing to do the Vogue thing, but at the time, I didn't know it was gonna end up in Vogue, it was just kind of like for fun. - Wow, I didn't know it was gonna end up, it was so wait, so you didn't know it was gonna be in Vogue. - No, I don't know how that happened. - I usually don't know, and things like that are gonna happen at the time, but you're like helping like after the fact. - Interesting. - Because when it's an editorial job that isn't like done by Vogue themselves, for example, like a cover shoot, or-- - Oh, like this. - I mean, that's happening in the magazine, like a fashion story, if they're doing interviews and stuff, highlighting a actor, or whoever, they'll sometimes be like, do you have photos that you like of yourself? And then it's kind of interesting to be like, yeah, and then I think if she was just like, I just shot with this girl and I wanna use these photos, and that was how it happened. - Wow, so she already had like a blurb, or like a piece about her, and it was Vogue's Singapore. So she already had that set up, and then she really liked this photo, so that's the photos they used. - Yeah, so I don't know what she's saying. - She asked me that photos weren't even edited. We had just taken them, and she just basically said, I really want these, I wanna use these. And I was like, okay. And I think it was an interview. They interviewed her for Vogue Singapore. So it was like a feature, and the photos kind of came after. But I edited them, I had a deadline, sent them to her team, and then they ended up in Vogue like a month later. I also never even got confirmation. I guess like, since the photos, they just like disappeared. So I like did not even know what was happening. - Did you get paid? - No, I did not. - Okay. - Old transparency. No, I did not. - I also feel like, well, it's one of those things too, were like, if Vogue were commissioning me, I'd be like, yeah, I mean, the whole payment thing is like a whole different side of this that I have a lot of opinions on. - Yeah, I mean, if you like to talk about it, you're absolutely free to do so, but I understand it's like, it's tricky. I'm looking forward to it. - I honestly feel like it's important to talk about money and get, especially as a freelancer. Like, I'm trying to like be democratic, like, I think, I think photography is like something that is a field that's very competitive currently. There's a lot of people with cameras. On the flip side of that, there's a lot of people who want their photos taken and they want their photos taken for free. And because of how many photographers there are, there's always gonna be someone to do it cheaper. And there's like, definitely like levels to it. I think when you're in the influencer sphere, payment is, you're not gonna get much. (laughs) Unless you're working in a more official format through their teams or their PR, like for something. If you're being hired by a client, you're always gonna get paid. If you're doing something for like musicians, you're always gonna get paid. How much is, you know, it really does like ebb and flow with like the economy and what they need and stuff like that. And then how, you know, how good you get as time goes on, in my opinion, in my experience. - I see. - But for something like this, I reached out to her. It was really just for fun at the time. For me, I find it really hard to negotiate right after the fact. Like, that's a difficult thing for me and everyone in my life yells at me being like, you're doing that. But truthfully, in my life, like, I've gotten all my biggest jobs by shooting for free. So, it's tough to kind of discern. - Yeah. - When the payment is quote, exposure. (laughs) - For me though, like, I had, like the exposure has gotten me places. Like it really has, I totally understand that. - But it's like, but again, like it was certain things, like it's not enough. And to be honest, if somebody asked me to, for exposure, I would say no. When I say that I've gotten things for exposure, it's usually because of my own personal projects that I have done because I wanted to do them, you know? - Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, no, no. I feel the same way. You might be shocked to learn because I run a meme account, but sometimes I have been in opportunities where I probably could have charged for something, and I definitely didn't. (laughs) But I'm also a meme page and not a photographer, so it's a little different. (laughs) - I don't even know. I, that must be even more complicated. - Is, I don't know. I've made memes for some, like, people, or brands and stuff, and sometimes like, I don't know. It gets messy, but it's also kind of low effort for me, part of the time, so it's like not a big deal. And like, I don't know. - Oh, it's like, you're good. It's like the goods that you're selling. Like, yeah. (laughs) It's nothing compared to what you do, but. - Like, you curated in online presence, like, you've put time and effort into it. Like, you're funny, that takes skill. I don't know. - Thank you. - In this world that we currently live in, like, it or not. Like, the goods that we're selling are valuable, and the only reason why we think they're not is because we're constantly being told that they're not, so that people are paid for them. But in reality, like, the way that things are shifting currently, whether it be like music, or even like, like, regular brands, like, big brands, they're using memes, they're, they're using internet, this course and internet. - Yeah, yeah. - jargon to their, like, for their own marketing. So it's like- - Yeah. - Everything related to the community, for sure, right? - Yeah, definitely. Yeah, so that's really fascinating though, because, I don't know, in a publication as big as Vogue, I guess, like, I have such a limited understanding of how this works, that, like, my, I thought that these magazines usually, like, commission the photographer if they know they're doing, like, this big editorial interview, or maybe, - We work like that sometimes. - They 100% do. If it's for a cover or like a bigger centerfold, I don't know about the chronology story. - Mm-hmm. - I think as the, as the, as the stories in the publication like branches defuse, whether it be like America, British Vogue, Vogue, India. You know what I mean? - Yeah. - Like the ranking of where the celebrity is. Like, and what the level of interest is. Like a lot of the times, like I've seen like iPhone pictures published alongside of interviews. - Really? - Yeah. - Really psychotic or like film photos. - Obviously haven't been edited. I think the reason, I mean, this is kind of where I think like where I am really proud of myself is 'cause like I really do put an emphasis on, I don't wanna say perfectionism, but like a sheen. Like there's a, for me, like everything that I put out, like I put a lot, a ton of effort in. Like really do, like really regardless of where it's going. - Yeah. - It's try really hard. Something slipped through the cracks, if I'm overwhelmed or like there's too much going on, but like I really do try to make everything look as professional and well lit and tight and like attended to as possible. Just because like you never know who's gonna see it, you never know who's watching. - Yeah. - You're gonna go. - I bet that must be like scary but also exciting too. - It doesn't scare me 'cause what is it gonna lose truly? I feel like, I don't feel like, the only thing that's scary to me is like the fact that one day, or that not the fact, it's not the fact, take that back universe, oh my God, that didn't mean that. The only fear I have is that maybe one day, people will stop caring about the things I make and the things that I make will somehow one day become obsolete or ugly and people will stop me to do that. I can like hear my friends yelling at me being like, well they shouldn't, like you shouldn't have to get paid or to matter and like that's true, but also like this is my skill in life. But I wanna do and when people wanna pay me to do it, like sometimes I really think like I don't really know what the alternative is, I would figure it out but I don't really wanna have to do that. - Well, for the amount of time you put into it, it only makes, I mean, it's your career. - It is. - I saw recently that you shot for Barbie and Vance collab. - And that is crazy, how did that come about? - So this is like the complete reverse side of the amount. - Okay, okay. - This is like huge production, like a big deal. There is enough to pay people. There is like crediting happening, there's trust, there's communication, 'cause basically how it happens is I think I can't remember. - In this case, I think it was Vance directly 'cause they have in-house marketing. Yeah, or like, sorry, in-house production. So, Vance directly, the producer at Vance reached out to me. - Oh cool. - Was pitching the project. And I just, it was like really one of the best experiences of my life. Like, everyone in my life I think today as well annoyed about me talking about it. They want me to move on. But it was like one of the best things. - It was really cool. I mean, also like the Barbie Mania was so like memorable and like, it touched everything. So like, to have a part in that is really cool. It really felt so big to me. If to me, it was like something that I just, at the time of like a mountain that I had reached the top of, now I know that that mountain was only a hill. That's what, like your career is and that's what life is. But at the time, it was like, wow, I've been working for a moment like this, for this moment. And the moment included like having creative say, being able to like having the budget to light it the way that I wanted, having people that I trusted, being being like being trusted to edit and retouch and use all the skill that I had learned to like do this thing that I knew that I was capable of doing, but hadn't been able to do it that scale yet. Like at that level, it was a big accomplishment. And I felt the weight of it and I was really proud of it. And the thing that I'm most proud of, if I could be like, self-grandizing for a second is this episode, it's all about you. I'm gonna go for it. But what I'm most proud of is the fact that like I matched, I was able to match the aesthetic of the Barbie movie without even seeing it. Like that was the biggest win for me. It was just like, wow, knowing that, knowing exactly what it was gonna look like and just being able to do it. - Okay, it's really fun because I was literally just on your site clicking through the photos of the Barbie photoshoot and I was gonna chime in like, I have to say, you did a really good job matching the aesthetic of the movie. - Thank you, thank you. - Was this before the movie came out? Like, how did you do that? - We shot this, oh God. Okay, we shot it in April. It came out in August. So we were, she hadn't even gone on the press story yet, she wasn't even dressed up like, like Margot, I mean, like wasn't even, it was like before all of the real, this was like in the months leading up to the hype. Everybody was talking about it. And I was blind. Like, I don't even know if the trailer was out at this point. Maybe it was, I don't know. I think, and when I think about it, I honestly get a little bit emotional. Like I'm not even kidding, 'cause like color to me is everything. And like my thing, you know, the thing that I always feel like is mine. And it's a lot of people's things, but that I've connected most to was like that blue sky with the clouds. And like that specific color of pink. And I've noticed that in your work. - Yeah. - And that lot of skies and pinks. - Thank you so much. It means so much to me that it translates, 'cause like it really is like, and like that specific green, that almost like blue green of grass. Like that is my color palette. And it felt so, there's like a perfect word for it. That's less escaping me right now. But it felt so affirming it. - Oh, it's, 'cause it was like, it was like, it was like, there was nobody, there was nobody who had longer than me. - Not me. - Like, it's your destined. - Yeah, it was like, there was nobody who, like I was, I was supposed to be there. - I can't wait to experience something like that. - It was like, it was like so. And like I knew it was happening before the photo was edited. Like the backdrop of the movie on the sound stage was like painted in this sunset. And like months before I even knew that was happening, I had hand-picked these hand-painted backdrops. Like I asked for them. And then like the grass, I like wanted it to this specific color and I picked all these props. And I was just like, in my mind, I wanted, and like, it's bands, right? And it's Barbie, two huge companies that have a lot of guidelines and parameters so I didn't get everything that I wanted. But it's batter, 'cause like the sole of it was still there. And it's just so proud of it. Like, I think that's so cool. - Yeah, that day was like the best day of my life. I cried so hard after it. - I wouldn't, I would do the same thing. (laughs) - It was so emotional. Like it was such an emotional that it was the biggest project that I've ever worked on. It was like months in the making. I'd never worked on something that took that long to like create. And as someone with ADHD, that was a huge accomplishment. - So, I mean, yeah, I'm looking at this like, this is very, very impressive. I guess, 'cause you said it took months, it was like a month's long project, but like what exactly took months? Was it like figuring out what you wanted to date? Like, yeah, tell me what took months about it. - Start to finish. First of all, like when companies and clients reach out to you, you're not even awarded the bid. You're competing with other people. You don't know who you're competing with. You don't know who else is in the running, but you know that you don't have it until they award you the bid. And so, a part of this bidding process was making a deck, a pitch, a creative pitch. They gave you like a framework. And then I sat down, I was in like Berlin at the time. And I said, yeah, it was really magical. It was, I was in, I was in Europe when I, I think, I don't know if I was in Europe when I got it. I can't remember the moment that I got it. I met at the home at that point, but I remember that I submitted the pitch in Berlin. I was in London and there was like meetings when we talked about budget. And it was like, it was just really like a real moment. And my pitch was very, I put so much effort into that. I think I spent like 14 hours on that deck. And how did you do the deck like question like, like was this, did you take like photos of like concept photos or curate like in Spro, did you dry it out? Like how do, how do photographers do that? I, I think I, every photographer is different. They make them in different like, I'm sure in different ways. They make it in different, even like programs. And they probably emphasize different things. But I think the most like, I think the biggest the categories are going to be. Like, your general pitch, your creative pitch and then your creative direction, your art direction, photography, posing, location, hair make up styling, all that stuff, and all of that is going to inform you're like overall creative pitch. So for this one, I picked like a photographer that I really admire, Elaine Constantine, I believe her name is, I mean, she like, I think the project is just girls or something. Oh, I think I know that project. So this was like a year ago, I think before like the internet kind of like, like, you know, the out the TikTok algorithm, like, finds things and like eats them up. I was like, yeah, it was like right before the internet, like, like the young people figured out who she was, and I have pulled a lot of her imagery. And I like kind of, I grounded my entire pitch in, in this world of like, girlhood and, but girlhood and like the cool way it sits bands and the original idea was to have them on like motorbikes and stuff, but there was like a bunch of stuff that wasn't allowed to happen because of like other branches and bands, so I got like regular bikes. But just like that idea. And so like, I wrote, I wrote, it was a lot of writing to like, you write your pitch, you have to like say things. I think something that I'm good at is like verbal communication written communication, like I can do a great job here. But like, I'm pretty good at like being able to explain why I chose certain images, and I really do like like agonize over like which picture it goes where. It's amazing at it yet. I think pitch make deck making is something that like you really do want like try to get better at your whole life, like I'm kind of obsessed with decks and pitch. It's so fun to make them like it really is. So the pitching process was one probably from the moment they reached out to me from the moment I submitted the deck, it was probably like three weeks. And then from there, when they award the bid, I think it was another two, two and a half weeks, maybe maybe a week and a half, because then we went through like what my budget was going to be and what my rate was going to be in logistics and all that stuff. And then from there, it's like meetings with her, and then once the bid is awarded, it's meeting with the creative director at mans and it's that first preliminary meeting of like who do we want to do set design, where do we want to shoot it. Is that place even available? What kind of props do you want? And then then you have the second meeting with the whole team where you see what's actually available and what has been vetoed by the people who work at Vans and Barbie and what's waiting in third meeting is. And those meetings are all like weeks, maybe like two weeks apart one week, two weeks, and all of this is like getting up to the actual shoot day. And then on the shoot day, there's like, or the shoot week, there's like everyone, the whole, all the teams go to location, there seems like a pre-late day where you do like a walkthrough of the house. And then in our case, I don't think we had a pre-late day actually, we had like a walkthrough of the location, just kind of like to loosely plan with everybody. And then you have the shoot day, that's 12 hours, and then everybody goes home and then eventually the meetings pick up again and it's selects and how many like what sex are you picking and then it's. This one's better for this and oh, we only are paying for 25 images. Now we only want to pay you for 20 or something like that, even though like that's not I don't think that that's how it went down, but it was something along those lines of like, how can we squeeze all of the things we wanted to get into these 20 images that we paid you for. Retouching notes and then it's color, it's like one pass of color grading and then you pass on those draws to the internal retoucher to take care of the. Laces and the shoes and the scuffs and all the stuff that needs to done and that those come back to me and then I do all my retouching in my editing and then I get notes back and then I fix those notes and then I get more notes and then eventually we're done. That's the whole process. Oh my goodness. And then once they're done, it doesn't come out for another like who wants like that's pretty much how it went I think. Yeah, that was very interesting for like someone who doesn't know anything about photography, but I mean it sounds a little bit familiar to the times I've done like. I've done some like collabs with meta like Instagram Instagram like. And it doesn't take that long, but I think like. I can't believe I'm comparing myself to this, but. I think it's all working the same sphere like working with a client is I don't know if you work with a client work with a client. Also, maybe I'm over exaggerating. I'm trying to remember I think it was in total like probably six months from the time that they. From that first email to one that actually like hit stores because. A campaign like this was like not just online. It was also in person like it was printed out. That's so cool. Oh, it was crazy. It was in stores. Like did you get to see in stores? I got to see in stores. My family got to see in stores. Oh my goodness. They must be so proud of you. So funny. They are. And it took a minute. I think for my parents to like trust that it was a viable thing for me to do. But then once or it's been like pretty much on wavering sport and I'm really lucky for it. So like how did you get into photography? I was like stalking your name on the internet for my quote research for this episode. And I saw that you didn't interview me talked about Tumblr. And I'm also like I was a huge Tumblr user. It's a surprise surprise. But yeah, if you'd like to talk about that and like where Tumblr comes in, that'd be really interesting. I would. I mean, photography, my relationship with photography is kind of interesting because from the time I, the whole reason why I started taking photos is because of Tumblr because I was addicted to it as a kid as you were. Probably occupying very similar spaces. Maybe not. Well, what part of Tumblr were you on? I was like Lana Del Rey. Okay. I really marina the diamonds. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And because that part of the time in my life is so like just tumultuous being a preteen, I like blocked a lot of it out. I was addicted to that fucking app like addicted. Yeah. I'm saying. Wait question. Were you also like that part of Tumblr that it would be like aesthetic quote. Okay. I'm what first of all, what do you, how do you feel about people using the word aesthetic as like a. I really hate it. Yeah. Same. I made a meme about this like years ago, but it's like not of what is it? It's not like a, it's not like a verb or like a now. What is it? Like what do they want it to be something that it's not exactly as a aesthetic is a. It's an adjective. Yes. Like an aesthetic quality. I guess it. They're using it. They're using it incorrectly. How do they use it? Oh, that's so aesthetic. They're using it as a. Descriptive. It's a noun that people are using as an adjective. Here you go. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. My brain broke for a second. It really does. You can use it as an adjective though. Because it is like, oh, that's a like aesthetic value. The aesthetic value of a blah, blah, blah. But it's more referring to the noun than anything else because it's like. It's, but you know what I know what I noticed so much though is that it's the people using it, at least for my perspective, the ones using it incorrectly are a lot of just they're younger. Yeah, true. And they're just like, oh my god, that's so aesthetic. That picture is so aesthetic. That bottle is so aesthetic. Right. But when they use the term aesthetic, it almost like it's signaling a very specific type of imagery. That's kind of informed by the internet. Like for them though, like they are thinking of something very homogenous. Whereas yeah, yes, exactly. And the word aesthetic is literally just means like. Like the image, the visual. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it's very interesting. But I feel like that was kind of born out of Tumblr though. Like 100%. How they see the way these are they zoom. I feel like they're general. I don't even know how they are. But like people using like, oh, that's so aesthetic. They're referring to tumblers. Like the kind of images that were circulating on Tumblr, I guess is completely well. Do you remember like the picture of like a pink ocean with like, well, that's what I was going to talk to you about. Yeah. Just say like aesthetic and you'd like reblog it and be like, that's how it became like that. I think that's how that was the beginning of the end. It completely, even though it was amazing at the same time. Um, literally, it's funny because you're I think you're also friends with McKenzie Thomas, right? Oh my God, we're really good friends. Are you friends with her? I am. Oh my God. That's so cool. He's so highly of you. Um, she she did. Oh my God. She does, but oh my God. I love her. She's she I'm good friends with her. She is the one that made me realize that like, there are how many different corners of the Internet of Tumblr there were that I just was like completely unaware of. So like, like a Sherlock. I was, well that's, well the truth is the thing. I was on both sides. I was on both sides. I was too teeming or whatever. - Like I did not give a shit about doctor who or whatever. I did not, I knew that it was happening 'cause it would come on on my feet, but I like did not give a shit. - Yeah, me neither. Me neither. (laughing) - Yeah. - Well, if you did, I would, I was a Sherlock fan. I was like in the trenches, this Sherlock Yahweh. - My obsession was totally taken out on Justin Bieber and One Direction. Like that was mine. - Okay. - That was, I was too like cringe for that. Like I was too neurotic and-- - Yeah, you're probably too old. I was like normal. I was like normal. - Okay. - That's incredible. - But you're into a lot, you're in like a lot of Marina the Diamond's aesthetic Tumblr, like Ariel, all caps. - We're getting into like the sub fonts of like normalcy that like we'll never really be able to decode. - True. - You know what I mean? - Yeah, truthfully and truthfully. - My timeline Tumblr was fueled by insecurity and like self-hatred, which literally, I think Tumblr taught me how to hate myself. - Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. - And then the second part of that was beautiful imagery. Like that was my first introduction to pictures that I, that I at the time deemed as beautiful. And for me, I was like, I wanna learn how to make this. Like, you know, I don't know. So like my primary corner was like, people levitating people in a like a foggy field. - Picture, yeah, yeah. - Hissing with no faces. And I was like, I'm gonna figure out how to do this. Like, I'm gonna like boot like Photoshop. I'm gonna have two more. - Two more. - Yeah, literally. I'm gonna steal my family's camera, Nikon at the time. And I'm gonna figure out how to do this. - And I told her you here. - Oh God. - What is, what is sixth grade? Like what is that? - Like 12, yeah. - That sounds about right. Like 11, 12. - Wow. - And that's so cool. - It was just very young. - I, yeah, but this is the kicker. I stopped for many years in the middle. I like really wanted to be like a normal popular high school girl so I quit all artistic outputs. - Oh my goodness. - And endeavors for many, many, many, many years. And I like didn't, I like literally was convinced. I don't even know what I was convinced of. For a time, I thought I was gonna do astrophysics insane. I can't even do math. But I literally go to school for science all because I loved interstellar so much. I was like, well, I'm gonna do this. Oh my God, that's so mean. I love interstellar so much. Like it's, it was like, I changed my life. - Yeah. - I feel like I experienced like ego death in the scene where, at like the scene, well, there's a few scenes in it. But like the scene of like where Matthew McConaughey is like communicating to his daughter from the black hole thing in the room. Yeah, like that. Oh my God. - The point that I loved about it was that, well, this is like a whole other part of my life. Other more on a lore. But let's get into it. - I went to Catholic school over a few years and always the best artist went to Catholic school. I did not go to Catholic school, which is why I'm doing memes instead of anything. - I was like, I wasn't, not everyone, maybe. Maybe you're right. Actually, so I'm gonna write that down. I think about that. - I think like people, everyone I know who's gone to Catholic school is like deeply, like internally troubled or like afflicted by something. But they're also like really, I don't know. I feel like they have like a certain perspective and like many are like traumatized by the experience and like go on to see, deal with that in different ways. I don't know if that was your experience, but I find them to be interesting. - My experience was, I thought it was like such complete and utter bullshit that I would just like bite the nuns in class and also in the hallways because I genuinely thought that religion was so stupid. And I didn't understand why anyone who believed in religion and God and Jesus was like genuinely stupid. And I was a really angry kid. And I thought that was filled by like my dad being very scientific and practical and my mom being more religious. And so she wanted me to go to Catholic school. And also I had like, I was like severely bullied in elementary school and I didn't have many friends. I didn't really know how to make friends. And the one friend I had ended up going to private school and it was just kind of like I wanted to follow her. And we ended up going to different schools. So that's how I ended up there. And I just like did not agree. Like I was so angry. Like I was so frustrated with the thing. And at the same time, I was like in class on Tumblr, learning about like what it means to like self harm or like the space or like pre pictures or like on- - Oh, Anna, like yeah. Like we're like all of the input and all the information. And like one of the things that I found a lot of comfort in when I was super angry was like space. And like back that we are so insignificant, the larger sense, like that made me feel so good. - Sam, I think that's a lot. - But it's weird 'cause like a lot of people I realize don't feel that way. That really freaks them out. - I really, it really gave me the sense of peace. So I think interstellar really fascinated me. 'Cause all that science is real. And I bought the book and I read about it. And I gave like a TED talk in my college about space. - Do you have a TED talk about space? - I did about dark matter. - Oh my God. - Literally like 70 or 80% of matter in the universe is made of something that we literally have zero understanding of. And I was like this is why. And I like related it to how human beings need to under, like have this primal urge to understand things, but we're never really gonna understand anything. And what, that's like something we all need to get comfortable with. That was like my TED talk. - Really crazy, yes. - It's crazy that you've lived a lot of lives. - It's fun. - Yeah, I like don't want to agree with you. 'Cause I like block them all out after they're done. I'm like, well, on to the next, on to the next. I also, I have a good time. - Oh, sorry. - Oh, no, no, go ahead. I have a hard time like going, like I don't know, if you relate to this. Being on the internet and being on the internet now makes me feel like I need to be broadcasting everything all the time, like everything. Interesting about me needs to be out in the real world. - The brand, brand building epidemic. - Yeah, and I like physically can't do it half the time. So I just, oh, actually not half the time, 100% of the time. I can't do it, I can't bring myself to do it. So I just like, at this point in my life, I'm a photographer and that's it. - That's pretty much all I like. - I'm gonna have to sound really cringe, but is it like freeing to be the person behind the camera? X-D? - I think. (laughing) Sorry, I'm like, question is very cringe, but I have to ask. - It's not at all, I'm taking you very seriously. - I'm like really thinking about it. I think like, for most of my life, I really wanted to be in front of it in my mind, but it's interesting. I was just watching, from other day, my mom wanted to watch home videos. And literally, probably 70% of all the home videos were taken by me, which was like-- - Oh, that's so cute. - Very, like the cameras in my hands and I'm screaming at my sister to like dance this way or I was screaming cut like stupid shit like that. Like and it was kind of this weird moment where I, I'm like, oh, I was always destined to be here, wasn't I? Like it was one of the-- - Like, yeah, and I think, I don't know if we'll ever really get in front of it. I don't think I really want to. I'm definitely not like comfortable enough with my appearance to do that. But I think, yeah, freeing, I don't know if it's the right word. I think it's more just like where I naturally like move to, but it's not for me. It's like, I think an exercise control over my environment. Like, I really do like when things look a certain way. And I've kind of at this point made it my life goal to like learn how to make things look the way that I want them to using a bunch of fake processes and like, like lighting and Photoshop and stuff like that. - I was really interesting. As opposed to a photographer who like wants to document real moments. - I see like like someone who shoots like, Candid sort of like BTS spin on the scenes type. - I really wish I like, I like had that ability or like gravitated towards that, but for whatever reason, like right now in my life, like I just want everything to look perfect. - There's a value to all of it, I think, really. - Sorry, I was just gonna say it's interesting 'cause like, I feel like there's two different skill sets that you're touching on. I was like, one is just like knowing what you visually like. I feel like it's already like really hard for some people. Like for a lot of people, you show them like two photographs and like they don't know why they're doing it. If one is even better than the other or if one is more pleasing than the other like why it is So like being able to just like be a like decisive enough to be like I like this look That's already a skill on itself and then the second skill, which is like the hard one Is like being able to actually Make an image look the way you want it to look so as this kind of I mean, I guess like the reason I'm kind of like saying this It's just because it reminds me a lot of Like making music as well. It's like for a lot of musicians Why not That's so cool. That's just like the coolest thing ever. That like makes you want to cry Yeah, guys the musicians I worship music and musicians like I literally it is like music is your life I wish it actually was because I like don't make it and I'm not like involved in it as much as I would like to be But I can you saying that makes me like emotional. Why do you say that? I would love to know why why what made you think of that? Well, I guess like a big part of like making music is like making like decisions like making creative choices like I think a lot of like the best music are like musicians and artists like making like bold choices rather than just kind of like following like step one step two step three and like that like that is like actually a lot easier said than done like that's actually really hard to Like to do to like I think yeah, I think like the decision-making process and music is like Really really hard, but I think like a lot of musicians for a lot of them I think it's like kind of a similar to what you're saying where it's like a lot of musicians just like really like a certain genre or certain style and they just like want to create more of it because they like it so much and because they like it so much They just like dedicate their time to like making it, you know, so like it's kind of sound similar to me with your process Where like you like a specific you know, you you you are really into like a specific way a certain thing looks or you know an image looks and then now you're dedicating your time to like making images that look that way That is so interesting It like makes me feel like I'm exactly where I need to be. I don't know how I'll describe it He has that he has that way way about him It was really lovely. Thank you for explaining that very lovely. I think like I worship musicians because it's a skill that I don't have and My life if I've wanted to do something like I've I've given it a shot to do it And I've succeeded to it to a level and but keep in mind I'm not saying everything I'm saying like at the things that I really want to do like Creative things visual things like whether it be like doing a little video at some point like I've been able to figure it out or like photography or learning lighting and specifically in like the photography world like Learning how to retouch. I've I'm doing that currently and learning how to light From not having any knowledge that I've done that and like with music. It's been I mean and everybody's life Everybody listens to music. Everybody loves it. I Wanted to make it and I just like don't know if I can't and I also don't even know if I want to because I'm like I might take away the mystique of it. I don't know But I that's like such a nice little parallel That was my dog. Sorry. That was a nice parallel you made like makes me feel emotional especially since like When I was start when I was starting my career in 2020. I had all these ideas of where I wanted it to go and Music videos and working with artists and like creative directing for artists and building their worlds was like top of my list Things I wanted to do. It's kind of changed since then like I'm pivoting a little bit I think the goal is still to do that at some point, but it's maybe not like my number one priority I think because like when I listen to music, I think a lot of maybe a lot of people have this thing I'm not saying I'm like special, but like I really do Listen to music and I see the visual maybe like I see the I see things I want to bring them like for me as Who I am what I want what I want in life like it I really I always wanted to dedicate myself to like bringing those things I see in reality like into the real world Learning how to do that tactically Because I do think they're so interlinked for me, but it's hard to communicate that at this phase in my career like So it's a missing thing that I like really worry about so thank you for making that connection that really makes me feel nice Good well, I'm glad that I'm glad I was able to Make you know make that connection Have you ever thought about doing a music video like shooting music video? I actually just shot. I guess my second one. Oh cool. Two weeks ago And I'm really excited about it, but again, it's like not I don't know not a big enough. I'm like I want things to be perfect when I first do them And it's just not how life works. I think it'll so be great, but I like it. There's still a lot of work to do Gotcha, I imagine like video is really different and it is photography For me, it's a little more daunting just because it it's a more expensive and be either it requires more tools and like Bigger budget sometimes you can do it cheaply like we just did but Sometimes I don't know. I just like sometimes I feel like I put so much effort into photo It's like what do I even really have left to like innovate if for my own self like Be a cacking in and like Running equipment and like driving here and driving to this place and running and gunning it and like having to run like run This and run run that it's like I can't really imagine having to do that for two different productions aside from just the one But one day I will do it. I know it. It's just a process of getting there Oh my goodness. That sounds like Yeah, I never thought about like I don't know why, but I always felt like photographers and videographers are kind of like similar or like filmmakers like kind of Blend that by filmmakers. I mean like people who shoot film, but That's so nice. I don't think it is. I don't know like I'm sure there's definitely crossover of course, but like Film is like moving images. So it's really it gets complicated. I imagine it does. I mean for me I think this is kind of what I mean about like the difference between Manufacturing something heavily versus like being in the moment because I think The way that I do it the lights are strobes as opposed to like continuous I mean obviously need continuous to do video Um, and I don't really know that much about continuous So it would just it's just for it's like learning a whole new set, which I can do. I did it once. I'll do it again It's just it's just different, you know But I think somebody who's a little more capable of moving freely and like working with natural later Like lighting that you have. I think would be more is probably more like Mentally easier for them to like move in that space You're like a video perspective, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm What is that what does that mean like strobe versus Continuous like like like that goes There you go strobes are like it's like flash basically like You there's like a trigger that you put in your camera. I know you click the trigger at fire strobe lights They're just they're flashed. They're flashes. They're not strobes. So when the uh, okay, why do you think of a strobe light? It's a flash Um, they're called strobes Yeah, so does that mean that when you're doing photo shoots like you're in a dark room? Um No, sometimes Mm-hmm depends honestly, I feel like that's like Maybe something I should probably figure out because like sometimes you'll see the dark the room is being darker than others But if it's too dark your camera sensor can't pick up on the subject um For me if you're shooting like in manual or autofocus, which I shouldn't be doing but I do it anyways Um, but yeah, I actually think you just actually just made me think of something I should probably stop shooting an autofocus so that I can shoot dark rooms anyways. Yes You're right. I'm learning. I don't know anything about this. I'm learning too Yeah, um is there like a favorite model that you've you've worked with like anyone who's like been really good or like worked well with you or is it kind of fun with everyone or i's a really good question. I think I want to say my sister Because I know that she wants to and also because She literally is the only person I took pictures of when I was starting Um, and we just had a lot of fun together doing it like taking pictures and learning and like in those early days Mm-hmm. And it's just fun to hang out with her. I think There's a there like there's always something fun that comes with shooting period, like no matter who it is, but we'll say when you get like a model who does this, we're living and like has that face, like that vulnerable face, it really does make a huge difference. And I've spent so much time shooting just like musicians and not, I don't want to say like normal people, but like, aren't like Bella Hadid level, like that, like, natuery or whatever? Did have you shot her? No, no, my god, everybody would have had, she said, um, no, but like that kind of face that is just like made for like high fashion, like editorial, you know, it would make a huge difference. And the few times that I have gotten them, like gotten to shoot somebody like that, it really is like, oh, whoa, like if I did this all the time, holy shit, it would really elevate like the whole thing, but sometimes it's not possible. Like, hmm, I just, who, um, Alina, I've heard her last name, Tema, Tema, I shot her for, oh, Jesus, sorry, I'm like looking out for a name. I think Alina, yeah, Tema, Tema, Tema, I just shot her for Edie Parker. She was like so fun to photograph. I don't know if I'm saying her name right, but she was so fun to photograph. Like, it was so, she was so striking, so beautiful, and also so fucking nice. Like, anyway, so nice. Like, so nice, so when she asked me a question, I like, almost didn't, I couldn't even process that, like what she was asking me, I was like, I couldn't remember where I was from. Because no one's ever asked me that on a set before. Um, yeah, it really does elevate the whole thing. I really like your, your stuff with the clothes cherry. It was really fun. That was really cool. Yeah, that's an example of like, in me, like, of just something that I did for fun that really did help me. Like, you can you really use that as like, you can use a project like that. I mean, maybe actually you don't use it, but it just happens to like give you, I just got a lot of, I think, work from that shoot. Um, and really grateful that she did it. And did you reach out to her too, just like with, I did. And crazy enough read, I shot her twice that week, because that was the big guy shot of the C. Madden campaign that she was in. Oh, that's like how I met her on that set for me followed each other and then I just, yeah, I'm done. I was like, do you want to shoot for fun? And she was like, yeah, so in a few days later, we shot in the base on the baseball field. So it was very just like serendipitous. That's so cool. Yeah. I was really happy about that. I was so excited. Yeah. So it seems like a lot of stuff like just kind of happened. Serendipity. Oh my god, it can say that word serendipitous serendipitously and like randomly. I think it's funny. I have a really, I always say that I wish I was like a little more random. Like I let the randomness of life wash over me more often. But I think like a lot of those things are me being varied, like deliberate. Like, hmm. Also, like you're put in the right room at the right time. And then yeah, to do the right thing. But like in those moments, like I am being strategic, like I do know that doing this will, will bring me to this level, which means like, you have to do that. It fits your career. Yeah. And I have to be thinking like that. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I especially since there's just so many of photographers trying to get to the like, like a pots of gold that are like sparingly dispersed all across LA in New York. In my eyes, I think some people would like disagree. They're like, there's enough pieces of pie for everybody, which I do agree with. I just think like, I don't know. I don't know if that's true 100% of the time. I know we're like having towards the end of the episode, but I do have a question. If you have any like advice to us amateur photographers, those of us who use an iPhone, perhaps like, do you have any like general tips for your average girl? I'm gonna take a cute picture on her phone. Oh, just like the average girl. Like the like a me like, I love that question because it's always that if people always ask, like, what would you tell young photographers? And I literally don't even know to say anymore because I'm like, good luck. Work hard, get good, good luck. This question's when we're fun. Lighting is your friend. And like in most cases, like lighting is gonna be like the sun, where the sun is, or like where the lighting in the room is. Clean your iPhone. Unless you like the foggy look in which it's for it. If you use the fog, if you use a greasy back camera with flash, you can get a nice glow if you like that vibe. But if you want something clean, try not to be too backlit, don't take photos at noon, wait until the sun has set a little bit more to get that nice light. Don't really like angle the phone crazily, just try to get on like the parallel level of the subject. If you're taking selfies, I think everybody knows that I take you get selfie at this point. Lighting, man. But everyone knows how light comes out of themselves. And just like, have fun. I don't know. Do you recommend a ring light or is that too much insane? I don't think I've ever used one. I have one for like, when I'm doing video interviews and like stuff like that. But I don't, I don't actually, you know, I rarely take photos of myself because like, I just don't wear makeup ever unless I'm like, in New York, because I go back and forth from New York to New York. Are you gonna lie? No, I'm in Minnesota. I also, I'm sorry, you were in LA, that's true. No, you know, I wish I, well, I wish I were in New York, but I always a second one maybe for me. But no, I'm in Minnesota. I just graduated from the University of Minnesota. Congratulations. Thank you. Like a few minutes. Thank you. Yeah, I'm from born and raised here, but I'm going back and forth from New York. You want to move to New York eventually? Yeah, I'm, I'm in the, the trenches of the get a job challenge right now, but we're trying to stop wearing in that game. Yeah, so we have some prospects, but time will tell. Actually, my friend who's offering just landed a huge job. So there is, there's, there's hope. It's not hope. I got to hope, I got hopeful news this morning. I'm really like, I hope it works out. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Yeah, but I will be moving to New York. My boyfriend, Kaya, who's right here, lives in New York. A couple on our hands. Oh, yeah. I guess we didn't say that, but our listeners know we're couples. So we forget to mention it a lot when we have guests on, but yeah, and I, all my friends are New York. I need to get there. I'm losing my mind here. Like a yellow wallpaper style. Oh, my God, every day. Yeah, I need to make a meme about that. Actually, that was really good. Just blow so effortlessly. Thank you. Well, speaking of like, I'm not being narcissistic bitch, but speaking of like, you know how you're talking about your home videos and how you were shooting them. I was thinking like, I was thinking about this and like, because I didn't interview with Office Magazine. And I don't know how it came up, but I was like, yeah, as a kid, I kind of like really tried to say things. Oh, my God, I sound so cringe. Sorry. But like try to say, I try, I always try to say things like that would make people laugh as a kid, like, and as a teen. Yeah. I try to say like, I try to be like the Oscar Wilde of the room. And sometimes it, it sometimes it flopped. And like, I still do this. And my catchphrases, my catchphrase honestly is like, not everyone, not everyone's a winner, because sometimes I just say stuff. I like shit post in real life. And it just does not, it's just not funny. And I'd be honest, like, that's such a nicer outlook on life than being like every single thing that I make ever has to win and is a winner. I mean, Kaya, you've heard me say this, right? Like, I've said some, like, I feel like I before I even make the memes, sometimes I just say the memes are loud, and then I make them like, I've heard me say do this. And then like, sometimes they're really unfunny. Is there any other way to do it though? It's a throw shit at the walls. Yeah, exactly. I feel like Instagram is such a crapshoot, like with getting feedback. Like, sometimes I feel like my best work, the best technical stuff will literally go unnoticed. And then I'll post a picture that I fucking can't stand and it will do so. - Oh well. And I'm just like, "Well, nothing matters." - Instagram, Instagram gods decide our fates. - We do decide our fates and everyone's like, "We'll get off it." And I'm like, "Guys, my entire livelihood is tied." - Instagram's my life, I love Instagram. I don't care, I'm an Instagram stan. - That's fantastic. I couldn't even get off it if I wanted to because every single one of my jobs comes from that fucking out. - Same, same, same, it's my life. - I'm saying, also, I really hope I came across, okay, on this podcast, I'm like paranoid. I just like, I lost myself for a second and I was talking, I don't know, I don't know what I said. - Well, the point, I mean, it's an, it's, you know, like, you're supposed to be like the person talking the most here, you know? So don't worry about that. - I don't know if I was talking about my stuff. I don't know how, I know, I know how you feel. It's really, it's really scary and scary. Kind of, I don't know, like, revealing yourself like that and like talking about your own stuff is, I can't talk right now, sorry, but. - I just have this fear that, like, I don't know, I'll come off as like, egotistical or not even, in the end, if it's not that, it's more like, because I've been breeding myself up for so long about not sharing things when I do share things. It's like, well, what's the point? You know, even telling people that, like, no one's gonna, I feel like that to be something that you're not or some shit like that. - Well, you are something, like, look at it. Look at your body of work. Like, you've definitely achieved a lot. So, like, and you, you know, you started in 2020. So, you know, you're, you're really just getting started. - Thanks. I feel like you should feel the same way though. Like, it really did. - Thank you. - I'm serious. Thank you. - Hey, people laugh is seriously so important. That sounds like not like it is like up there. - It's like I literally, like, log off. I mean, I literally, like, we end the podcast and then go post a picture of, like, lightning. (laughs) - Also, like, that's like the one. Like, it needs, like, I started to cut you off, but to me, not taking life so seriously. Like, I literally sit on my computer for 12 hours, get stressed, if something's not perfect, and then I'm like, well, I gotta start over tomorrow. It's like, fuck, like, it's not that serious. We're not carrying cancer over here. Sometimes it's just about a picture of the name of queen, you know? - So true. (laughs) - Well, we do this on the podcast sometimes before we end, and when it's just us, we share, but we're wondering if you have any, if you have a recommendation, it could be anything. Anything you want to recommend. - I have so many, I can't even think about them right now. Wait, I will come up with one. Can you give me a comment on that? - And I'll recommend something. - A genre? - Yeah. - Hmm. - Can I have any ideas? Like, maybe it can be photography. Would it be more fun to be photography, really? - No, it's way less fun. Do something that's fun. - We lost fun. - Okay. - An activity to do somewhere. - Okay. Like, everyone needs to go somewhere wherever you are. Where you can see sky from as far left and as far right as you can possibly go see. Like, I don't care where you are. Like, if you're in New York, like go to prospect or like take a train somewhere else, but like go somewhere where your entire eyesight, your entire the globe is just sky. Trees are okay. Like you can have it be lined with trees and like clogs and stuff, but like just a big length gate. Like just go look at a big length gate. - Wow. That's my recommendation. - That's honestly one of the more beautiful things said on this podcast. - Sophie, I want to go to, I don't know, where was South Dakota? Would that be a good place to do that? - South Dakota's, that would be fun. - What about? - I'm a Dakota's stand. - Montana. - Montana's beautiful. I'm, are you from the Midwest? No, no, you're from Philly, I'm so stupid, sorry. - I'm from Philly, but I went to Montana last year. - Oh, it's beautiful, right? - Talk about those big-ass guys, man. With the big hills. - I'm a big mountain girl. I love the hills. - I love mountains and hills. - We're going to, have you been to Colorado? - I have. - We're going to, we're going to a wedding. We have a wedding in June. - SS Park. - One. - I'm going to a wedding. - In San Francisco in two weeks and I'm like, I know, but I hate flying across the country. It's so annoying. - Yeah, that is a long, a long flight. - Yeah, my recommendation is go look at a broad landscape and sit. - I love how that's your recommendation because it's like anyone who listens to this podcast is never gone outside in their lives. - That's why it's so important. - Recommendation, go outside everyone. That's my recommendation too. No, no, no, that's beautiful. It reminds me of, have you seen the 2005 Pride and Prejudice? - Probably. - Is that what you're like here nightly and with Matthew McFaden? When the scene where it's like, and then she's looking in the field all around. - Yes. - That's like how I feel. I literally wake up before 8 a.m. and go to my dream scenario. - Like that's like me too. - Me and my most happy is me in that scene. - I'm an sister. (laughing) - Yeah. - Yeah. - All right, well, before we go, is there anything you want to plug of yours or promote or announce? - I may sub-stack that I update sometimes. - Oh my God, me too, y'all. - But I guess mostly just like, please give some love to the pictures I post. It helps me so much. - What's your, what's your ad? - This is my name. - Anna Koblisch. - Anna Koblisch at Instagram. - Yeah. - K-O-B-L-I-S-H. - And you have a website of your work too, right? - I do. - But nobody, people don't look at that unless they're trying to hire me. - Oh, okay. Well, you never know who's listening. Tobation is not our podcast. And then like, I don't know, eventually, there'll be stuff, I don't know. I'm like pretty much just doing one thing right now. - Cool. - What do you want to plug? - Me? - Yeah. - Well, oh my goodness. Well, I've been working on like a sub-stack relaunch 'cause I've had one for like years. But I have something I'm sitting on. I just gotta like get the final go ahead because I have a friend at sub-stack and we've like been working together. And I want to be a writer when I grow up X-D. No, I do want to be a writer eventually. - I'm a writer now. Just call yourself a writer and you will become-- - I don't deserve the title of writer, but I'm sitting on something we'll see, but I hope people check it out. - I just, I don't know, I'm embarrassed to write anything actually. Everything I've posted on sub-stack is no effort 'cause it's embarrassing, I don't know, I'm just scared people are gonna make fun of me. And I'm like, I don't know. - What happens if they do make fun of you? - What's the worst? - I'll cry. I'll cry. - Another day. - So just exactly, that's true. - I don't even know. - Yeah, good point. - So yeah, we're working on the writing career that may happen someday. - So it's new day, no, thank you. (laughs) - Thank you. Kaya, do you have anything you want to plug? - Well, you know, I, so while you were talking, I went, I was like looking at like, where can I go where it's really flat so I can look at the sky. And I was like looking at like, property in Iowa. - Oh my God. - And I found this like, one bath, two bedroom house. - You keep talking about us like, moving to a house in Illinois. - Well, this house is $30,000 in the middle of nowhere, Iowa and it's like a really small house. And I'm like, I could maybe go into debt and buy this tiny little house in the middle of Iowa. - And be really happy. - And be happy. - That's okay to ask activity and to do. - So I don't know, maybe everybody go find it, go everyone go on, go on. - I recommend going on Zillow. - Go on Zillow and look at, look and fantasize about property. - New property. - That was a very real activity. That's a good one. - I love Zillow, I love stalking my neighbor's houses. I did not say that. (laughs) - Okay, well, thank you so much for having me. - Yeah, no, thank you so much for coming on the show. I feel like, I don't think we've ever had a photographer on and I feel like I've learned a lot and you're really sweet and smart and hopefully someday I can be photographed by you. And what I'm cool enough to do. have that. Like, not kidding. Clemson, you're working, we can do it. I'm like, I'm a love to. Yeah. But no, let me know how much you're, what's your rate? And like, off of this, you're free. What do you mean? What? No, no, no, no, we just talk, what we just talk about on the show. No, because I just did this for you. And you're any mean like that? No. Okay. Well, we can talk about it. But thank you. But I do need some press photos desperately. So we'll take them. Thank you. Oh my gosh, thank you so much. Oh my God. Thank you. Well, thank you. Thank you for coming on. So honored. Yeah. Follow, follow Anna on Instagram and a co-bush. All right. Thank you so much. This has been Basin News Network. Bye bye. Bye. Bye.