5 Questions with Taylor Prichard

My name is Taylor Prichard and I am a photographer and filmmaker based in Auckland, New Zealand.I have always had an interest in photography, art and anything creative. I have worked in the photography/film industry for the last 5 years and in a few months I will be finally taking the leap into freelance work. I started out focusing on photography but over the last few years I've been working more in the filmmaking / motion area and loving it. I love shooting with a huge variation of formats including polaroid, film, digital. I always have the most fun when trying out new setups, ways to capture imagery or shooting with other talented friends.

Q1. What made you first pick up a camera?

When I must have been about 11 or 12, my brother and I received these little silver canon digital cameras for Christmas the day before we were heading over the gold coast with our Dad. I think the idea was so we could take photos of that holiday to bring home and that was kind of the extent of them being used. I however really enjoyed having it around so continued to use it well after we returned to New Zealand. A few years later I went on a school exchange to Chile for a month and again took it with me to document all the new places I went to. This kind of continued until my school started to offer a photography class in 6th form which was by far the most enjoyable subject I took.

Q2. What does success look like to you?

Success to me is enjoying what I do day in day out, whether it is shooting, traveling or even sitting in a dark room editing/retouching, as long as I am enjoying it. I have just recently resigned from my inhouse role and will be pursuing freelancing from the end of January, being freelance has always been a major goal I’ve been working towards for the last few years. I’ve never enjoyed having such a strict schedule so the freedom to work when on my own schedule is definitely another part of what I perceive as success.

Q3. What is your desert island lens?

I always like to experiment when it comes to gear and equipment so trying to decide on one lens is definitely a tricky decision for me. I have always enjoyed shooting a little wider than most so something around the 24mm or 35mm would be ideal. Being on a desert island I would have more than enough time to manual focus so either the Sigma 35mm T1.5 or the Leica Elmarit-R 28mm f2.8. I’ve chosen both of these for different reasons, the Sigma for its super crisp sharpness and the focus fall off on the lower aperture makes everything look just so nice. The Leica on the other hand has such a nice soft vintage feel to it, perfect for those times when you want a bit more mood and texture to the image. I was lucky enough to use both of these lenses (and their full sets) while working at White Studios and they are my absolute favorites anytime I need to shoot motion.

Q4. Which shoot for you stands out as most memorable?

I have been very fortunate in being able to travel and work with some amazing models over the last few years so it is very hard to narrow it down to one. Shooting 2 days of fashion in a massive villa overlooking Positano would definitely have to be a highlight for sure. It was 35 degrees, no wind and we all had to keep hosing ourselves off between shots to stay cool. Then at the end of the day we all walked down to the beach below and just lay in the water and it was absolute bliss.

Q5. Which photographer influenced you and your style the most?

I’d like to think I take inspiration from a lot of different people's work for lots of different reasons. Very early on in my career I had the privilege of working with Charles Howells and the thought process and expertise in using lighting in the studio and out on location was such a big learning experience. Another few creatives I like to take inspiration from would be Georges Antoni, Terence Conners, Jake Terrey, Amelia Dowd and a photographer/filmmaker due called Wiissa. I follow all their work for slightly different reasons, like their colour grade, the film stocks/types they use or how they pose the models. I like to experiment with film, digital, motion and lighting a lot so a broad range of influences suits my work perfectly.

You can find more on Instagram @tay.prichard