Photographer – Georgia O’Neill
Models – Lily Mcmanus, Jocelyn Savage, Victoria O’Neill
We are proud to present the next installment of The Handsome Project. Each month we’ll showcase an amazing young photographer who blows our minds, shoots our stuff and is all together fantastic. This time, fifteen year old Georgia O’Neill has taken the reigns and created a photoshoot we all adore! Read on to see the rest of Georgia’s shoot and interview…
How did you get to here? (What’s your photographer history?)
Christmas 2006, when I was 10 years old I got my first camera, the Sony cybershot. I took this camera absolutely everywhere. For fun, I entered a national youth photography competition when I was 11 and to my surprise I actually won it. That was when I realised that I loved taking photos and wanted to take this seriously. So I got my first SLR camera a couple of years later when I was a youth ambassador for Sony and since then I have been inspired by magazines to shoot fashion.
Are you a self-taught photographer or did you have a mentor/teacher that showed you the ropes?
I am completely self taught, and still learning.
How did you come up with the concept behind your Handsome Project shoot?
Doing a photoshoot in the fields of fashion, I wanted to reverse it and put fashion in the fields. I wanted the swimsuits to bring that fun and youthful energy that they create into my shoot.
What keeps you enthused in the photography industry?
That I still have so much to learn!
Describe your approach in three words.
Youthful, resourceful, fresh.
Black & white or colour?
I always work in colour and I absolutely love that but I also do love the occasional black and white photo.
Do you prefer film or digital? Why?
I have grown up in the digital world so I have only shot with digital but I’m eager to shoot with film because I think it would be a completely different experience of photographing that I would love to try.
Favourite camera?
My favourite camera would probably have to have been the sony cybershot that I got when I was 10 because if it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would be where I am today with my photography.
Describe your photographic approach.
My whole approach is simply for the fun and enjoyment I get of shooting. I don’t get given clothes or models to shoot I simply do it because I love it! My friend, Lily (who is actually my neighbour which is very convenient) and I work as our own little team, her as the model and me as the photographer. So we just plan our photoshoots together and basically that is how the magic happens.
Favourite photographer?
I’m still learning about the expanding photography world around me and all the photographers in it, but at the moment I am inspired by Georges Antoni’s work and he has to be my favourite photographer.
Loves?
Photographically – Soft, early morning light and a vintage vibe
Hates?
Night photos with a harsh flash.
How do you decide on locations & subjects for your shoots?
Well first of all I have to choose a location in the radius of how far my mum will drive me, then I have to imagine a shoot and search through my cupboard and the rest of my house to create the look of the shoot.
If you could take your photography in any direction without fear of failure or rejection, where would it lead? What new things would you try?
I would love to be the fashion photographer for a fashion magazine, preferably Harper’s Bazaar. I would love the fact that I would have a reason to shoot and I would be given the amazing clothes and the stunning models to shoot and my photos would be used and seen by many people, to me that just sounds perfect, oh and having an amazing camera would also be apart of this fantasy.
Best advice you’ve ever received.
Rex Dupain personally said to me, “Don’t think about it to much, just shoot.�
What is the one quality you think is needed for a photographer to be great?
Imagination. I think to be a photographer you have to have an imagination to see a shoot in your mind so you can create it and direct it yourself, I Think imagination is vital.
Where to next?
Well first I have to finish high school, then I’m going to become a famous photographer gracing the pages of fashion magazines … you can only dream!
Check out Georgia’s tumblr here.
We would like to send major love Georgia’s way for creating this beautiful shoot. Georgia captured a youthful, carefree vibe to the suits that we haven’t seen in a Handsome Project before and we’re in awe!