Photographer of the week: Nora Benjamin

written and photographed by Nora Benjamin

My name is Nora Benjamin and i’m a second-year photography student. I was raised in the small town of Enterprise, AL. Anyone who has ever been to Alabama knows that finding artists and new influences are nearly impossible. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to distance myself from the lack of inspiration Alabama had to offer me and immerse myself in the artistic buzz that resonates throughout Atlanta.

During my first quarter at SCAD, I went to a talk given by Marilyn Minter. Minter is both a painter and a photographer. She photographs models in a gross, too-close-for-comfort way that uncomfortably intrigues the viewer. She then repaints the photograph hyper-realistically, so much so she has to differentiate her photographs from her paintings on her website.

Her surrealistic quality is something I admire and try to incorporate in my own work. I try to articulate a small narrative in every one of my personal pieces, whether it be an overwhelming feeling or a small story of my own imagination.

Outside of these personal works, I enjoy product and portrait shooting in a studio setting. I always enjoy the art direction of every collection. I like to sketch out every shot and have an idea of what I want, both for the series as a whole and the individual photos themselves.

Career-wise, I hope to focus on advertising photography and eventually become a product photographer.