The Connector interviews Apple Zhao, a third-year industrial design and photography student from China.
When did you start photography and what does it mean to you?
I’ve always been into visual arts since I was a kid, I was always drawing and playing with colors. I started taking photos of random flowers and animals with a point-and-shoot camera around the age of 12 and everything just started there. I didn’t take photography seriously until my fourteenth birthday. My mom bought me a beautiful DSLR and told me that she believes in my potential and wants me to do well in the things I love. After that, it was just a lot of experiments and I would say instruction manuals taught me a lot. I think photography helps me to look at the world from a different angle as an artist and also pushes me to get out of my comfort zone and do things I wouldn’t usually do.
What is your photography process?
Before a photoshoot, I usually plan a lot about concepts, props, poses, etc., but I tend to forget about most of the things I planned then create something different during the shoot. After the shoot, I would always experiment and play with the colors in post because I just love colors a lot and It’s so much fun to see how different color schemes can make a photo feel so different.
Who/what inspires you?
Nature, art, dreams and small things in life. I find my inspirations in many things: Monet’s paintings, an old wooden toy in thrift stores, blue skies and sunsets, shadows of a transparent glass bottle …
How does SCAD help your creative process?
I think not only I get to learn about technical skills at SCAD. It’s also so important to have similar minded people that would support each other. It creates a safe place for artists to explore and learn from each other.
Share any advice you may have for other artists.
Don’t overthink and believe in yourself. I learned these the hard way and realized thinking too much only drains your energy and doesn’t help in any way. Sometimes it’s best not to worry too much about anything and just create what you want to create.
What are your future goals?
In the future, I want to work fashion brands either as a photographer or as an industrial designer and have my own art and photography exhibition at some point in life.