The “Photographer of the Week” series is dedicated to highlighting photographers within the SCAD community that demonstrate unique abilities behind the lens. This week, Amit Chernichaw, a third-year photography student, shares her recent projects and personal insight.
- When did you start your photography journey and what does photography mean to you?
I started photography at a very young age. My grandmother was the first person to teach me how to use a camera. I began getting serious with it in high school and took many classes. Photography was the only thing I really felt that I was good at, and when people saw the photos I took, they really made me feel like I was doing what I was meant to do. It also made me feel really good about myself. Photography gave me a sense of confidence, and that is something that I lack in my everyday life. But when I am behind that camera, making work that I am proud of, it gives me a sense of myself and an expression that I can only express in my art. Photography gives a sense of expression to everyone of different mediums, and sometimes in life, it is hard to express how you feel, so to me, my art allows me to show how I feel without words.
Model: Laisha Diaz
2. Where do you attain your inspiration for your work?
I follow a lot of fine art accounts on my Instagram, and magazines really spark inspiration as well. Most of my inspiration comes from how I feel from the past and present.
3. What is your creative process like per shoot?
First I figure out a vague idea of what theme I want to use, then I go to craft stores or thrift stores or even antique stores to find props that I also find inspiration from, then plan a day to shoot, models, and location. Once the shoot day comes I try to figure out how I will accomplish my vision. I have to direct the model so it doesn’t look basic. My creativity comes with props, setting it up where I like it, or putting things on my model’s face for example this project.
4. What Impact do you want to give on the industry?
I want to go towards fashion photography but in the fine art way. Nowadays magazine companies are very editorial and flashy, I really want to bring a fine art twist to the fashion magazine work and show more of the fine art of fashion.
5. What projects are you currently working on
In this moment of my life, I am on a self-journey, and with that comes growth and change. When flowers grow, they change their form, from just a little blossom to the full growth of a bloomed flower. I am trying to grow into that beautiful flower, and so I am working on a long-term project throughout this school’s quarter trying to show my growth within the series.
6. Is there any advice you’d like to leave to other pairing photographers or SCAD students?
Remember why you started loving art because at SCAD you will question the direction you are going in, and you might want to give up, but the reason you fell in love with your art is the reason why you should stick with it and not give up on a passion.
To see more of Chernichaw’s work, visit their Instagram.
