Holly Andres in Photo District News

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ON LIGHTING STYLES: HOLLY ANDRES BREAKS DOWN HER PAINTERLY APPROACH

By Brienne Walsh

Holly Andres approaches lighting with the eye of a painter. “I studied painting, and I look through the lens like a painter,” she says. “I oftentimes shoot on a tripod. I’m considering all the entirety of the frame and looking at the way the positive form interacts with the negative space.”

She creates dramatic imagery on location, and while she sometimes mixes her light sources, she prefers artificial to natural lighting. “When natural light cooperates, it’s great, but otherwise, it’s so anxiety-producing,” she says. “Strobes, lanterns, reflectors—they take you much further in any direction you want your lighting to go.”

Andres made a name for herself with her fine-art photography series such as “The Fallen Fawn” and “Summer of the Hornets” that depict eerie scenes reminiscent of the photographs of Gregory Crewdson and the films of Todd Haynes. Her images are flush with color, and beautiful, but still transmit a sense of impending horror. Her distinct style has won over editorial and commercial clients including The New YorkerThe New York Times MagazineNew YorkTIME, Refinery29, Saks Fifth Avenue and Facebook.

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