Photographer spotlight: Anja Poehlmann

For this photographer spotlight we had the pleasure to interview Anja, a people photographer as well as a filmmaker. Anja talks about her pathway into the photography world which involves moving to Hawaii!! Her inspirations are the people and environment around her and she has turned a hobby into a full time job. If you are an aspiring photographer, look out for some great tips on how to keep at it and improve your work. Check out the interview below.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you delved into photography.

My name is Anja, I was born and raised in Germany and just before I finished my university degree, I decided to go abroad for a bit to see what life outside my bubble was like. I spent 6 months in Honolulu, Hawaii, and living half a world away from everyone I knew, I wanted to show my family and friends my life in Hawaii. I got a digital camera just before (they were still sort of a novelty at that point) and started photographing and documenting everything around me. I created a website and blog to share my experiences and the guy I lived with kept telling me how I had a great eye for details and moments. That encouraged me to keep going and once I went back home, I kept using my dad’s DSLR to get better at taking pictures. I eventually got my own camera (my dad was tired of me stealing his) and things snowballed from there. I learned through reading in communities, talking to others, trying lots of things and buying more equipment. My friends had always been my “models” and at some point I got asked to take portraits, family pictures and eventually document weddings for others. At that point I decided to turn this into a business and started my freelance career in 2010. I’d always done this as a side-hustle because I was worried I wasn’t good enough to compete with the market and also wanted to protect my creative freedom and be able to pick and choose who I worked with.

I only finally decided to go full-time in summer 2019. I had moved to the UK a few years prior and wanted to get out of my job (which I loved but I needed a change) and decided to finally listen to my friends to try and do this “photography and film-thing” professionally…. Here we are now.

Do you have any interest in venturing outside of your comfort zone and photographing something other than people?

When I worked at a TV station back in Germany, I had to film a lot of different things and my editor always made me film locations and places with people rather than wait until the area had cleared. I felt like an empty space looked neater and calmer but he kept saying that it’s missing life. Back then I didn’t agree but I now know what he meant. A place or a scene comes to life with humans in it – they add something to it that otherwise would make most frames incomplete for me.

That said, I love travelling and exploring the world. On my vacations I take plenty of landscape photos and I do enjoy it but my heart is in people photography. I’ve also tried flat lays and product photography in the past and while I don’t mind doing it occasionally, it doesn’t fulfil me half as much as documenting a family would do. However, I do enjoy trying other avenues because they teach me different things about my craft. You can always improve so I find it important to have an open mind and explore.

Would you consider yourself a freelancer? Do you have a specific daily routine or is your schedule more flexible?

I use different terms to describe how I work: freelance, self-employed, business owner – I work for myself and am responsible for my own income and work.

I work with lots of different clients and on different projects and love the variety that gives me. But since leaving my full-time job in 2019, I have really struggled to build a routine for myself. The pandemic had a lot to do with that though since I can’t use co-working spaces anymore which really helped structure my day. I am now working from home 7 days a week and it’s sometimes hard to create boundaries for myself. So this is definitely something I still need to learn.

 I’d love to say I have a routine that keeps me sane but I really don’t. Every day is different – I’m a night owl so I rarely start work before 10am, sometimes as late as 2pm and I work until late at night. I try to incorporate breaks to leave the house and give myself a deadline in the evening – once I get stuck into a project, it’s hard for me to stop working. I also work on different kind of projects – some take a few days, some last weeks or months so depending on how busy I am, I tend to work longer hours or allow myself to step back a bit.

As well as being an incredible people photographer you also dip your toes into filmmaking; could you give us more insight on this other creative outlet?

Photography and filmmaking came into my life at similar times but always separated from each other. I learned the basics of filming and editing while I was interning in Hawaii, then worked in different jobs as camera operator, motion designer and video producer over time. Photography has always been my personal outlet on the side while video was my main job. It took me until 2018 to try and combine them in my work and in 2019 I decided to go freelance not just as a photographer but also as a filmmaker.

 Photography and film are based on the same principles, I can use the same camera for both but they still have their own fascination for me. Photos let me freeze moments, I can create albums and wall art to look at all the time. Video though has such power through sound and movement that can be captured. There’s so much emotion and the effect films can have are just amazing. I think both media have taught me something about the other and they complement each other so well. I wouldn’t want to miss one or the other.

 Do you have any tips for aspiring photographers or filmmakers?

 I think my main tip would always be to not get hung up on technicalities – no matter if you have a 10 year old DSLR or the newest mirrorless camera or even just a point and shoot. Learn to understand and see light. Photography literally translates to “painting with light” so seeing where light comes from, how it changes a scenes, how to make use of light and shadow, is one of the most important lessons you can learn. That principle stays the same whether you use your phone or a professional camera.

Also, shoot as much as you can – ideally every day. You never improve more than when practicing constantly. People tend to look for shortcuts but there is none when learning a skill – practice and patience is the only things that help you get better.

 In 2019 I finally plucked up the courage to attempt a project 365 – that’s when you take a photo every single day for a year. I’ve known my craft for a long time and my work was good when I started. But I do want to say that I’ve improved quite a bit through this year because the daily task challenged me ion a very new way. So no matter how new or seasoned you are, shooting daily will always be the best teacher.

 And finally for fun, what's your party trick?

 I’m an introvert, I don’t even know if I have a party trick. And if I did I probably would be too shy to share it. But if you talk to me about storytelling and the beauty of everyday life, I will not shut up and might even entertain the whole part for a while!