Online Visual Media University

Geraldine Allen - Fine Art Photographer, Creating Wondrous Images With Digital Photography Art
By Kevin Rockwell

This is the first in a series of profiles of photographers from various parts of the imaging spectrum. In the future we will shine the light on news photographers, commercial photographers, nature photographers and so on in order to give you the digital photographer some valuable insights to help make your images better.

Geraldine Allen is our first subject artist in the spot light. Initially trained in art history and graphic design in the UK; Geraldine gained valuable experience in aesthetics and design principles. Later in life she undertook study of Psychology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honors degree. However, Geraldine's long time interest and passion for photography drew her back. Enthused by the possibilities brought about by Adobe Photoshop in its early days of development, she was soon absorbed by experimenting with digitized photographic collages. It was then she decided to return to Salisbury College in the UK to formalize her experience and update her knowledge of the visual media industry.

Geraldine studied Creative Digital Arts to familiarize herself with industry standard multimedia software, and wishing to focus on still imaging, then chose to complete her BA (Honors) in PhotoMedia (Photography). Whilst computer manipulation was becoming increasingly popular, she chose to experiment [and now favors] "in camera" effects.

When did your “aha” moment arrive; the time when you knew that your affinity for photography could take you further regarding your creative and professional career? “I took a candid shot of my teenage son one day when I just happened to be at an elevated height; the combination of height, the long lens, and the way I had composed his posture in the frame brought an interesting result and I thought then that there are so many variables and I would never get bored if I did this for a living. I had always enjoyed photography but I didn't really learn much until digital came along. All of a sudden I learned so fast because the results were instant and I could relate which mistakes were associated with which controls.”

Do you prefer total control over your photographic subjects or do you sometimes shoot natural non-studio images? “I don't have a preference. I am so passionate about photography and there are so many different aspects that I find it impossible to hold favoritism. I have to separate photography into genres and I take a different approach according to that genre. For example, creative photos are pre-conceived in the mind of the photographer/artist, so it does require the subject to be set up and controlled - to a degree. Although studio controlled images dominate my light painted portfolio, I often leave people as subjects to position themselves. The picture aims to portray a little essence of their natural character. I do help them with ideas if they are stuck though, usually by distracting them with conversation and saying "hold it there" when I think a particular posture, expression or mannerism would work well for the picture.