Kickstarter

UPDATE: Thank you so much for your support. Due to your generous pledges, we have passed the goal for Portrait! We're working on a lot of cool things for the film and I can't wait to start sharing them with you.

If you missed the chance to pledge on Kickstarter, go to my website or follow me on Twitter to stay up-to-date on Portrait.

In the age of Instagram, what sets a professional photographer apart?

I am fascinated by the creative process. When it comes to photography, you don't always get to see the behind the scenes like you do with movies.

I set out to make that film. I recently started a Kickstarter campaign that aims to explore this question while giving you an inside look at the day-to-day life of professional photographers.

Unfortunately, that project did not meet its goal, and therefore the campaign was canceled and none of the money pledged went to the film.

I believe in this idea too much to simply quit on it.

I recently connected with Cory Staudacher, a web designer from Seattle. He's friends with Andria Lindquist, one of the professional photographers I had hoped to feature.

As it turns out, Cory has never owned a DSLR and is in no way a professional photographer. Yet Cory, going under the name withhearts, has over 50,000 followers on Instagram.

What a better way to still explore the creative process than to compare two friends: one professional photographer who makes a full-time living at what she loves to do, and an avid Instagrammer who has risen to some level of fame in the digital age due to his creative eye and iPhone photography skills.

So here we are. I'm asking for $2,000 – enough to make it to Seattle with one other crew member for a week.

What have I done to make sure this can still be a successful, complete film?

I've simplified the process, while allowing room to grow. Instead of setting out with hopes to travel all over the country to cover a number of photographers, we'll start with just two, both in Seattle.

I've also simplified the rewards. I want everyone to have a chance to be a part of it, and to get some really cool rewards for being a backer.

If we go over our goal, the film can only grow. This is not a compromised version of the film I hoped to make, it's simply different. As we can grow and expand, I still hope to turn this into a series or extended film that will cover all the original photographers and topics presented. For now, let's just start with step one.

I look forward to sharing the experience with you.