An Interview with Te Kura Student and Photographer – Sienna Paxie

Hi Sienna, thanks for joining us today. So, how old were you when you first started photography?
I think I was about seven. At Primary School they had Friday afternoon electives and I chose photography. We started out with little digital cameras.

Do you have any family members involved with photography?
My mum and cousin. My cousin has done some shoots for some brands so at times I have gone and been the second photographer for him.

At a young age, what type of subjects/objects were you photographing?Anything and everything really. I would just see things and think – oh, that could work.

Did you use an old-school camera or digital?
Digital.

Do you do any editing of the photos you take?
Yes – I use Lightroom for my editing. This is one of my favourite things about photography – it’s so nice to see your work come together.

Do you have a favourite photo?

I have a few favourites but my favourite one is a picture of a sheep! It has the Southern Alps in the background. I actually took the photo from out of the car. I rolled down the window while we were passing through a flock of sheep and I happened to take it. I actually entered this photo into a school competition and won!

Is photography part of your future plans?
I want it to be. I am a bit nervous to shoot weddings though because if you get it wrong there’s no going back! But, family portraits and travel photography would be neat.

Would you consider doing an Internship?
I haven’t really considered it before, but it could be a good option.

If you could choose any piece of photography equipment, what would it be?
The camera I currently have is pretty good so I probably wouldn’t change it but, I would like to have a photography studio – that would be fun but for now I make do with what I have.

If you could travel anywhere in the world to take photos – where would it be?
Oh goodness, I have no idea – literally anywhere. The South Island is amazing and maybe Italy or Greece!

This concludes our interview with Sienna. If you would like to ask more questions or, maybe do some photography projects with Sienna or have photos of your own to share then please contact Nga Panui a Te Kura at – [email protected].