10 Questions: Sam Hurd

Updated on 18 January, 2019 / 2 mins to read

Having turned only 30 this year, Washington DC-based photographer Sam Hurd has already been photographing professionally for the last 7 years. He’s well known in the photographic industry for his ‘prisming’ and ‘lens chimping’ techniques – and epic portraits series (of celebrities). Sam is not afraid to experiment. His works reflect a sense of experience, skills, and maturity beyond his years yet it still has that freshness in it that is charismatically attractive.

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1. What is life to you? What it should be?

Wow! Starting off pretty deep. Life is a balance. Balancing work and pleasure, finances and material items, family and yourself. A life all lived is a life well balanced.

2. How does where you live, influence your creativity?

I own my home and there’s great freedom in making it whatever we want to make it. It’s a mid-century modern style house that makes it very easy to wake up in the morning. It’s in an incredibly affordable city that is immensely underrated and (hopefully) will stay that way – Baltimore MD.

3. There are a lot of professions out there – why be a photographer?

I’m a photographer and a teacher (workshops). I have a background in Computer science and Music. I’ve always balanced one focus of my life with another. Music and Science, Exercise and Junk Food, Photographing 50 weddings a season and Teaching 15 workshops a year. I sort of just fell into photography with a great job opportunity via a well-known establishment in Washington DC and have kept it up ever since.

4. Are you creativity satisfied at the moment?

I’m always creatively satisfied. This comes from my personal belief that we’re far from exhausting all the possible ideas that could exist for still images. Technology is enabling new ideas to spread every single day… in literally every single moment. It’s a very compelling idea that keeps my fire burning strong.

5. What movie did you love recently?

Star Wars – The Force Awakens.

6. Are you working on any projects at the moment you can tell us about?

Just launched a new Podcast with a friend of mine. It’s mostly photography talk, but we’ll talk about whatever the heck we want.

7. Is/Are there any project(s) you wish you could do – or might do?

None at the moment!

8. Do you shoot with your left or right eye?

Both

9. Who do you respect – in photography or elsewhere?

Ryan Brenizer – both as a teacher and a photographer. Creator of the brenizer method.

10. Where do you see yourself in 10 year’s time?

10 years will likely be nearing the end of my wedding photography run as my primary source of revenue in my business and hopefully, I’ll have pivoted into something else!

Bonus Q: Do you think the gear you use affects the way you photograph? Why?

Of course, it does! Your equipment informs your shooting decisions and abilities. When you shoot with a 50mm lens you think in terms of that framing and what it will and won’t allow for. All other ideas are put on the back burner. This applies to camera bodies, sensors, flashes- everything!