Today we’d like to introduce you to Audrey Battis.
Hi Audrey, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been drawn to the arts and being creative for as long as I can remember. Given that music and photography have both played such important roles in my creative as well as a personal journey when I discovered there was a way to combine those two things when I was about 17, I knew at that moment that’s what I wanted to do. So I messaged a local band and asked if they cared if I brought my camera to their show, and from that moment on I was hooked.
It was about that time I started shooting for a couple of music magazines, continuing to do so as I started college. Towards the end of my collegiate career, I got really busy between school, working full time, and trying to balance concerts on top of that. Sometimes my days started at 5 am and ended around 1 am or later. I was starting to feel really burnt out, and it was somewhere around this time that I got my first film camera, which allowed me to slow things down and re-capture the feeling of enjoying the process of creating again.
I still bring a point and shoot film camera with me pretty much everywhere I go. In May of this year (2021), I graduated with my BA in Communications, with much of my coursework focusing on visual communications. This freed up a lot more time to devote to live music and other things, including over the summer joining a national solidarity movement (Uhuru Solidarity) I had previously volunteered with that is under the leadership of the African People’s Socialist Party.
I consider both live music and activism to be the most integral parts of my existence and my journey, and they are not something I view as mutually exclusive. I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to be photographing live music again and surrounded by so many uplifting and supportive people, and am looking forward to growing even more both personally and professionally.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’d say it’s been an uphill climb for sure. I’ve faced my fair share of the hardships that many queer and trans people have. Having to be your own (and sometimes only) support system through a lot of things can be exhausting, to say the least. I’ve had to take time off and away from everything, especially during the pandemic. And as far as the industry—being a young femme-presenting/non-male in a still somewhat male-dominated industry also hasn’t been easy. A lot of men in the industry just don’t take you seriously—as a photographer, as a professional, as a person.
I mean, I’ve heard personal accounts from other photographers about how some bands still won’t take a woman/non-male photographer or crew member on tour with them at all. A lot of it is harder because it’s stuff that remains unspoken. There were times this has weighed heavily on me, but I chose to stick it out, to hold space for myself and other non-male creatives. I want to be a part of helping those succeed who have never been given the chance to.
There’s also just all this pressure to never speak about the negative experiences within the industry in fear that word might reach the wrong person and burn bridges. But I’d rather let the bad bridges burn. I’ve gotten the chance to meet and work with so many wonderful people in the industry—both non-men and men alike—it’d be a shame to take time away from that trying to work with people who were never going to hold space for you anyways.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Midwest-based live music photographer, and my cup of tea is concerts. I’ve been photographing live music for a little over 3 years now, and I love covering a wide range of genres from anything such as indie to metal to R&B to pop-punk among others.
I am also a film photographer and am currently putting together my first ‘zine, shot entirely on 35mm film, a collection/study on chasing the fleeting moments of fall when so much of our time is consumed by consumerism and capitalism.
I am very grateful for the space to share the stories I capture and am most proud of how much I’ve grown both personally and professionally since I began at 17. I finally feel like I’m at the point where I am able to create art that I’m both confident in and proud of.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
For booking inquiries, you can email me at audreybattisphotography@gmail.com, and you can find me on socials at Instagram: @audreybattis, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/audrey.battis.7.
Etsy (Print Shop): https://www.etsy.com/shop/PrintsnArtbyAudrey and Website: https://audreybattis.com/
Contact Info:
- Email: audreybattisphotography@gmail.com
- Website: audreybattis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audreybattis/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/audrey.battis.7
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/audrey_battis
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PrintsnArtbyAudrey
Image Credits
Bella Peterson
