Born and raised in Michigan, Emma Craft shapes her photography with shades of history and contemporary taste. She graduated with a BFA in Photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design and currently resides in New York. “My work has been described as painterly in the past, mainly due to the lighting and colors used,” she explains.
Craft’s lens has a magnetic pull towards editorials and portraits, where she unravels the human emotion. Her photographs serve as dialogues between the viewer and the subject, often breathing life into garments and expressions. “I am so interested in emotion,” she says. “I want the characters in my projects to be provocative and unexpected.” Her pursuit of emotion breaks the mold of traditional imagery, which ultimately injects life into every frame.
Craft’s transition into filmmaking mirrors her photographic journey — unexpected yet seamlessly fitting. They’re not just moving images but rather experiences and extensions of her vision, where every scene dances between reality and fantasy. “I’ve always envisioned the atmospheres I create as snippets of movement, never fully still,” she adds. That statement not only reflects the photographer’s ambition but also her commitment to pushing the limits of her craft, no pun intended.
As she looks forward to 2024, Emma is excited about her growing film projects, seeing them as an opportunity to challenge herself and bring larger-than-life ideas to fruition. To learn more about the person behind the camera, we caught up with her to discuss what inspires her work, memorable shoots, and more.
Before we get into some of the iconic work you’ve done, let’s start off with a brief introduction. Where are you from and what’s your background?
Thank you for your kind words! I was born and raised in Michigan. Home holds a special place in my heart, and the majority of my family is still there, so I often go back. For college, I went to the Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated in 2018 with a BFA in Photography.
Which periods of art or pop culture had the most impact on you growing up and as a student in college?
This is an amazing question. Once, my mother showed me Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antionette when I was young and then took me to Versailles when we were visiting Paris. I always felt like I should have been born within that time period. The glamor, the art, the fashion – it all felt so perfect. I began to see life within this color palette of pastels and wanted to interpret that in my own way. I wanted the viewer to be transported to this dreamy world that they could escape to.
In a sense, do any of those early influences come through in your current work — and how would you even describe your aesthetic to those unfamiliar?
Definitely! Although my work has evolved since college, I often display the same motifs or lighting throughout my work. My work has been described as painterly in the past, mainly due to the lighting and colors used. My entire aesthetic is so heavily based on these two elements that when looking back at older projects, they still feel within the same world I am depicting today, and I really love that.
I notice you focus a lot on editorials and portraits. What attracts you to the human face and body?
I am incredibly inspired by what the person is wearing and how they wear it, and what emotion that provokes. I want to see a garment in a different light than what the typical person would see it as. I am so interested in emotion as well, and I want the characters in my projects to be provocative and unexpected. Lately, I’ve been asking the talent to just scream at the camera or act pissed off. I’m so tired of emotionless imagery; I want to provoke something – from that moment on set to who is viewing my work.
Can you tell us the story of your two most memorable shoots so far?
Only because I just shot this two days ago, I want to share how I recently directed my very first music video with the uber-talented Charlotte Rose Benjamin, which will be released in April. The entire concept revolves around this time period I’m obsessed with, and I can’t wait to show the world what we created.
It was the epitome of a labor of love with the curation of artists I so deeply admire. It was the most incredible feeling to see it all come together. I am so proud of this project. We shot at my favorite studio, Vivid Kid, and everything felt so right. I can’t share too much, but the feeling post-shoot was surreal. I really am so lucky to have so many people trust this vision I have. I felt on top of the world.
You’ve also done a number of projects on the filmmaking side. Was that career path natural or did it come unexpectedly?
Unexpectedly in the way that I was surely intimidated by the production side of filmmaking until recently! I have been incredibly lucky to work with film crews that have been brilliantly creative and hard-working, all while being patient with me as I have learned the ropes. It has been a natural progression in terms of creatively expanding my vision into films.
I have loved it so much. I have always envisioned the atmospheres I create as snippets of movement, never fully still. So, it has been such a dream to show these worlds I am creating in a larger light – literally. Honestly, my dreams keep getting bigger, which I didn’t even know was possible! I feel so, so lucky.
Can you speak on your process of creating one of your films — from earliest ideation to the final outcome?
The creative process as prep for the shoot is the best part. This process can range anywhere from a couple weeks before the shoot date to even a year before. I start by doing a deep dive on reference imagery and ideas, I go down rabbit holes of really specific ideas. I use platforms like Pinterest and Instagram and general Google searching when I reference historical concepts. Once I gather some imagery, I will drop them into a deck.
I get insanely detailed with the breakdown of the project — the entire deck will be something like 40 pages. There will be slides for the timeline, the look and feel, the team, the glam, and even color treatment and post-production. The more detailed — the more clear each component it will be for the entire team to understand and visualize. The deck is a work in progress and will be edited throughout the creative process. This is the time when the concept can develop into something more elevated as each team member brings their genius into play.
Speaking of, what inspires you these days?
I love to bring historical references within my work, I love the idea that concepts and motifs always come back around, even from centuries past. There are concepts that we humans simply love to indulge in, visually and mentally. We as humans will always be fascinated by concepts fabricated in the past that tend to creep back up in present day. Concepts are revolving and being modified to current-day interpretations, which I think is important in the grand scheme of things. Familiar ideas with new interpretations.
What are you exploring now? Is there anything you’re excited to share in 2024?
I am so excited to bring on more film projects. My ideas keep getting larger, and I am so confident I can create them. I will always bring my photography into my work, but being able to expand my ideas into films has been the most rewarding experience. I am always trying to challenge myself as an artist. The more challenging, the better the outcome!
Published by Malcolm Trapp
