For a moment, the water is still, and the girl behind the camera lowers herself in pursuit of the shot. As soon as she sees the ripples and the figure enters the frame, wham! A single flash of light escapes the shutter, and she steps back. She examines the viewfinder: a perfect picture, capturing a moment that the naked eye surely would have missed.
When junior Lan-Anh Pham isn’t in the water herself, you can catch her on the sidelines taking spectacular action shots of your favorite AMHS swimmers. Enjoy this brief insight into how she got her start, some of her favorite shots, and where she sees herself going with photography in the future.
How did you get into photography and for how long have you been doing this?
This will be my third year doing photography. I got into it because my dad and my older sister would always take pictures at swim meets, and I got really interested because I saw that a lot of companies charge a lot of money to have photography taken for sports, and I wanted to see if I could change that by helping to take pictures for my friends instead.
What inspires you/what are some of your favorite subjects?
Right now, I mostly take pictures of swimming action shots, and the rest that are on my digital camera; I just take pictures of events.
If you could describe your photography style in a few words, what would they be?
Angular and clear.
Do you have a favorite location/thing/concept you like to shoot?
I really enjoy taking pictures of swimmers doing breaststroke or butterfly. I like taking pictures from a lower angle so that it looks like the picture is parallel with the water.
What’s your goal with photography? Where do you ultimately want to take this hobby?
Right now, it’s more of a hobby, but I do want to continue taking pictures in college as well. Even if it’s not for swimming, I want to take pictures and keep them as memories.
Do you have any particular photos that you’re proud of or are your favorite? (And would you like them featured?)
I have one picture I really like. It’s a person swimming, and then there’s a water halo coming to the front so it looks like they’re submerging.
What skills are you still working on/what challenges do you face?
I’m definitely still trying to figure out how to take photos in different lighting circumstances. Like, when it’s super foggy or it might be a little darker or something like that. I’m still trying to figure out how to take the best photos with the best lighting.
What’s one piece of advice you have for budding photographers?
I would say, if you’re trying to take photos, make sure the sun is behind you instead of in the background of the photo. That would be the ideal lighting. Also, if you’re taking action photography like me, you would want a higher shutter speed.
If we want to see more of your work, where can we go to do so?
I have an Instagram account called @flickies.by.pham, so you can find it there.
