Feature Friday with Amanda O'Donoughue of Amanda O' Donoughue Photography!!!

Without further ado, please meet the winner of the "warmth" theme, the incredibly talented Amanda O'Donoughue, of Amanda O'Donoughue Photography!!!

1. Please tell us about yourself...

I am a native Floridian living in Gainesville, Florida with my husband and 2.5 year old son. I have a degree in Anthropology. My most passionate memories of my youth are of the years I spent as a zookeeper working with Great Apes.  I long to homestead with minimal square footage and raise a family with no divisions between indoors and out. I specialize in mother and child portraiture, birth, and maternity. 

2. Can you describe your style in three words? Why those three words?

I am kind of a rebel, in the sense that I don’t like to label my style in a few words. My style has evolved so much in such a short time already, but I’ll attempt it for you

Cinematic, sentimental and…and … moody. I guess I pick these currently because I am highly influenced by the moving pictures, love to make people cry, and love images that include darkness and rim light. 

3. What sparked your passion for photography?

My passion for photography developed early on. As a child I watched way too many nature programs narrated by David Attenborough. I always wanted to be a National Geographic photographer, and still kind of do. 

4. What's in your camera bag right now?

I am horrible with my gear and rarely use a bag. But when it is all together where is should be, I have a Canon 6D with a 50mm 2.5 macro on it 90% of the time. The other 10% I use a 50mm 1.4. My husband’s Nikon F2, a few rolls of Portra something or other, and some Ilford HP5. A dog whistle, harmonica, knife, and lip gloss. 

5. What's your dream shoot or project?

I dream often of taking portraits of Dr. Jane Goodall in the bush with her chimpanzees, and nailing it.

6. What are some of the misconceptions you had about photography and photographers at the beginning of your photography journey? Have they changed, and how?

I guess in the beginning I thought that content was the most important and didn’t focus too much on ability and technique.  But now I feel that content, ability, and a little luck go a long way

7. What advice would you give to newbie photographers? What advice do you wish you'd been given at the very beginning?

I consider myself a new photographer still, as I have only worked hard at this for a little less than two years now.  Luckily, I was given wonderful advice in the beginning by amazing peers, although not soon enough to bypass the awful over editing stage which still makes me cringe when I go back into my hard drives. Advice from me would be to get into nature, slow down, hug your children and take frequent breaks from social media.  Damn I sound like a hippie.  Thank you Snap Maven for the feature, I really appreciate you taking interest. 

To see more of Amanda's stunning work, please check out her Facebook page or her website.