Courtney Horwood Photography.

I stumble onto Courtney's Instagram a couple of months ago and straight away I fell
in love with her photography.  Since then, I've fallen in love with the raw and genuine images Courtney makes.

Share a little bit about your family and life.

I am from a small town in by the beach in New Zealand, after travelling and studying I somehow ended up in Melbourne. I initially started out working as an assistant for other photographers to learn all I could about photography then started to pick up my own work and its continued on from there. I have been here almost 4 years now and am planning on moving back to NZ in the next year or so.

I shoot mainly weddings with a bit of editorial and portraiture thrown in as well :)

How long have you been in the photography industry?

Probably about 6 years by now, its gone very quickly!

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?

Funnily enough to take more photos using natural light. When I initially started studying I was obsessed with the studio, I loved that you could create something from nothing using only lights and you could completely control the environment and result. Then I started shooting weddings a couple of years ago and I fell in love with using natural light! You can't really get a better light source than the sun!

Also that you don't really need to study photography at all! I absolutely loved the time I spent studying but I learnt so much more from assisting other photographers and seeing how they worked and interacted with clients.

What is your favourite part about being a photographer?

The freedom and how every single day is different. I might be in the studio one day, in an industrial complex the next and then at a stunning winery for a beautiful wedding the next! Working at so many different locations keeps me inspired and I am constantly looking for photo opportunities! I think I would go nuts if I worked in an office everyday.

Who or what inspires you?

Travel! Getting to explore new places and meet new people is definitely right up there! As for daily inspiration, I follow quite a few different blogs and photographers, there are so many amazing creatives out there these days its pretty easy to find inspiration!

What kind of gear do you use?

•Camera body - A couple of Canon 5D Mark ii's (Need to have back-ups!)

•lens - 50mm, 28mm, 16-35mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm 

•Tripod - Manfrotto

•Flash - A couple of 580ex ii's

•Camera bag - Crumpler, a Canon Backpack and several small ones as well!

Which is your favourite lens? Why?

Definitely the 50mm 1.2, its so versatile and I absolutely love the beautiful bokeh you get you when you use it!

What does photography mean to you?

So many different things I couldn't possibly put it all into words! I don't think there are many jobs out there where you get to meet amazing people, explore new places and just get to witness beautiful things on a day to day basis. I am so incredibly lucky that I get to do this as a job!!

Do you have your own blog?

I do indeedy. Its http://courtneyhorwoodlove.com/blog/ and my new years resolution is definitely to get better at updating it as well!

Thank you so much for letting me interview you, Courtney. I love your work.

You can visit Courtneys blog here, like here on Facebook,  follow her on Instagram and visit her website here.