MacTribe's interview series with inspirational photographers continues in our conversation with New York City based shooting ace Andrea Fischman. Andrea's cutting edge imagery can be seen in the pages of Boston Magazine, PR Week, NY Times, SC Magazine, and more. MacTribe caught up with her recently for an interview about where her artistic direction is moving now and how she sees the photo business in general.

MacTribe: Everyone familiar with your work knows you have a very stylistic, what I would call "creatively edgy" approach in your pictures. How did you get started as a photographer?

Fischman: I started in high school when my photo teacher gave me an assignment to photograph my family and friends in an uncensored way. I began photographing my family 24/7. Although there are many pictures with my mom blocking the lens with her hand, I was able to capture some very poignant moments. I still use that mentality with my photography, to go from being an outsider to becoming a part of whomever or whatever I am photographing.

MT: You've worked on a number of high profile local and national magazine shoots, are there particular themes you like to focus on?

AF: My goal is to create an honest portraiture that expresses a small or big aspect of someone's personality. When I am hired by a magazine or newspaper to shoot a portrait, I'm often not given a lot of information about the subject I am photographing. My theme is to keep the portrait honest and try to capture a real moment between the subject and myself.

AF: I am inspired by street scenes, like a colorful graffiti wall, a group of diverse people standing around waiting for a bus, gorgeous natural light, and of course, by the people I see in New York City.

MT: Can you tell me who are some of your all time favorite photographers?

AF: I was initially very inspired by Dorothea Lange's portraits of migrant families. I love how you can tell by looking at her portraits how much trust her subjects had for her as a photographer. Nan Goldin's book, "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency", in which her friends and family were the stars and she just followed them around with her camera, which produced an incredible story about each person. I also love Annie Leibowitz's work, but who doesn't!

MT: What have you been working on lately?

AF: I have been photographing a project in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, photographing the people that live and/or hang out there. I am strangely intrigued by the diverse personalities that are in Williamsburg everyday.

MT: What does a typical shoot day look like?

AF: A typical shoot day really differs depending on what I am shooting. Generally, a photo shoot involves showing up at a location, finding out where the power is, and setting up the lights. Then once all the logistics are done and I shoot some test shots of my assistant, the subject shows up and that is when the creativity begins for me.

No matter how much set - up you do, you could scrap it all if something the subject does is more interesting. For example, when I shot Philippe Starck for a feature in Boston Magazine, I had an elaborate set - up and a solid game plan. As soon as he arrived my whole plan had to be abandoned because he had a better idea! Which could happen when working with someone like Philippe Starck. What came out of our shoot was a pretty innovative shot that could not have been achieved without that collaboration.

MT: What type of cameras and equipment do you prefer when you're shooting?

AF: I work with Nikon cameras and mostly fixed lens. I love shooting portraits with fixed lens and getting that nice fall - off behind the subject. I shoot with Dyna Lights with soft boxes, umbrellas and grids as lighting tools.

As a photographer, how do you feel that the business has changed in the last five years?

AF: Well, in the last five years we have been in the middle of the digital age but I am not going to say that digital has taken over film. Although more and more digital cameras are exceeding the quality of medium and large format film cameras, I think that the idea of "digital capture" has become more of an industry term.

Digital capture is essentially the word for film processing in the digital age. Five years ago if you mentioned digital capture it would not have been as widely understood. It is a very important for your client to understand what digital capture is and what it requires because often you as a photographer need to charge for that time. I think the idea of digital photography being an art form, just like shooting with film, is becoming more accepted. It is not just "easy" because it is digital and you can just shoot shoot shoot, it also has its own difficulties.

MT: How does the advent of Web 2.0 technology impact your work?

AF: Web 2.0 technology has truly revolutionized our ability to publish our photography on blogs and sites like Twitter and Facebook. Sharing our visions instantaneously and staying connected to other photographers is extremely important and rewarding. As a photographer, you are very solitary in your craft and Web 2.0 technology allows photographers to connect with perspective clients and fellow photographers who follow your blog.

MT: Are you concerned at all about recent dramatic changes in the photography business, such as the advent of newer microstock offerings, and the effect it is having on the world of assignment photography?

AF: Not particularly. I just keep doing what I am doing and hope for the best. I know stock photo prices are becoming lower with royalty - free images but there is no use in focusing on the negative. I try to stay positive about the state of the industry.

MT: What are some of your future projects?

AF: I am going to continue the portrait project in Williamsburg because this scene makes me think of the Lower East Side in the 80s. For some reason, that fascinates me. I am also working on a project on New Yorkers that have lived in their same apartment for thirty to forty years and what their apartments look like. Of course, doing a portrait of them in their apartment is going to be the focus but I also want to focus on the details of their space. I already did one shoot for this project. The subject has lived in her apartment for thirty years and it is a rent-stabilized apartment. She has transformed this very small space into a little sanctuary that has a calmness and rich history.

I am also waiting on my first assignment from Flashes of Hope, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating uplifting portraits of children fighting cancer and other life - threatening illnesses.

All images Copyright Andrea Fischman 2009, used by kind permission.