This week, in our Behind the Lens series, we’re super excited to introduce you to another one of our supremely talented Creative Team members, Stacy White. Stacy is a commercial product photographer by day and a landscape photographer at heart. She lives in Sarasota, Florida with her husband, 2 children and 2 dogs. Read on to see her beautiful photography!

What inspired you to pick up your first camera?

I actually had only had disposable cameras until about 11 years ago. I had had a basic camera and then when my daughter was born I decided I needed a better camera to be able to capture her growing up. I shot only in automatic mode until about 2 years ago when I decided I was going to learn how to use my camera. I started with a workshop and was hooked!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and you as a photographer.

Once I had my camera I really discovered that I enjoyed taking photos of my kids and on vacations. Many of my beginning photos were just to document vacations and the children. As we started going to places other than Disney and to visit family, I started to really get interested in landscape photography. I’ve always loved interior design and felt that I could incorporate that into my photography. I had a friend that started an online business and I did some product photos for her and absolutely loved figuring out how to style the shoot and figuring out what really worked for the photos to make them stand out.

Tell us a little about the subjects you love to photograph and your style as a photographer.

I figure out all the time new things I love to photograph! The only thing I really don’t do is portraits… I only shoot my own people. =) I really love landscapes and wildlife – especially moose. There’s something about them that really fascinates me. I also go to my local shelter every month and photograph the dogs that are available for adoption to try and help get them adopted. I have recently become interested in urban exploration and have been searching for unique abandoned places to photograph.

Aside from photography, what is a favorite hobby or pastime of yours?

I am an avid reader. I love my book club because we read so many different types of books and its really opened me up to reading books that I would have never picked up before. I also love to travel and spend time with my favorite people – my husband, David, and my two children, Ansley and Aidan.

What do you do to learn and grow as a photographer?

I am always looking for new sources of education and inspiration. I have subscribed to many different photography sites such as Digital Photography School and PictureCorrect Photography Tips and get emails daily from them on different topics. I absolutely adore the work of Richard Bernabe – he is an amazing nature and landscape photographer. I do workshops with him and always learn something new and am inspired to try new things. I also am lucky enough to have a group of women I’ve met through my local camera club. We get together for lunch and some photography – I feel lucky to have a group of women that have a common interest to learn from and share outings with.

Out of all the locations you’ve photographed, is there one that stands out as being your favorite?

I feel very blessed because we live near Sarasota, Florida which is a beautiful place with amazing beaches. There’s never a lack of scenery here! My family visited Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole two summers ago. That area has such an incredible impact on my husband and myself. If we get out west and are somewhat close we go visit. We have been over 7 times in the last two years and have recently purchased a second home in Teton Valley, Idaho. I am awed by the beauty and scale of the mountains there… it is something everyone should see at least once in their lifetime! On top of that, there’s an abundance of wildlife there – you will almost always see elk, deer, bison. On top of that, if you’re lucky you’ll spot a moose or a bear.

Is there a photo/photo shoot that stands out as being your favorite?

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but right now the coolest shoot I did was at an abandoned reform school. We were visiting family out of town and I ran across images and decided I had to go see it myself. It was such an interesting – and creepy – place! I’ve always been fascinated with old barns, and visiting this place was perfect. I was a little bit of a chicken about going in these buildings, so I made my husband go with me. Big mistake! He walked around talking about zombies and telling me it was the creepiest place he’s ever been.

Since most of the places were inside, I packed my tripod and 24-70mm lens. Since there were many dark places, the tripod made it much easier to get sharp photos instead of trying to hand-hold my camera. I spent a lot of time looking and exploring before shooting – I wanted to get angles that showed as much as possible of my subject and tried to get some interesting angles instead of the obvious. The great thing about digital cameras is you can take as many shots as you want, so experiment!

Thank you so much, Stacy, for giving us a little glimpse into your life as a photographer! Be sure to visit Stacy’s blog and Facebook page for more awesome photography and let her know we sent you!