{"id":301,"date":"2015-12-01T00:43:14","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T00:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.parabo.press\/blog\/?p=301"},"modified":"2020-04-27T07:16:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T07:16:44","slug":"qa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.parabo.press\/blog\/printmaker-profile\/qa\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with Victoria Smith, sfgirlbybay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victoria Smith is an interior design blogger and Instagram aficionado. She\u2019s dabbled as an art buyer and stylist. Earlier this year she published a stunning photography book called See San Francisco<\/i><\/a>. Oh, and all of us here at Parabo Press have a collective crush on her.<\/p>\n

So, we talked to her about her photography inspiration, shooting technique, what photos make the best prints and just how she got so dang cool.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/a>Meet Victoria Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q: Your blog shows off your amazing interior design chops and fun writing style. How\u2019d you get so good at photography to boot?<\/em><\/p>\n

A: Thank you! I was actually a photography major in high school, but that was before digital. Now I just play with my iPhone mostly, and get tips from friends whose feeds I admire. I also use the VSCO App<\/a> and I feel like their filters and tools have improved the quality of my photos immensely.<\/p>\n

Q: On your blog you have a series we love called \u201cThe Shutterbugs<\/a>\u201d where you feature photographers that inspire you. So we know who inspires you, but where do you find all these fine folks?<\/p>\n

A: Mostly through Pinterest<\/a>, or through design magazines like Milk Decoration<\/a>, Cereal<\/a>, Cherrybombe<\/a>, or other blogs, often VSCO as well.<\/p>\n

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Creating Photo Books<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q: Let\u2019s talk about your book. Did you have a bunch of photos of SF and think, \u201cThese should be a book!\u201d Or, did you decide to make a book and then go on a shooting spree (the good kind)?<\/em><\/p>\n

A: An editor at Chronicle Books approached me with the idea after seeing my Sunday in the City series on the blog. We had been talking about doing a design book, but it\u2019s a very large investment of time and resources that I just don\u2019t have at the moment. So the idea of a book based on running around the city shooting sounded fun to me. I started out with the thought of using about 40% of older photographs, but felt the old photos didn\u2019t hold up to my current standards (i.e. I think I\u2019d improved from those older shots). So I shot the whole book from scratch and about 95% of the photos I shot with my iPhone using the VSCO App.<\/p>\n

Q: And as soon as your book came out, you moved to LA! How are you liking it? Are you going to do a book about LA, too?<\/em><\/p>\n

A: I know – ironic, right? The timing was a bit odd, but I still love San Francisco. Los Angeles is proving to be a very happy place for me. I really love it here, and love my Echo Park neighborhood. Its vibe is actually pretty San Francisco-like – very artistic, hilly and great people. And yes, my agent mentioned Chronicle would like to do a See Los Angeles, so we shall see. I\u2019m going to revisit the idea in the spring.<\/p>\n

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Photo Taking Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q: Please tell us all your secrets. (The photography kind!) What are the top three tips you\u2019d offer someone who wants to take better photos?<\/em><\/p>\n

A: I always use natural light if possible. Look for the light source and try a couple of angles using that light to find the optimal light – not too bright, but not dark. I never shoot much at night or in dark rooms because the photos just come out grainy.<\/p>\n

Clear the clutter in your shot and find the focal point of what your shot is about. If there\u2019s a bunch of other things in the background, move them out of the shot for a cleaner, less busy image so that people can instantly read what your photograph is about.<\/p>\n

Try the Apps out – VSCO is great and they have online tutorials to teach you how to use it. Camera+<\/a> is good, and I like Afterlight<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n

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Victoria + Parabo Forever<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q: Remember when you agreed to be one of the first people ever to try Parabo<\/a> and it made our day? What did you learn about what photos make the best prints, that Parabo users might find handy?<\/p>\n

A: Ha, yes, seems like it was only yesterday. \ud83d\ude09 \u00a0I think everything turned out better than I might have imagined, really – so that\u2019s hard to say. I really like the way bright images look on the matte newsprint, so maybe give that a try and see what you think.<\/p>\n

Q: Will you be our BFF?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Absolutely!<\/p>\n

Photo Cred: 1, 2 by Laure Joliet<\/a>, 3, 4, 5 by\u00a0 Lilyhair.com<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a06 by us.<\/small>
\nLove print as much as we do? Become a contributor! Email editorial@parabo.press<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victoria Smith is an interior design blogger and Instagram aficionado. She\u2019s dabbled as an art buyer and stylist. Earlier this year she published a stunning photography book called See San Francisco. Oh, and all of us here at Parabo Press have a collective crush on her. So, we talked to her about her photography inspiration, shooting technique, what photos make the best prints and just how she got so dang cool.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-printmaker-profile"],"yoast_head":"\nQ&A with Victoria Smith, sfgirlbybay - Parabo Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parabo.press\/blog\/printmaker-profile\/qa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Q&A with Victoria Smith, sfgirlbybay - Parabo Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Victoria Smith is an interior design blogger and Instagram aficionado. 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