Winifred Whitfield
From Wall Street to the Llama Farm to
Exquisite and Artistic Photographer
Winifred
Whitfield has one of the most interesting stories you will find among
professional photographers. It wasn’t that long ago that Winifred
was a Vice President for Standard and Poors Corporation on Wall
Street. She was in charge of bond ratings for all public and
private colleges and universities in the country. She had the
glamorous New York financial world life but decided to leave it for the
peace and quiet of a 100+ year old farm house on six beautiful acres on
a peninsula about an hour from Seattle, Washington, reachable by
ferry.
Winifred began a totally new business
as a llama breeder, raising 30 lamas and two camels in addition to
developing phenomenal gardens which she began to lease out for weddings
and wedding receptions. When she needed photographs of her prize
breeding lamas, she bought her first camera and began to discover her
interest in photography. She knew she needed training so she
enrolled in various photography courses. It wasn’t long before
Winifred moved from photographing her animals to taking photographs at
weddings in her elegant garden later becoming the contracted wedding
photographer at these events. She quickly became successful,
doing weddings every weekend. However, she soon found she didn’t
like trailing after the bride and groom capturing a wide variety of
images. She knew she wanted to be much more in control and work
as a true artist. Winifred attended a five- day workshop by
Joseph and Louise Simone in Cap May, New Jersey, and it was that course
which set the direction for her photography.
Winifred loved the classic style of lighting and posing the Simones
used and has chosen this style for herself to create highly artistic
photographs of women. Winifred quotes, “I love the Simone’s work
but I avoid copying their work. I am developing my own style
though certainly the Simones have been an important influence for
me. They are GREAT at what they do. People clearly see the
difference.”
Winifred knew that she could be successful as a classic artistic high
end photographer only if she structured her entire life in that
direction. She did not open the typical studio.
Instead in July 2007, she opened a gallery, beautifully appointed in
every way to show off large wall mounted portraits of women.
Everything was pefectly displayed. The beautifully framed
portraits are more art like than photographs. Her studio name is Intimate Portraits for Women.
Her major form of advertising is through referrals. Because of
her remote location, her customers must travel an hour or more to get
to her studio. They have to be highly motivated to secure her
services.
Each portrait session is handled like a
classic art study beginning with an extensive consultation with the
client. Before a session begins, Winifred already has a concept
in her mind as to what she is about to create.
Winifred
did not just become an artistic photographer overnight. She has
devoted much of her life energy to understanding and developing her
inner being. “You have to find out who you really are and then
continually work on yourself. As you begin to discover yourself,
you must be able and willing to bring forth your deepest creative
vision of and for your client. At this point, you have done your
very best for them and yourself. I am an artist. The process of
looking within to release my creativity is important to me. It
has to be important to any artist. I am an artist who uses the
camera as my initial tool to create personal art for my clients,” says
Winifred.
From the very beginning, the Scene
Machine has been an important component of Winifred’s art. She
first saw the Scene Machine when she studied with Joseph and Louise
Simone. The Simones use the Scene Machine for 75% of their
work. The Scene Machine instantly became a tool Winifred wanted
to use in expressing her vision of her clients. At that point,
Winifred came to Virtual Backgrounds to learn more about it. She
uses the Scene Machine in a very reserved fashion, except for special
situations where the background can be more dominant. Her
backgrounds are typically dark and subtle. Winifred states, “I
love the flexibility and creativity the Scene Machine provides without
taking up valuable space for the storage of props and
backgrounds. I can change backgrounds in seconds, and I like to
use a variety of backgrounds during a session.”
Winifred’s studio calendar is generally full with two to five sessions
per week. Her minimal sale, including consultation, the
photographic session, retouching, enhancement and one 8x10 print is
$800. Her wall portraits start at $3,000. The recession
significantly reduced her sessions during the last part of 2008, but
since the first of the year, her business has returned to normal.
New York City is coming back into Winifred’s life. She has
recently opened an artistic portrait operation in the city but she has
no intention of leaving her beloved Washington State gallery. She
sees herself as traveling between both sites.
Winifred loves to share her experience with other photographers.
She has spoken several times for WPPI. She also gave a
presentation for the Texas Professional Photographers Association and
recently was a featured speaker for the Professional Photography
Society of New York State and Image Quest in Richmond British
Columbia.
We predict that the industry will be hearing and seeing a lot more of
Winifred Whitfield as her career as a photographic artist continues to
develop. We are pleased that our Virtual Backgrounds Scene
Machine plays an important role in her artistic creations.
