Meet Amanda Greene | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Greene and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It’s funny, I have only recently tried to keep myself aware that what I do is a business. I think of myself more as self employed and that I do what I do – take photographs. Years ago a colleague mentioned something about how when she got paid from a job we were working on together she was going to put the money “back into the business” and I was like, what is she even talking about? I just don’t see things that way – I see myself as an individual with a point of view and aesthetic. If someone wants to hire me based off of those things I get pretty happy.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a photographer. I studied at an art school in California but the program was geared towards commercial photography. In school I felt like I was generally not a star student, my work was a little less technical and clean that what was expected of us. I think I have always been more interested in the feeling of an image over the technical precision of it. I am glad that I have a strong technical background even if my work seems simple and natural, I think it is good in whatever field someone works in to know how to do things with technical prowess – then decide if you want to implement those skills in the work or not. I am interested in the subtleties of daily life, moments of light and color. Years ago I heard a photographer I admire stress the importance of “shooting what you love” and for me that is something that I do, perhaps to the detriment of my professional career. My work isn’t for everyone and I am OK with that – I am keen to keep my point of view even if that means less jobs. I am proud of several accomplishments, I have published two books. The first being Rejoice in 2019 and Peach in 2022. Another personal point of pride is that I traveled to Memphis in 2015 to visit with the photographer William Eggleston. I left a print of one of my images for him and a few days later the friend who had brought me to visit him sent me a photo of Bill holding my photo, saying that he loved it. To me that was the ultimate validation and it made me sort of not care what anyone else ever says about my work.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Atlanta. My hometown.
I grew up in Buckhead (I know) so there are some spots there that I have a sentimental attachment to. Henri’s Bakery is a major one (their shortbread cookies with a colorful icing dollop on them taste the same as they did in the 1980s and are amazing) and a few doors down from there Boxwoods has some lovely houseplants. Jackson Fine Art is a must stop in that area as well. In high school I worked at a camera store in Peachtree Battle so Jalisco is a sentimental spot for me as well, a lunch special there is a great nostalgic meal for me. Shifting to non sentimental, newer places. I love Little Tart Bakery – their chocolate croissant is so delicate that it might literally shatter in your hand. Antico pizza is great. Piedmont Park on a nice day is still a classic place to have a walk with a friend and make sure to go past the Noguchi Playscape whether you have kids or not. The DeKalb Farmers Market is an amazing resource for culinary folks. I am all over the place – the Chattahoochee Nature Center is a fun spot to see some animals and have a walk along the water. The High Museum is a great place to visit with a friend – also you can get there on MARTA which is a fun activity. My dad was an architect and he worked on the Peachtree Center station – it is pretty deep underground with exposed rock serving as the walls and structure and it was an engineering feat at the time, a fun stop of you are heading downtown. For entertainment I like going to shows at the Buckhead Theater, Variety Playhouse, Eddies Attic.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
SHOUTOUT to my high school photography teacher (Atlanta Public Schools!) Mr. D’Andrea for sharing the magic of photography with us and showing me that weird photos are important.

Website: https://www.amandagreene.com

Instagram: @amandagreenephotographs

Image Credits
All photographs taken by Amanda Greene