Katy Shayne is an internationally published female artist from Austin, Texas with a bachelor’s degree in Photocommunications from St. Edward’s University. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles exploring the many wonderful realms of image-making. Fall in love with her colors and playfulness.
KB: You come from Austin and live in LA now. Is that correct? How does this have an impact on your work?
Katy: Yes I moved to LA a year ago after spending some time in Tokyo, a transitional phase where I was reassessing what I wanted out of daily life.The remedial tasks of commuting to work, how you spend your day and how you pay the bills… LA has been good to me and hard on me. It is a faster paced city compared to Austin, trash and graffiti and refracted silvery light. I am constantly inspired and excited by the commotion, colors, traversing the city to the studio everyday. I think the images I have been making certainly are synonymous with this life I am living here in Los Angeles.
KB: Your photos are very playful. How much fun do you really have during shooting? How much is planned and how much is just going crazy?
Katy: I think I am a playful person in general. I can get serious on shoots only because it is hard for me to focus on shooting and also make casual conversation. But, making my subjects comfortable is very important to me, and with a jovial disposition I hope I do! I love shooting, I love editing, I love everything about the image-making process. I plan ahead depending on the assignment, but often things happen on set, collaborative ideas can take it in a different direction and much like in life I just try to go with the flow. It is important to listen to your instincts however, and honing my ability to do that and remain open to others’ input.
KB: If you were not a photographer what do you think you would be?
Katy: Oh boy I am interested in a lot of things but all my energy goes into making images these days. I am very interested in working with and supporting other artists. I think often about pursuing more curatorial projects, and styling is a lovely thought. I style my shoots quite often, and that is something I really enjoy outside of making images.
KB: Is there something you are working on at the moment? Or some kind of dream project you would love to work on in the future?
Katy: I am excited to get back to more documentarian work, as well as photographing artists I admire.
