From brides to buildings, Lafayette-based photographer Brian Powell hasn’t met a subject he’s not up to shoot (yet). Pattern recently sat down with the versatile Powell to get a glimpse of the man behind the lens.
Brian, tell me a little bit about yourself.
I’m a photographer based out of Lafayette, Indiana. I do all types of photography. I started in college, and I recently made this my full time career.
Where did you go to college? Did you study photography?
I went to the University of Kansas, and I actually studied architecture. I tried to get into a photography class, but they were usually full. I stayed one summer and was able to get into one. I spent pretty much the whole summer in the dark room. When the fall semester rolled around, I kind of ran the labs and the dark room for one of the professors, so I got to work a lot in there. I also took some photography history classes.
What’s your favorite style and subject matter?
My favorite subject is my girls, but that’s probably a bit biased. As far as style of shoot, I really like doing environmental shots. Anything where the subject interacts with the space they’re in. Honestly, I could do that for the next 30 years and never get bored.
Where do you plan to take your career in photography, and where do you see your business going in the future?
I’m definitely not moving; I’m staying in Indiana. Where do I see myself in the future? Well, that’s a good question. I think I want to do something with education and photography. I got my master’s degree at Western Kentucky University in education before working at Purdue, and I’d love to teach people. I’m opening a studio downtown Lafayette which might grow into something along those lines.
