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Photo @dolescent member crush: Gabrielle Barrera

Oct. 17, 2018
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This is a new weekly series where we feature our incredibly talented Adolescent members and their work! Sign up here to join the Adolescent Membership and be part of the @ family!

 Our second Adolescent Member Crush is Gabrielle Barrera! Gabrielle is an 18-year-old photographer from Columbus, Ohio. Her photographs transport us into the world of girls in suburbia. Read below about her and how she captures her subjects and check out her other pieces she's done for Adolescent here!

@DOLESCENT CONTENT: When did you start getting into photography/filmmaking?

I started getting into photography when I was fifteen going on sixteen. I was struggling with an anxiety disorder and was looking for an outlet for creative expression. I got my first camera (a Nikon D3300) on my sixteenth birthday.

@: How did you learn about photography and start taking photos?

I started messaging students at the art college in Columbus and asked them to shoot with me. I learned a lot from watching them shoot, asking them questions, and assisting them on their shoots. After that, I started asking to shoot with other local photographers, and learned from them as well.

@: Where do you draw inspiration from?

I am inspired by the role women have played throughout art history, latina culture and my own Mexican heritage, countering the male gaze and anti feminist rhetoric, the transition between girlhood and womanhood, and youth.

@: What is usually your subject matter? What do you think is important in your work?

I am primarily interested in photographing my female identifying friends. I do both documentary, street, and editorial style photos. It is important to me that my photos hold aesthetic value, while also allowing people to connect with them by recognizing themselves (or past selves) in it.

@: If I could have any piece of equipment it would be…

Professional lighting equipment and underwater housing for my camera.

Favorite movie/TV show right now?

My favorite film is Mustang (2015), and my favorite TV show is Friends (which I am just now watching for the first time)

@: What is a meme that completely encompasses you? 

@: What do you enjoy shooting most? Where’s your favorite place to shoot?

I love shooting in natural light in parks around Columbus, which is where I am most comfortable. I would like to shoot more on sets that have been designed or indoor locations.

@: Any funny or horror stories you’ve come across when shooting?

Last week, I was twenty minutes late to a shoot, and when I got there I realized I had left all of my SD cards at school (two hours away), and needed to go to the store to get one. It took me forty minutes driving around in extremely heavy traffic to get to a CVS that should have been only 10 minutes away. When I finally got back, my car was being towed and I started crying asking for it back, basically having a breakdown in the middle of the street. 

@: Any cool projects are you working on right now?

I have just started working for a fashion magazine for my university, and I am currently working on two editorials, as well as personal shoots. I usually like to be shooting everyday things on a disposable camera as well.

Who’s your crush?

My boyfriend and Charli XCX. For sure.