Street smarts — Local Paddo

Although Laura Reid received her first camera at the age of 11, it wasn’t until six years ago that she became, in her own words, obsessed with photography. The catalyst was a photography workshop in Puglia, Italy, with an Australian photographer which, she says, “changed my life”.

“I have been obsessed ever since.”

The past six years have been rich ones professionally for Reid, who will next month be one of only 80 finalists selected from a field of 3000 in the National Portrait Gallery’s annual photographic portrait prize.

The nomination follows Reid having twice been selected and hung — in 2019 and 2020 —at the Women Street Photographers exhibition, an annual show in New York showcasing the best female photography from around the world.

One of Reid’s images, Sun Worship, has been published in a book from the exhibition, also called Woman Street Photographers, released in New York in March.

For Potts Point-based Reid, the recognition, particularly the National Portrait Gallery nod, is “a massive deal for me”, particularly because she still holds down a day job as a town planning consultant while working on her photography on the side.

Reid says she has almost accidentally become part of a global movement belatedly recognising the work of female street photographers, who previously have largely been sidelined in a male-dominated field.

“I didn’t initially realise that women were under-represented in street photography,” she says. “A lot of women do food photography or wedding photography but it seemed that men dominated street photography. But street photography suits my lifestyle because I don’t want to work for a client who gives me a brief. I want to do my own thing.”

Now that she has thought about it, Reid believes women do have a different eye to men when shooting real-life imagery.

“I feel that women definitely have an advantage on the street because people are often more receptive to them. Particularly if I photograph at the beach, where a lot of men have more difficulty when they pull their camera out. Women can get in closer to people and not be as threatening. When I’m at the beach I’m just in my swimming costume with a camera.”

Although she shoots mostly coastal scenes, Reid credits her architecture background for her structured, occasionally geometric images, such as that of Sun Worship, which featured in the 2019 Women Street Photography exhibition and book.

“My style is very coastal, and quite graphic,” she says. “I’m very connected to the water and shoot a lot of swimming pools and beaches. My photos are very positive and happy, or I like to think they are.”

The photograph selected for the national photographic portrait prize cannot be revealed until July, but we will bring it to you in our August edition.

laurareidphotography.com

@laurareidphoto