Bree McCool
A photographer that does it all; impossible you might say until you meet Bree McCool.
She truly does it all. Her range of capacities ranging from portraits to products to fine art. Everything she captures is clean and with detail. We sat with her to ask how she does it all.
Tell us about yourself.
I was born in Northern California but grew up on the Central Coast in Morro Bay. Very lucky to live there but by the time I was eighteen, I needed to get out and get to LA for film school at Columbia College Hollywood. I majored in Cinematography, minored in documentaries and loved it, but I burnt out on a lot of not so great student films. The goal was always to have my own creative photography business and so that’s what I’ve had unofficially for fifteen years and officially for three now.
How did you become a photographer and how did you discover your photography style?
I spent every last dollar I got from High School graduation on a Canon Rebel XT and started shooting for families and weddings immediately. It was definitely dropping myself into those situations that I discovered what to NOT do and what became important to me in terms of capturing moments for people.
I think my style is ever-changing. I feel very in flow with the seasons but also go through my own creative seasons—the ebb and flow of creating and processing, it’s always there. What I love about what I do is I have clients who share my love of experimental, classic portraits and double exposure film. It’s an absolute joy to work collaboratively with clients and find out which medium best speaks to their heart, brand and audience.
“I think my style is ever-changing. I feel very in flow with the seasons but also go through my own creative seasons—the ebb and flow of creating and processing, it’s always there. ”
Is your process different from editorial to events or portraits to couple photography?
As of recently, the processes are getting refined and the differences are becoming less and less in how I prep for myself and my client. Whether it's a service-based client, an interior design firm or highly conceptualized product photography—I take the same amount of time to curate an experience for my clients, which helps our preparation and finally, the execution then feels organic to what we’ve been planning.
If you could take six months off to work on your photography, where would it be?
This is a GREAT question! 100% I would spend a month in each different places—weather systems, culture and landscape. I do get restless easily so the varying POVs would be delightful to me. And a month sounds like a good amount of time for 1-2 day short trips and to live like a local for a minute. High on my list: Iceland, Portugal, Cuba, Faroe Islands, Morocco and Japan.
“My constant struggle is letting go of the desire to be perfect at everything right off the bat. There is such beauty and knowledge in the journey to learn something, to know it, to DO it.”
Do you have a ritual, quote, or affirmation that keeps you motivated with your photography?
It's probably more of a ritual especially when I’m feeling a bit depleted or my creativity isn’t flowing. I look outside for resources and inspiration. I usually get a kick of something and then I just start creating—even if its bad or not what I envisioned. My constant struggle is letting go of the desire to be perfect at everything right off the bat. There is such beauty and knowledge in the journey to learn something, to know it, to DO it.
I also love to look back at past work because I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to capture a moment in time for someone. The marking of time through photographs shows our history, growth and some really treasured scenes. The more time has passed, photographs grow in value to me—being witness to that is just the best.
Written by Diane Lindquist