THIS WEEK WE INTERVIEWED ONE OF OUR AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHERS,

SAMANTHA BAKER

CONTINUE READING TO LEARN A LITTLE ABOUT SAM!

Tell us about yourself!
How do I start? I'm originally from Sacramento, and have always been a creative little bean. Ever since I could remember, movies always intrigued me, with all of the different stories and characters you can watch and connect with. So I decided to pursue my dreams of being a filmmaker and went into film school immediately after high school. Since then, I've been able to work on an assortment of short films, music videos, commercials, photo shoots, and more! Things happen for a reason in this life, and I really couldn't see myself doing anything else.

What inspired you to pursue your current creative path?
Watching movies and television were one of the ways my family and I were able to spend time together. As I was going into high school, I realized that I could actually get into the film industry as an actual job! I was just shook at the thought of that, and I began making little shorts and spoof videos with my friends. Since then, I have found my true passions in photography, video editing, and directing.

How did you find out about TGS?
Back when I was living up in NorCal, some of my good friends were a part of a new collective aka TGS, and my sister Max Baker had joined. My friends had recommended me to reach out to Alex and the team and I've been so blessed to be a part of this incredible and super talented community of artists.

Why did you decide to join TGS?
Since I decided to make the move to Orange County, I was able to connect and create with a majority of the collective members. Because of these amazing humans, as well as Instagram, I wouldn't have half of the friends I have down here! Truly blessed.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?
As a filmmaker and photographer, I have found some of my inspirations in my craft to be among more of the dark and moody vibes. Tim Burton, Walt Disney, Guillermo del Toro, Damien Chazelle, are among some of my favorite film directors and creators in the industry. They all create these magical, dark, and beautiful out of this world kind of films, but we as the viewers can truly connect to these stories and visuals they present to us.

Fave aesthetic, look or theme when shooting?
Like my friends tell me, I may be a bubbly and happy go lucky kind of person, but my work is always dark and moody. In my films I've written and directed, I always kill off the main character. Why do I do this? I really don't know, but I feel that it's just to show that just because you may be the lead actor in your own story, you never know when tragedy may hit you. But then I also love the idea of the typical happy endings, because I think in the end we all want that for ourselves.

Do you have creative friends you like to meetup and brainstorm with?
Absolutely!! There's an assortment of little creative groups I love working with. I have friends back up in NorCal that I love to create and shoot with, as well as some down here in SoCal. It's a great feeling when you meet a fellow creative and you instantly connect with that person. Some of my favorite makeup artists I can truly depend on are Joshua Bade and Hali Mc Gowan, models I love working with are Kira Conley, Kirpa Sudick, Anniessa Glover, Brandon Deem, and so on. There's too many to choose because I truly love working with so many wonderful humans

Most interesting story revolving around your creative medium?
There's honestly so many stories, BUT the most recent one that was truly amazing was being able to work with The Driver Era. They're this music duo that includes Ross and Rocky Lynch, brothers formerly in the band R5 with the rest of their family. Rachel, their PR rep is a good friend of mine, and she reached out to my sister Max and I to arrange a shoot with the guys. It was truly a dream working with them, being that they're two talented artists, as well as these lovable goofballs that just love what they do. The highlight of that was when they decided to use one of my images for their tour merch, and it's just a wild thought to have your work on a piece of clothing that people are going to purchase! Definitely looking forward to the next shoot with them.

Random stuff about you?
DAH! I am a huge Disney nerd, I literally am working on getting a Pirates of the Caribbean themed sleeve, and Disneyland is my second home. Another thing I'm obsessed with is true crime and paranormal things. Whether it's a podcast, documentary, movie, whatever it is, I am here for it.

FOLLOW SAM ON INSTA! —

@samanthabakerfilm