Sam Spence

Sam Spence is a Korean-American fashion and fine art photographer originally from Kansas City and now based in Los Angeles. She has been shooting in LA for the past 5 years for editorial magazines such as Elle, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and more, making her one of the youngest female photographers in the industry at the age of 25. Spence’s background as a contemporary dancer gives her vision the kind of romantic and breathtaking look that makes her art stand out.

Sam and I met last February through a mutual friend. It was no surprise that we immediately clicked. We've spent this summer dancing, talking, and laughing about life. On a hot June afternoon, we drove out to Palm Springs for a break from the city. After walking around the PS Art Museum, we sat by the pool to let our tired bodies rest. Under the cloudless blue sky, she told me about her beautiful eye.

Read our conversation below:

RR: I love the way you capture the female gaze. How would you describe that perspective from behind the lens?

SS: It’s funny because I’ve been asked to shoot quite a few men recently, and I keep declining because I don't know... Something about shooting women is so special to me. I think women are just so beautiful—everything about them: what makes them unique, seeing their personality shine through, the female body, and watching them move. As someone who came from dance, trying to capture movement in the world of fashion is where I see myself staying.

I think I'm getting to the point where I can explore a little bit more, and I feel much more confident in what I’m doing so I can push boundaries a bit more.

I love women and their bodies. I want to get more into shooting fine art and nudity. Ever since I started shooting my dance friends, there's something about watching them move and then capturing that on camera that really speaks to me. That's the way I fell in love with the idea of shooting and being a photographer.

RR: I’m glad you brought up your experience as a dancer because my next question is how do you think that background has transferred to something so digital?

SS: I think I move around quite a bit, and I’m always in a perpetual squat—my friends are always laughing at me. I typically know what I want from the image or movement/shot I want. It’s more about directing them, and that's where the dance comes in—the choreography, dancing, and movement direction. I think that's what makes my work stand out from someone who is in a stationary position. I have a vision of what I want to capture from their movement, their body, their story. So I hope you can see that a bit in my work. For sure when I approach things, it's always from a dancer's eye first, and then a fashion or photographer's eyes.

RR: Do you ever feel like when you’re shooting, the flow becomes a dance between you and the model?

SS: Oh, 100%. I’ve been really lucky too. The models I’ve worked with have been so open to the energy I’m giving them. They receive it so well, and they receive direction so well. I know there are models that can be difficult to work with, but somehow I’ve been very lucky to work with these wonderful, open-minded people.

RR: Originally, you’re from Kansas City. How has being based in Los Angeles shaped your relationship with the city?

SS: One comment I get a lot is that I don’t shoot in a Los Angeles style, which is a huge compliment to me. I think LA is more known for its commercial work.

It's been really cool to go to different places in LA that I might not go to without having a reason to. But I would say in terms of how my work relates to LA… I try not to let it. I don't want it to give an LA style. I prefer a more New York or European style of shooting. California is really known for its commercial work, and more and more, it's becoming editorial, but that is one thing I get notes on which I’m really happy about.

RR: Where do you think that stems from?

SS: All of my international travel has been for dance. I haven't done that for fashion yet, but I’m hoping to in the future. Even as a young dancer in grade school and high school, I was obsessed with companies outside of the U.S.. I’ve always had a European influence on my dance style.

The U.S. is such a different world because everything is about money here, as opposed to Europe and maybe Asia too, which is more art-focused versus money-focused. So that’s why a lot of the shoots here are so commercial—they have one goal, and that's to profit. Whereas over there, it's like ‘Well, we’re making art and if it happens to profit, wonderful.” I grew up getting used to that in a dance way, but now it's translated into my photography as well.

RR: You definitely have a more romantic style.

SS: Romantic, yes! I love some element of romance or story in an image. Even if it is for a commercial, I think it should have something to it.

RR: There’s something really intimate about the way you incorporate nature in your photos too.

SS: If that's all I could shoot, that's what I would do. Just women, bodies in nature. I love Chloe; they’re a dream client of mine. They worked with this photographer Zoe Ghertner. She hardly shoots their products; it’s just like these beautiful models in exotic locations and destinations. She's really big on focusing on the details, the bodies, the textures, and skin tones.

That's something so beautiful to me and would be a dream to do. It would be my art and my eye for a brand, but it's not necessarily about selling something as much as it is about making art.

RR: Where do you draw inspiration from?

SS: It's definitely changed over time. Zoe Ghertner and Colin Dodgson are a couple of names off the top of my head who inspire me now, but if you look at them versus Ren Hang, who I looked to when I first started, you can definitely see a shift in my focus.

I think the longer I’ve been in it, the more confident I am I can start taking more artistic liberties and focusing on what is important to me versus trying to sell myself as a photographer. You can tell Ghertner and Dodgson are shooting from more of a human perspective rather than a photographer selling something, and that's the direction I see myself heading towards.