From a young age, Melissa Cowan loved shooting pictures. “I was always the one at parties with disposable cameras, running around making sure to capture snaps of all my friends,” she says. “I think it just started from there.”
While at school, Cowan was drawn to creative subjects, where she got her first taste of photography. From there, she went on to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Photo Media) at Massey University in Wellington. “Studying disciplines not directly associated with photography, such as painting, sculpture and time-based art, has given me a broad set of skills that have helped me develop and nurture my photographic style,” she says.
Before finishing her university studies, Cowan started shooting events and gigs, which suited her just fine as she could get closer access to the stage, and photograph artists she’d admired for years. But it was a move to Melbourne five years ago that really started to push and challenge her as a photographer. And in the last year that she’s started working full-time as a freelancer.
Cowan likes to take a documentary approach to her work. “Capturing the raw emotion of people behaving naturally is a theme that translates to all aspects of my work,” she says. Her current focus is on studio and portrait photography, but wants to keep pushing her photographic boundaries. “I don’t want to limit my scope to one thing,” she says, “but I would love to travel and shoot, and to one day have my own studio and creative team, producing work that is appreciated and respected by my peers.”
www.melissacowan.com.au
