In an instant she can capture the curiosity of a dog’s glance toward a noise it thinks it hears, ears perked up in that direction. The joy of two sisters kicking around the leaves that carpet the ground on an autumn afternoon. The half-dreamy gaze of a cat staring out a window. The pointed attitude of a jazz-funk band posing in the center of a downtown street. The tender buds of a tree readying to bloom as the weather warms.
“Nah,” she says with a dismissive wave. “I just like to take pictures.”
And Laura Roberts can take pictures. More specifically, she can capture life and lives behind the images. A photographer since middle school, she has only recently rediscovered the craft she started honing more than 20 years ago.
“I worked in electronics for about 15 years,” she said, “and other than taking pictures on vacation or short trips with friends, I didn’t get much of a chance to focus – no pun intended – on something I have loved since I was in my early teens.”
Now into her fourth year as a professional photographer, at 36 years old, Laura’s portfolio includes cityscapes, nature photography, casual portraits of families and children, and dozens of professional shots of musicians, both posed and in performance.
“I think having a variety of types of photographs keeps my skills sharp,” she says. “I could just take pictures of household pets, which would be easy since I have two cats and a dog. Or I could just focus on musicians. But I think I’d get tired of taking pictures if I just dwelled on one subject.”
Her skills do not just begin and end at her camera. She also edits, color corrects, and adds effects to many of the shots she takes to enhance them, or feature a prominent subject in the entire photo composition.
“The camera only does part of the work,” she proclaims. “Photographers obviously need to have the eye to compose a shot, but good photograph editing can make a picture memorable.”
Her skills in taking and editing pictures landed her a position as the Lead Photographer for Louisville Music News, a monthly free newspaper distributed throughout her hometown and published online. The July, 2005 issue, with her provocative cover portrait of Louisville musician Brigid Kaelin, has the singular distinction of being the only issue of that publication to have all its copies given out. Not one copy was returned to the editor’s office.
“I work hard at making my pictures say something,” she states. “I may just like to take pictures, but I also want to help whatever the subject is to have depth and dimension. I want it to project life.”
by Tim Roberts
