A Zoom Shoot with Emily Ritz

Zoom Shoot with Emily Ritz. Written and shot by NYC Portrait Photographer Angela Cappetta.Since COVID began, Zoom shoots have been on the rise. I can see why. They represent creativity in the time of remaining socially distant. Furthermore, they are a whole, cool, new way of looking at things. Till no, I hadn't tried doing a zoom shoot. At least, not on purpose. Short of taking.an accidental screen grab, I have not applied any level of skill to shooting someone in this platform. But Emily Ritz, who is not a stranger to my blog, volunteered graciously to be my first victim. As you all know, I am a great fan of Emily's work, and I hope to collect it someday. 

She is, in my opinion, a once in a lifetime artist.

 Her painter's practice is concept-driven, embraces experimentation, is deftly executed, and highly succinct. It was obvious both to me and Emily that these photographs embody not only her artistic self, but her depth and beauty as well. That said, I had no idea what I was doing. I just let go of the expectations I had. My subject and I were both excited to try this out. And it was so much fun, 

Having said that, the imperfections and unpredictability in Emily's work are also what I had my eye on. So when we shot, I did things like shove the cursor onto the screen rather than hide it. I also left the dust visible. Furthermore, I preserved my partial reflection in some of the portraits. It was a far more satisfying shoot than I could have hoped for. I hope you enjoy this zoom shoot of Em as much as I enjoyed making it.

 To Enumerate:Listen to my interview with Emily Ritz on my podcast on Spotify.Buy her work at Harris and Erel Fine Art.