Meet the Authors

    Andy Batt

    Commercial Photographer

    Andy’s not sure what else he would do except to be a photographer. He’s been working in the commercial photographic industry since 1989 and realizes how amazing it is that he gets to pursue a passion for art as his job.

    Midway through high school, Andy discovered that photography combined his desire to be creative with his love of the technical process. It was a pivotal revelation that propelled him to pursue the commercial photography program at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

    After diving headfirst into four years at the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences without knowing where photography would take him, Andy spent several years getting a second education in the field as a photographer’s assistant. In 1997, he opened his own studio, specializing in still life work. In 2001, he reinvented himself and started down the path to his current specialty: photographing athletes, dancers and celebrities.

    For Andy, photography is the obsessive pursuit of storytelling. He feels that every photograph tells a story and that part of his life’s work is learning to tell better ones. As a faculty member of the School of Visual Art’s Master of Professional Studies in Digital Photography program for three years, Andy worked his way through the material presented in Camera & Craft. With this book, he hopes to help emerging photographers improve their technical skills so they can also learn to tell better stories.

    Andy continues to work as a commercial photographer for clients such as Nike, Verizon and Country Music Television. A guest lecturer and leader of photography workshops, Andy lives in Portland Oregon—and travels wherever the work takes him.

      Andy Batt, Commercial Photographer
      Website: http://www.andybatt.com/
      Twitter: https://twitter.com/andybattphoto
      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andybattstudio

      Candace Dobro

      Writer/Editor/Photographer

      Candace is a photographer who loves words as much as she loves images. As a young English Lit major at Muhlenberg College, she enrolled in Photo 101 and was hooked.

      After working for years as a promotion writer, Candace studied photography at the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Peters Valley School of Craft and the International Center of Photography, while raising two daughters. She received an associate degree in photography from County College of Morris before attending the School of Visual Arts, where she graduated with honors from the Master of Professional Studies in Digital Photography program.

      Currently, Candace puts her English and Photo degrees to work as developmental editor of The Digital Imaging Masters Series and coauthor of Camera & Craft, one of the titles in the series. She uses photography to connect with people, places and objects and to articulate what’s evocative about each one.

      Candace lives around the corner from a field of alpacas in Boonton Township, New Jersey, with her husband Jeff and spends most of the summer in a beach cottage on Cape Cod. She’s available for photo commissions and will happily entertain any projects that involve words and images.

        Candace Dobro, Writer/Editor/Photographer
        Website: http://www.cdobrophoto.com/
        LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdobrophoto
        Twitter: https://twitter.com/cdobrophoto
        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cdobrophoto

        Jodie Steen

        Owner 127 Productions, Inc.

        Jodie’s career began in the early 2000s, an exciting time in photography, when digital was just beginning to take hold. She worked in New York City as a photo assistant and digital tech. Then she took a position at Foto Care, a sales and rental house in New York, where she got an education you could not buy at the time, learning the newest and best cameras, software, printers, scanners—you name it!

        Her next transition was freelancing as a digital tech, which was the most fun she’s ever had in a job. She loved being part of a crew, learning trade secrets from some incredible photographers.

        Around that time, Jodie and her husband, Joshua, began shooting commercially under the name Mastromatteo + Steen. They shot a mix of beauty, still life and environmental work, which they continue to do today, although less commercially.

        After gaining additional experience in the technical side of digital and color management, Jodie launched 127 Productions Inc., a color-consulting firm in New York City. Today she helps corporate brands, photographers, artists and agencies to achieve accurate and consistent color. 127 Productions offers sales of all color-related hardware and software, the technical skill for installation and training, plus supplies to maintain the systems.

        Teaming up once again, Joshua and Jodie most recently launched Luster, a gallery based in New York City, which represents contemporary photography. Best of all, they produce the work in-house, which feels like going back to their roots, making something beautiful by hand.

        Jodie Steen, Owner 127 Productions, Inc.
        www.127productions.com
        www.lusternyc.com