Meet Heather Cox | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heather Cox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
I don’t really believe giving up is really an option after being a photographer for 10+ years.
Yes there are days where I feel discouraged or that I’m on a merry-go-round and I don’t seem to be moving forward but instead of taking it so negatively, I tell myself it’s not me falling behind, rather its me taking a breath and reevaluating where I want to take my next steps in my career.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Originally I was a culinary major, eventually wanting to build my own restaurant from scratch but I began to dislike cooking and I felt I needed a change of scenery so I began picking up a camera again. At first it was nothing more than a hobby, documenting nature, animals, and friends. After a while a dear friend told me “you have a real eye for photography, maybe pursue a career with it”. I then set off to start taking pictures of anything I could from skate photography to documentary street photography to editorial portraits. After I graduated from Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), I moved to New York pursuing photography assisting jobs while still working on my creating my own style/look of photography. I ended up falling in love with photography people and how each person can tell you an entire lifetime of stories just by photographing different faces. During my time at SCAD, I discovered a photographer by the name of Imogen Cunningham; she inspired me to start creating nude photography with a 4×5 large format film camera. I wanted to capture how astonishing the human body is and show off the details with heavy contrast, focusing on the highlights and shadows. Every year since 2019, I’ve created a book of solely nude photography; maybe one day publishing the books but for now, they’re my secret gems.

I definitely wouldn’t say being a professional photographer is “easy” by any means. Especially with everyone having a camera in their hand on the back of their phone, it seems like everyone is a “professional photographer” these days. But overall that has never discouraged me from trying to break my way into the photography world.
If I’ve learned anything over the past ten plus years, it is to keep shooting. Keep shooting even when your creative side is mentally exhausted, keep shooting old things and new things; dive into a photography world you are unfamiliar with and see where I takes you. The world is filled with the unknown and that excites me enough to keep shooting to see where my photography journey may take me next.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many great places in Los Angeles, this list could go on forever but to make it short and sweet, here’s a few of my favorite places…
A few of my favorite food places would have to be Martha’s (Hermosa Beach), they have wonderful breakfast, Zane’s (Hermosa Beach), a delicious happy hour, Cafe Mimosa (Topanga Canyon), unreal huevous rancheros, Salt & Pearl (Redondo Beach), known for their super fresh seafood & Rustic Canyon (Santa Monica), incredible food from starters to dessert.
We would definitely have to make a few stops at my favorite coffee shops which include The Boy & The Bear (Redondo Beach), Bluestone Lane (Manhattan Beach) & James Coffee Co (San Diego).
There are many great cocktail/drink places but a few I would love to take anyone to would be Tower 12 (Hermosa Beach), Mirabelle Wine Bar (Valley Village), and Esperanza (Manhattan Beach).
There’s so many great places to visit in CA and I would have to take them to Getty Villa Museum, Old Town San Diego, hikes in Palos Verdes, and the Warner Bros Studio Tour, where movie magic comes to life.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve been lucky enough to study and learn from some of (in my opinion) the greatest photographers in this world; from Rick English, who taught me stunning studio lighting, to Rebecca Nolan who helped me dive in with 4×5 large format film, to Alexi Lubomirski who got me to fall in love with fashion photography, to Platon who taught me get up close and personal with shoot-through umbrella portrait photography, to my dear friend Calvin Scott who showed me exquisite documentary photography with his bold use of grain, and the list could go on and on from fellow peers, people who have modeled for me, photo friends, & lifelong friends.
But while many people have helped me get to where I am today in my career, including photographers who have been long gone such as Imogen Cunningham, Richard Avedon, and Robert Mapplethorpe, my success and creative career would never have begun if it wasn’t for my two biggest supporters, my parents: Elizabeth & James Cox.
They are without a doubt, my greatest blessing and my biggest fans through all the years of ups and downs this photography career has taken me; they have been by my side every step of the way.
I am eternally grateful for their love and undying support from day one to now.

Website: https://www.hcoxphotography.com

Instagram: @heathercoxphotography

Image Credits
Photography Credits:
© Heather Cox Photography