Today we’d like to introduce you to Haley Fusia.
Hi Haley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a photographer and videographer born and raised here in Atlanta! The summer after my freshman year of college was the first time I actually picked up a camera. I just wanted to take some pictures of my cousin and I, but I fell in love with photographing people. I studied theatre in undergrad, so I started taking pictures for stage productions and headshots for actors. That quickly turned into graduation photos and then collaborating with other artists for styled shoots. The more I photographed, the more natural it seemed to start my own business, so I created AHF Photography. I’ve continued to photograph engagements, weddings – pretty much anything with a person in it. I love portraiture and getting to know people through photography. I don’t remember why, but sometime during my junior year, I thought, “What if things moved in front of the camera?” and that’s when I started looking into TV and Film.
The summer after my junior year I interned at WSB-TV and it completely solidified my desire to work on set. I loved the energy and the teamwork; it was like mixing the best parts of theatre and photography. Once I graduated from Georgia College, I went straight back to school for my Master’s degree in filmmaking at Kingston University in London. While I was there, I shot nine short films, documentary and fiction. I graduated in January 2020 and in March started interning with ECG Productions here in Atlanta. I’m still working with them now and continue to learn so much from everyone on their team. In the summer of 2020, I also founded Kingston Film Festival with my friends from KU. It’s an international festival that focuses on student and first-time filmmaker work. We had a pretty great first year and we’re actually about to open submissions for our second year.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Fairly smooth so far, thankfully! Of course Covid has been a bit of an obstacle, but we’re all making our way through that. I think my biggest struggle is just getting out of my own head. You know, making art that I like and not putting too much pressure on what others think. Not comparing myself to others, especially artists my age.
Thankfully, my parents have been super supportive and I know I can always turn to them for advice or a shoulder to lean on.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Sure! So like I said, I’m mainly a photographer and videographer, although I’ve also produced and edited projects as well. As a photographer, I’m most proud of the series I’m currently working on. I’m collaborating with a stylist, KB (@tenderclown), on a 12 part series inspired by Harry Styles’ album, Fine Line. This is our first project together, but it’s been such a dream. I’ve been able to play around with style and aesthetic and push myself creatively in a way I hadn’t before. I’ve also filmed and edited short videos for each song, which is something new for me. I’d never mixed photo and video in a single shoot, but it’s been a fun challenge and I’m really happy with the results!
As for videography, I’m most proud of a short documentary I shot while I was in school, Art by Female. It’s a documentary made by three female filmmakers about three female artists in different creative fields. We interviewed a tattoo artist, a photographer, and a writer, all at different points in their careers. It was so much fun to film and very inspiring to hear each artists’ stories. The documentary was featured at Her International Film Festival, where I was nominated for Best Cinematography and our film received Honorable Mention. We’re actually hoping to continue the series in the future!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
The biggest piece of networking advice I can give is to use all of your resources. Reach out to anyone and everyone because you never know what contacts people have!
Contact Info:
- Website: ahfusia.com
- Instagram: @ahf.photography, @kingstonfilmfestival
- Other: Vimeo: vimeo.com/haleyfusia
