For Stella, photography is all about capturing emotions

By Bethany Williams

“It’s being able to communicate something – a feeling – through imagery rather than words,” Stella explained. “Words can’t always capture an emotion like images can.”

Halfway through her part-time Advanced Diploma of Photography at the Photography Studies College (PSC) in Southbank, Stella has rediscovered the joy of photography over the past few years.

A lover of photography and creative pursuits as a child, Stella said that, as she got older, she put those ideas “on the backburner” and chose a pathway that would be more financially viable and keep her parents happy.

“I was a maths and science teacher for quite some time and then I decided to do a degree in creative arts therapy,” Stella said. “That kind of brought back all of the joy of being creative.”

Eventually Stella signed up for a course at PSC and has since been busy building her portfolio and developing her skills.

Stella describes her photography style as “romantic” and “whimsical” and says she’s used her art photography to document her “emotional landscape”.

“The last few years at PSC I’ve just been using it as a vehicle (because I’ve studied art therapy) to make sense of things going on in my life.”

“I went through a period of anxiety and depression, so I explored that. Then, for my next body of work, I’d just had a massive fight with my family, so I did some work on following what you love versus others’ expectations. Then I explored heartache and then briefly infatuation.”

Alongside her art photography, Stella also enjoys portrait photography and capturing moments between people.

“When I’m photographing families and people it’s kind of slowing down and, through the lens, being able to capture the love and intimate moments.”

“I love photographing children and it’s been great having repeat customers and being able to document their children growing up,” Stella said.

According to Stella, studying at PSC is just like being part of a little family, with the added bonus of inspiring tutors and classmates.

“I’ve also really enjoyed the camaraderie from classmates over the past two years,” she said.

The class recently held a group exhibition and Stella is also celebrating winning two silver awards at the Australian Institute of Professional Photography Victorian State Awards earlier this year.

With two years of studies at PSC remaining, Stella is looking forward to further developing her practice.

“What I’ve really enjoyed about studying here is learning how to trust my instincts,” Stella said.

Stella’s work can be found at www.stellatnguyen.com