Meet Amy Toscano, fine art photographer and a member of Long Island Photo Gallery since May, 2013.

Toscano’s photographic style is photo journalistic and candid. She cultivates her images by stepping back on what is going on around her and becoming a “fly on the wall”.  “I try to let nature go on its own course while I document it”, says Amy.  “I try to get my images to express different and unique perspectives on subjects and/or objects. I want my viewer to think and feel as if they were standing in my shoes taking the photograph.”

Amy’s shift from from photographer to artist happened when she attended Long Island University at Post. There, she learned how to show and exhibit her work professionally. When she would work towards exhibiting her photographs she really started to feel like a true artist.

Toscano was drawn towards photography as her choice of art expression because of her delight in the the ability to capture a moment in time while being able to show viewers her perspective of any subject during an exact moment.  She is motivated to improve her portfolio by her personal desire for self-improvement in everything she does.  “I am always looking to improve as an artist and as a person”, said Amy.

Toscano’s favorite photographic series of images in her portfolio is “Coming Together: On The South Shore”.  This was her last series she completed before graduating from college. Amy put in a lot of dedication and time in and endured freezing weather conditions in order to complete the series.  The outcome of her hard work blew many away, including Amy herself.  From where she started when she first became interested in photography she could hardly believe that she created such a powerful series such as “Coming Together: On The South Shore”

Amy typically shoots with a 50mm lens and does very little post processing due to her photo journalistic style.  If she does do any photographic manipulation you can typically find her working in Photoshop CS6 with minor bumps in contrast and saturation levels.  Toscano is not fond of photographers that manipulate images of models to a point of distorting their natural appearance.  “It’s okay for the here or there blemish, but not to the point where the person doesn’t look like themselves anymore.”

Like all dedicated photographers, Amy Toscano likes to improve her photographic knowledge and technique.  She spends some of her time pouring over YouTube tutorials to learn new things about the art of photography.

“I see the future of photography growing dramatically with all the new equipment coming out”, says Amy.  She believes that digital photography is easier to learn today in comparision to the days of using film.  “The digital age makes it easier for anyone to pick up a camera and call themselves a photographer and people are also becoming more creative with the new inventions of self expression through photography.”

Amy envisions herself growing in the field of photography.  She believes she will continue in the photo journalistic style and the documenting of events.  She wants to bring those skills into the genre of wedding photography while also continuing to exhibit and sell her art work.  Toscano would like to try her skills at water photography too, especially photographing ocean waves.
Here is a sample of Amy Toscano’s photographic series, “Coming Together: On The South Shore”.