Behind every image that revolutionizes emotions is a great eye. Battling with the keen ability to delicately articulate beauty through a lens is one of the many art forms of photography. Not having this thought process cross our minds when looking at a spread in Vogue or W, many viewers only see the beauty of the image. If tracing back to the motivation for the art of photography itself, we must first entertain and soak into the eye of the photographer.

An inspiration to the masses, Amber De Vos is a female photographer making her mark on a male dominated craft, “I really love what I do, and have actually found the gender imbalance to be part of the fun. To prove that I'm just as good, if not better, than the boys." De Vos found her passion for the art of photography at a very young age. Using traveling as her main inspiration, De Vos pursued an education in Photography and Anthropology. After completing her education De Vos moved to New York to pursue an internship with Magnum Photography. Making a name for herself, De Vos worked in all arenas of her field before becoming a freelance photographer for Patrick McMullan. Now known as one of NYC’s top photographers De Vos’ work can be spotted in many publications like People Magazine, W, Us, InStyle, and Daily.

Opening up her first exhibition last month titled ‘Me, Nycelf and Eye’ Amber De Vos’s work has been described as “playfully sensual with an almost painterly quality.” Check out The Q & A. Here Amber comes from behind the lens to tell us about her work:

Amber De Vos: I'm really lucky to be able to say I do what I love for a living. When it comes to my work I'm a story teller. For me photography is my opportunity to share with others the stories I see and also the ones I create, and its less about capturing beauty as it is about resonating with your viewer. No matter if its a fashion shot in Vanity Fair, or a shadow self-portait hanging on someone's living room wall, if it speaks its a success.

On Photography:

AD: Photography is one of the most amazing inventions ever. Its range goes from purely scientific and technical to completely fantastic and surreal, all using the same basic tools, a camera and a light source. It is a means to translate how one sees and is seen in the world, and its mind blowing how many different ways that can be. I'm constantly discovering who I am through my lens.

On the Exhibition:

AD: "Me, Nycelf and Eye" is a shadowy little story about a girl in the big city. It explores just the tip of the iceberg in terms of who I am as an artist. The feedback has been unbelievable and is giving me a lot of momentum to push my work even farther, so there's a lot more to come.

The exhibition itself was huge success. Supporters through Kickstarter helped to fund it, Shaokao and Niki Cheng of BoConcept provided the space. The turn out on the opening night was unbelievable, thanks to Patrick McMullan who hosted and photographed it. The benefit raffle Casey Kelbaugh (of Slideluck Potshow) and I held to benefit our photography program for children, Slideluck Youth Initiative raised a lot of money. Not to mention all the vendors and friends who donated goods, services and their time to make it all happen. It took a lot of work, but it was all worth it. The next one will be even better.