Behind the Shot: Rachael Porter

Rachael Porter is a cinematographer, director and editor based in Chattanooga, TN, where she’s lived for over 10 years. Along with beautiful samples of her visual storytelling, Rachael’s website features poet Mary Oliver’s instructions for living a life: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Instantly, we knew we’d be friends.  

Here, we discuss the story behind a serendipitous shot at a Sweetwater rodeo, the highs and lows of filmmaking and the importance of pleasure and play. Our conversation, condensed and edited for clarity, is below. 

You had your start in photography. How did you find cinematography along the way? 

It was a natural shift from doing photography to taking videos. I really loved that you could tell more of a story with video than you could with a single image, that you could capture more of the arc of what was happening and then cut those together to create a whole story. 

After college, I ended up getting a production assistant internship and then came back for an associate producer position. I worked there for 6 more months and eventually shifted into freelancing, which I’ve been doing for 6 years now. 

It wasn't the trajectory I had imagined to go on, but at a certain point I had experienced enough of production life and documentary storytelling that I just really fell in love with it. I still pinch myself sometimes and think, “This is what I do for a job.” It’s pretty cool.

We pinch ourselves, too! Tell us the story behind the shot you shared.

A still from A Step Ahead Chattanooga’s 2021 campaign video.

The project was a piece for a local nonprofit that provides free birth control for women. We found several women from rural counties who have utilized or advocate their services, and one was a horseback rider who competes in barrel races. 

We went to a rodeo in Sweetwater, Tennessee, and I hadn’t been to rodeos since I was probably in middle school! We were there for a very long time, so we walked around for a while and observed. I kept shooting a little bit of stuff, just getting practice shots. 

And then I noticed this girl who was sitting on the side, watching super intently this barrel racer who was one of the fastest in the Southeast. When she finished, the admiration and disbelief on the girl’s face was incredible. You could see her really looking up to these women who were 5, 10 years her senior. It was such a cool moment, so I snapped a little shot of her. It's a good thing you can’t see her face, but I also wish you could see her face because there's so much wonder and aspiration. I just happened to be in the right place as the barrel race went around.

How do you anticipate moments like that? How do you sense what’s going to happen next?

I've always been observant, so I think that's helped a lot in my run-and-gun doc-style shooting. It’s observing what has happened before you roll the camera and then assessing what might happen next. It’s a muscle that’s developed the more I do it. I think it’s what I enjoy, too, about run-and-gun doc-style filmmaking. I feel a lot more freedom to play and move my framing around because the action is always unfolding.

How do you take care of your body during such physical shoots?

This is going to sound really funny but deep breathing and cold plunges. Deep breathing helps dissolve stress and relax my body, and cold plunging pumps blood through my body and relaxes my nervous system. Epsom salt baths help, too.

And what about your mind and heart? How do you nourish yourself and find inspiration?

That’s a question I've been wrestling with since the start of COVID. Honestly, I've definitely had seasons of not caring and not being inspired. 

This past year I read a book I’d highly recommend called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I went through the process of confronting my inner critic, which is still a daily battle. Once, after this interview I shot, I went home and my inner critic was yelling at me: you should have dropped the camera, you should have moved it this way. That would have been a much better frame. It’s sometimes a monster. Working through some of those things has been really helpful and has unlocked a level of creativity that hasn't been there before.

Another thing is making sure to carve out time for hobbies that feel creative and fun but have nothing to do with work. For me, it's been gardening and roller skating. Gardening has been very therapeutic. I grow flowers, which is really fun, and make bouquets. It's very hands on, grounding, and low risk. With work it always feels like there's pretty high stakes, whether it's with a client or with someone else’s money. 

Rollerblading was similar. It was a movement that I didn't have to convince myself to do. It just was fun and enjoyable and there wasn't a point to it. I think it's easy to lose sight of doing things that have no point, that are not efficient or productive. We don't make a lot of time for those things, especially being freelancers in the hustle of trying to survive and get work. So I think those things are really important.

Rachael in her element. (Photo credit: Brooke Bragger Photography)

Are there places you go or practices you have to get visually inspired?

I really enjoy carving out 30 minutes or an hour to poke around on Vimeo and watch films. And then, honestly, getting outside. When I started in photography, a lot of what I really loved shooting was landscape and nature, light and shadow playing off different things. 

So I enjoy just taking a camera out and exploring. 

Let’s chat gear.  What are you shooting on these days?

The rodeo shot was filmed on a Blackmagic 6K Pro, and I believe that was the 50-100 Sigma Art Zoom Lens. I've recently been using Easyrigs, which have been a life changer in my last couple of shoots. They add a level of stability and mobility and save my body.
Do you have any favorite DPs?

Autumn Durald, the DP on Loki. The way she uses colored light in intense and dramatic ways is mind-blowing. And then there’s another DP, Shannon Palmer, who does a lot of doc-style branded work for bigger clients. I really enjoy her work, too.

We’ll definitely look up their work after this! Final question: what brings you excitement these days? 

I'm writing a short film, and it's actually about my own experience of being creative that has a lot to do with the inner critic and the process of believing in your own talents and your own ability. I'm really nervous, but I'm also really excited because I've never done anything like it. 

“Behind the Shot” is series about cinematographers we love and the stories behind their favorite frames. Read all the interviews here.